i'm looking for any other mini owners who've had this problem. i have a b/w 2003. a little over 6 months ago i notice a small peeling spot on the roof, the size of a nickel.

at the dealership they told me it's from bird poop. but there was no bird poop on the car. this morning i have a larger peeling spot and there is NO bird poop there...but there IS another really big freaking peel?!?!? if it was bird poop why would it only affect the roof paint and not the rest of the car?

i just wrote corporate mini and they told me to tell the dealership...after i told them the dealership was of no help.

 

What color roof?

My '02 has had no such problem with the black roof, but I am careful not to leave it in the sun. However, sunlight will cause paint to oxidize , not to peel. Bird poop will generally cause etching of the paint if left for a long time (a couple of weeks), not peeling. It sounds like the paint surface was not properly prepared for painting. If still under warranty, keep bugging the dealer.

Have you owned the car since new? If not, the roof might have been repainted. Just thinking out loud.

 

would

 

would the corrosion warranty cover it? if the exposed metal rusts....

 

Might be worth checking out, although you usually can't file a claim under the corrosion warranty until a panel actually "rusts through" and a hole forms.

 

I had this issue with my hood cracking and peeling. Dealer blamed it on water getting under a rock chip. Go figuere. They refused to help me. im sure you can find my older post on this. Good Luck

 

There *are* particular brands/models/colours that have had problems with peeling paint (the early Dodge/Plymouth Neons, as an example), but I don't think the MINI has a history of this.

I don't know if you bought your car new or used, but it almost sounds as if the roof has been repainted at some point, and you're having adhesion problems. What are you seeing underneath the peeling paint? Primer, bare metal, or another colour of paint?

 

I've seen paint adhesion problems when the vehicle's surface was contaminated prior to priming (hydraulic oil dripped onto it). In this case, it was a Chevy pickup and the dealer paid for a repaint. The only way to argue this is if you've owned the car since new and it hasn't been repaired. The line about bird droppings sounds like a load, to me.

-- mike

 

i've owned the car since new and it came from england with the 2-tone color scheme. the black is actualy peeling away from the white, so no metal is showing through. it looks to me like when they painted it the black didn't adhere to the white correctly.

i've also been the only person to clean this car. i always wash it by hand, and no solvents have ever come into contact with it.

 

How about posting some pictures so we can see what you're talking about?

 

I've seen bird poo "etch" paint, but never lift it like you are talking about. Maybe take a swing by ABRA paint or your local body shop and get an expert opinion. Those guys are usually pretty happy to talk paint as long as your not showing up when it's super busy.