I have owned 2 MINI's and waiting on my 3rd. I know they are not perfect and I would consider both of mine to be problem prone. My girlfriend wants to order a convertible and I was wondering if anyone hasn't had problems with their top? She plans to keep the car for a while.

 

I have a 2009 in Florida so the top goes up and down a lot. So far, no problems.

 

So I guess that means everyone has had problems with their tops. Slightly disappointing. I figured most people have just talked about the bad and not the good. Hopefully this is the case.

 

I'm going to watch this space closely. we've had Hobbes for 2 weeks and plan to go topless as much as possible through the winter (snow and temps permitting!). We'll see in a few months.

Question: for those that have had problems, when did they start showing up?

 

There's a whole thread on this topic

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-problems.html

 

The dreaded wear spots started showing after 6 months on mine. They started out as shiny areas early on, the exposed threads in the first layer happened in December. So less then a year.

Now, I'd like to believe the top material is improved now versus 2009 builds.
So hopefully, the experience is different for newer owners.

 

Yikes! That's not good!! Do you keep the car garaged? I'd assume that makes a difference.

Here's to hoping.

 

Mini freak,

I have '09 and '10 convertibles, both with dyed tops and both have the wear spots. That being said we have experienced no issues with the tops other than cosmetic. Granted my '09 rarely gets used (just over 5,000 miles) and both cars are garaged. They replaced the '10 top with around 70 hours of use but probably 50 or more cycles. The wear spots seem to be caused by abrasion against the seams. The replacement top fabric appears to be slightly thicker but the dealer said they still see the same wear spots in the newer cars. I plan on looking seriously at the new Roadster with the manual top and in my opinion the wear spot issues are a small trade off for the fun factor.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Hi,

We got ours in Feb, and in AZ, we have the top down a lot. So far no issues. Though I did need to get the battery replaced after 2 months.

I do keep the top up in the garage.

Bill

 

We have had my wifes 2011 for about 5 months and she has the top down anytime she can. So far so good. We did have to get the cross brace replaced under warranty because the plastic broke on it.

 

Havent heard of any problems with the tops, other than in the summer months they never seem to go to the up position. Thats the drivers fault though.

 

Nice to see that not everyone has problems. My girlfriend sold her car yesterday. She might not get one since word on the street says the extended warranty does not cover the canvas. A major problem in our opinion. After 3 MINI's I would NEVER keep one without an extended warranty. Any extended warranty's good for convertibles? Ones that cover every part of the top....