No, I didn't notice anything noisey or awkward. It opens and closes fine. but just that damage there. That's why I assume it didn't occur on my time. I emailed MINI USA already. I don't have their number. I think it's in the owner's manual. I will check soon enough for a number.

Gluhwein- Thanks for the suggestion. I'm getting an attorney soon, so I will have him/her check that out!

Still, MINI OF TOWSON SUCKS!!!!

 

Well, as I had suspected, I had my top replaced by another dealer UNDER WARRANTY with no questions asked. They told me the issue is a problem that MINI will probably recall, or fix as it comes in.

With that being said, MINI of Towson are a bunch of a**wipes!!! Now if I had paid them $4000 to get it fixed, what are the chances they would refund me the money if MINI disclosed the problem say, 6 months down the road?

Well, at least I got my top replaced and from now on, I WILL NEVER BE BACK AT MINI OF TOWSON!!! BE FOREWARNED!!!

 

Odd, I never had any problems with MoT's service department. They even did some repairs for free on my old Cooper which was well out of warranty.

 

All I can say is WOW! I do not own a convertible but that is the strangest spot for vandalism if I have ever seen one. To me it looked like the part failed for some reason. I am glad that you were able to take it to another dealership and that they took care of it for you. I would MOST DEFINITELY get in touch with MINI USA and express exactly what happened and let them know which dealer was the problem AND which dealer fixed it for you under warranty.

Best of Luck with the repair and I truly wish you have a better experience!

 

wow, I 'm glad you got your roof fixed and I really hate that MINI did not deal with the problem! MINI's are such happy cars that it really bugs me that they were so rude to you!

 

It's horrible what happened to you. I dread something like that. Here in the USA our choices of dealerships is extremely limited. How great that you got to go to another one.

What dealer did you go to and how did you come to that decision?
Those guys deserve recognition!

 

This issue, on the same side, happened to our car TWO days after we bought it. The plastic piece sewn into the top that clips to the side of the car behind the driver's door is broken in half, so top hangs free from the body in that place. Luckily Motor City Mini (outside Detroit) is dealing with it fabulously. I called them about it, and instead of having us drive 1.5 hours there, they just asked me to email them photos of the issues. I emailed them the two photos below, and they were able to ascertain the problem and order a new top without my going there. Now that's a level of service I have NEVER experienced at a car dealer. They said the top should be in next week. They didn't even mention that this might be vandalism or any other such nonsense.

Like PhillyMCS's, the top still works fine, and we've been driving the car, although it looks like the problem compromises the seal to the car, so we're not driving it in the rain for fear of getting the trunk wet and moldy. Car's really not as much fun in the rain, anyhow.

PhillyMCS, was your car a very early build? Maybe one of the "launch" Cooper S convertibles that was yellow with (I think) the bullet wheels? I ask because although we just bought our car, it was one of the original base Cabriolet "launch" vehicles, so it was a very early build. The base "launch" cars are horizon blue over hot chocolate with a hot chocolate top, and they have some odd options like xenon, dynamic stability control, and rear park assist. Anyhow, given that we both had the identical problem with the identical part, I wonder if it was just a problem with the very early build Cabriolets.

Outside:


Inside:

 

Mike- That is exactly what my top looked like. However, your dealer was gracious enough to take care of the problem with no questions asked!!! I'm glad you didn't go through the battle I was put through.

Yes, my car was an early build since it was a launch car. But, the dealer that fixed the problem doesn't feel it was an early problem or not, but rather it's just a problem MINI has to address sooner or later since they did see other later built cars with this same problem as well.

Derepente- The dealer that replaced my top was MINI of the Main Line in Pa. !! I would give these guys of MINI of the Main Line all the kudos in the world!! The guys there are just so awesome and gave me NO problems (just like Motor City MINI did for MIKE)!!

With the same situation as MIKE had experienced, this is why I've clearly stated that MINI of Towson did a very poor job of rectifying my problem. As everyone can see, it's not a MINI problem, but rather, a dealership problem to fix. Customer service is still the most important quality in any business!!

 

I don't know the inner workings of Mini's service and warranty business, but with most car makers, for a big repair like this, a company rep will make the decision about whether it's a warranty repair. It's hard to believe it would have been any skin off Towson's back to call the regional Mini rep and make your case; it's likely that's precisely what Main Line did, and Mini agreed to cover it. It isn't like Towson would be paying for it themselves. Like you said, it appears to be nothing but crappy, apathetic service on the part of Towson.

 

I leave my top down for 2 weeks or more with no ill effects. The only thing I am very careful about is to make sure the top is completely DRY when put down. The top when put up and down a few times may well be a bit rattle prone but that will go away as soon as it gets nice and wet as the fabric tends to contract.

 

Wow Mike D- that's amazing that you had the SAME problem.

Philly MCS- I'm glad you got your problem straightened out... but what a freakin' ride! And good for you to call that dealer out.

