Hi. I have a 2005 MINI convertible. About a week ago my roof stopped opening. I went to my local MINI dealer today, and the mechanic told me that likely both cables inside the mechanism snapped. To repair it, the entire mechanism needs replaced to the tune of $3000 USD. Ouch. Any suggestions of alternatives out there? I read a post that suggested a BMW expert mechanic might be able to do it for less but didn't see that anyone responded with experience with that.

A second related question. I have a 50,000 mile warranty. Today my car has 50,800 miles, and probably a week ago when the roof stopped working it had 50,400 miles (I went out of town this weekend). Any experience with whether or not MINI will show me some mercy and make the repair? I didn't discuss it with them today, because I mistakenly thought I had a 40,000 mile warranty (I'm not a smart man). Thanks for any thoughts!

Is this four threads on the same problem? Do cables only last 4/5 years?
See my reply at
http://www.mini2.com/forum/mini-convertible/172450-mini-cooper-s-convertible-roof-cable-snapped-rear-glass-scratched.html
Good luck.
Geoff

On a more positive note; the roof on my cabrio has been up an down more than 1,000 times in the 3 years and 56k miles we have used it. No problems! Just to encourage new owners that all is not bad news.