Mine was cracked and fading and the dealer replaced them under warranty. Didn't give me any issues either. If it's a MINI OEM part, it is covered.

 

Wow. I have never seen stripes in that bad of shape. How old are yours? Also, how did you care for them?

I had a partial clear bra placed on my car and over the stripes. the stripes that are covered are still pristine in appearance. The part of my hood with stripes that are not covered in a clear bra, have permanent staining and have already lost their luster. My car build was January 2013! I have tried to clay bar them and wax, nothing works. So if I get mine replaced, they will either have to remove my clear bra, or cut the stripes and butt them up against my clear bra. Im tempted to have a full clear bra placed on the entire hood after getting mine replaced.

 

Mine look about as bad as yours, if not worse. The silver part of mine aren't as bad, but the orange is horrible. I bought mine used so not sure how they were cared for, but it is just over a year old. Not very encouraging at all if that is all they will last. Wonder if there is something that could be put on them to cover them and keep them looking new?

Did the dealer charge you for removal of the old stripes?

 

I bought my Clubman used last year (August) and they looked fine back then. I do know the previous owner had the car in New Mexico and did a lot of upgrades that were not on the window sticker (JCW Aero, R113 Wheels, sport stripes, roof rack, etc.) I park my car outside 24/7 and drive about 70 miles a day, 4 days a week to work.

I never did anything special to care for them other than wash the car like normal (using Meguiar's products). I read somewhere on here BlackWow works, so i gave it a shot. While it did help with the discoloring a bit, it didn't fix it. Funny thing is the stripes below the hoodscoop and the stripes on my barn doors were fine. It was only the ones above the hoodscoop that were cracked and discolored. It might be because of the heat generated from the engine/turbo, but i did buy and install a M7 turbo heat shield shortly after i bought the car. I will say i don't have a fire blanket under the hood.

Dealer did not charge me a dime for anything. Truth is, the dealer screwed up and sold my stripes to another customer the day i had my car in to re-do the stripe. They said they would send their graphics guy to my house to do it there. Graphics guy came out (3rd party) and told me the stripes on my car weren't original, but would replace anyway. He didn't do a perfect job and blamed it on being outside under the sun. This wasn't my problem as the dealer kept messing up. So in the end, they had me bring the car back in and they did it there. This all happened just last month.

 

I wish I knew, ultimately the sun will always prevail.

Perhaps something of higher quality? But that would have to be aftermarket. I would think there are different grades of vinyl, sort of like window tint.

I was quoted 300 by one very reputable shop around my area. They were shocked with how bad the stripes were on my car. It's rather upsetting, these little cars ain't cheap and this happens a year later.

Will most likely opt to have them removed when warranty is about to expire...if they are in bad shape yet again around that time.

 

Well I had my appointment this morning, and not off to a good start. I took it in to have a number of things looked at, the stripes being one of them. As soon as I said to my SA that they were faded and wearing badly he said "We can take a look at them, but they aren't a warranty item." So we go out and look at them and he says that it is sun and water that has caused the wearing and that it is NOT covered by warranty because it was caused by "outside factors." He said those outside factors were sun, water, and possibly a carwash. I told him I don't see how a car that is 14 months old and under a full warranty and maintenance coverage could not be covered on this, especially since they were a factory installed option when the car was built! He said "well they aren't covered by warranty, I can get you a price to replace them." So I told him that was unacceptable, and all he said he can do is escalate it to his manager, which I did ask him to do. I can't believe that they are trying to tell me that this is normal and not covered. How can wear and tear items like wiper blades be covered under the maintenance, but the factory installed stripes that look like **** are not?? What am I missing here???

 

Great point and one I would stick with it in every discussion you have with them. Keep us updated!

 

I'm having mine replaced under warranty on Thursday.

 

Here they are... New, replaced under warranty, stripes. They put on my painted hood scoop too. I'll wait a little longer for the wider stripes.

 

Looks great. Glad you were able to get them swapped. How long had you had the vehicle? I'm still fighting with the dealership on mine. They say they are waiting for a Mini Service Rep to come into the area to look at them. I have tried to get in touch with the Service Manager and he won't take or return my calls. I have gotten shifted to 2 different service advisors who asked if they could help, and when I explained the situation they said that stripes are absolutely not covered under any warranty. I just don't understand how that is considering they are factory installed Mini OEM parts. Hoping I can get something figured out soon.

 

My car is Jan 2013 production and my silver stripes look awful. Now they have lost their sheen and have weird blotches that kind of look like stains. The orange stripes on the roof still look as shiny and new as the day I drove out of the dealership. I have tried waxing the stripes with no luck. I have a partial bra on the front. The silver stripes under the clear bra still look flawless. It looks like the silver stripes have completely lost their clear coat finish. They feel rough too.

Im going to take him into the local BMW dealership to see if they can help me....The nearest Mini dealership is in Honolulu....and my car can't swim.

Will keep you all updated.

 

I ordered the Dread Pirate from the factory. He was born 19 November 2010 and I picked him up at Mini of Charleston 31 December 2010. The stripes were actually installed at the dealer. When I called to confirm having them replaced, I had to remind them what type so the could ensure they had them in stock. This was his "virginal" look:



Maybe you have a d1ck dealership that wants to save money. Mini of Charleston has a reputation for being very good. Stuart Kestenbaum the SA is great! My next endeavor is to have the wider stripes I showed a pic of above installed. The warranty stripes were a godsend since my old ones looked like crap and I was worried that in their sun burnt state they might be hard to remove. I'm wondering in paint might be better that vinyl and what the cost would be.

Good luck Jmcwheeler!

 

Well after a lot of wrangling with the service manager, I have finally convinced them that the stripes are not wearing in a way that reflects only 14 months on the road. They wanted to just replace my orange stripes, and leave the silver ones as is, and while they don't look nearly as bad as my orange ones, I was able to convince them to change them all. They said they should have them in a week which seems fast to me considering what I've heard on here about the orange stripes having to be special ordered, but hopefully I should have new stripes on by the end of the month. I'll post some photos of before and after once I get them done. Thanks....and good luck to anyone else that is having to deal with this.

 

UPDATE: BMW of Maui is replacing my silver stripes and clear bra as a courtesy, for free. They did not admit to any known defects with the stripes. This time I am having a full clear bra applied to the stripes as a precaution!

 

OEM vinyl sucks!!! But, YES!!!! Mako!

 

Finally got my stripes replaced by the dealer under warranty and they look great. Hard to believe how good it can look, and how bad they fade. I'm curious about this clear bra. Is this something that we could have applied directly just to the stripes? Also curious if anyone has heard of a vinyl company that could custom match a color? Consensus seems to be that the OEM vinyl is pretty low quality.

 

This is what I have on my front end. I have been putting clear bras on my cars for about 10 years. No rock chips! Also, I have it put on my headlights and driving lights. http://www.xpel.com/products/xpel_ul...ction_film.asp

 

I am about to get my 4th set of stripes....replaced once a year since it rolled off the showroom floor. They are being replaced under warranty. LOUSY factory stripes. The fact that they are being replaced for free after the car is out of warranty, makes me think that Mini knows these are complete and utter CRAP. I never had this problem with my first Mini, EVER. I am tempted to just leave the dang things off.

 

Time for re-striping. I used MOTORING SKINS. They are out of Utah. Great people...even better products. http://www.motoringskins.com

 

AMEN...to your signature. DEATH TO CHROME!!!!

 

I was looking at a 2014 Orange and white. Stripes on roof were bad. Dealer told me 750$ to replace. I went with a 2013 cooper S instead. Stripes on mine are cherry... for now. 🙄