Reading these kind of stories about malfunctioning tops, clutches, all this crap is so maddening. (I'm sorry... I'm combining thoughts from other posts I've read). I just don't understand why so many dealerships feel the need to put people through the wringer. And it's not ALL dealerships. So why do WE as buyers have to drive ALL over to other dealerships to get these problems taken care of?

The one dealership that's 4 hours from me doesn't give me any problem about fixing things... but it's 4 hours away! The two closest ones I've had issues with. Orlando, mostly. But I have to go have service and have some things taken care of (2 attempts to fix my driver's seat and had to figure out what was wrong on my own), and I'm sure there's been a problem with the clutch but... damn. I have a ton of anxiety in even setting up appointments anymore. I'd rather just drive 4 hours just so I don't have to deal with it.

The guy that I work with at the farthest dealership told me that it makes no sense for other dealerships to give the owners such a hard time. All it does is create a lot of frustration and anger. MINI USA still has to get involved and then the problem essentially still gets fixed in the end. So why all this drama in the first place?

My last post was totally different from this one! Amazing how easy it is to get wound up. And I will say that even though we have problems... I LOVE my MINIs! I wish they weren't so damned cute!

 

We have a 2009 Mini Cooper Convertible S, Interchange yellow. this morning my husband noticed the same broken top on the passenger side on our Chiquita. We called the dealer (2 1/2 hours away). We also emailed them pictures and they are suppose to get back to us on what happens next. We hope the issue will be resolved quickly since one of us drives the Mini every day.

 

Yours is also a very early build car; this appears to be a problem only in the really early 2009 Convertibles. Have you dealer contact Motor City Mini (in MI) at 888-600-8947. They are replacing the top on my car as I write this and they may be able to point your dealer in the right direction.

 

We haven't been without a car through this. My partner is driving a maroon Cooper, compliments of the dealer whilst the top is being repaired. It did take the dealer over a week to get the top in, though, and we kept the car out of the rain during that time for fear it could get wet and mildew in there.

 

Mike, thanks for the number and all the info. We will post our results when we find out more.

 

We did have to drive 2 1/2 hours to our dealership. They treated us very well. They said right away we needed a new top and they would order one. We were given a rental car to drive without charge. We hope to have our car back by the end of next week. They had not heard of this problem before.

 

We had a loaner car for a week. Then our Mini dealer called and said there are no tops to be found anywhere at this time. They have no idea when they will get one in. They temporarily stitched and glued the old top. It seems to be ok for now. They are suppose to put a new top on as soon as they get one. They did order have to drive 2 hours to get our car and another 2 hours back home. When the new top comes in we have to leave the car for a few days again. Oh, well, other than that we love our Chiquita!

 

phillyMCS

My car also has the exact same failure only on the passenger side. It is in Otto's right now waiting for a new top to arrive. They so far have made no comment as to cause. I had made an appointment for some other repairs but the night before I noticed this failure so I pointed it out to them the next morning. They called me within an hour to say I needed to keep loner for probably at least a week as new top was coming in from Germany for warranty repair.

I was surprised that the clips that hold the top to the inside of the fender are apparently plastic. My car was an early April build so perhaps they "fixed" the problem on later cars. Problem showed up in first month of ownership after top had been cycled maybe 10 times at most. I suspect unless they made a change after the fist few months of production we have not seem the last such failure.

I am right outside of Philly so any time you want to compare notes, or cars drop me a PM.

 

TRL-

I will take that offer!! Good luck with the top in the meantime! Well, as long as they fix it, it's all good.

 

I have a week 10 build, so far I have not experienced any failures as many of you have. My top goes through a full cycle (up and down) 3 to 4 times each day, maybe more on the weekends. I have to say other than the squeeking, I haven't had any problems.

 

Our tear is on the passenger side also. We ordered our car the end of Jan. and picked it up the end of March. We are wondering if they are redesigning the top and that is why they don't have any now. We will post updates.

 

My S Conv also has the issue on the passenger side, it seems to have been noticed AFTER the dealer was working on the squeaking problem I had with the top, on the driver's side! Supposedly the parts are in and we will see this week.

 

Something tells me you guys are in for the same treat we last generation cabrio owners suffered through on the early build wear issues. My 06 was not supposedly one of them but it is, nonetheless, getting frayed on a couple spots with soon to be holes. My advice is to dump all MINI cabrios before the warranty runs out!!

 

Well got the car back last night, new top after over a week of waiting, they said the area manager at first did NOT approve replacing the top, but the did decide to.
The odd part is they said not to use the convertible for a week so it can stretch into place???
Anyone else ever hear of that?
Does have that new car smell again too.

 

Just found out our MCS Cabrio will have the top replaced due to the gromets (plastic) sewn into the canvas breaking. Again it's on the passenger side. Top is away from the body where they meet and water gets into boot. No problem the dealer says. New canvas will be in by thursday. We'll take it from there
Milton Mini