Hi guys and Gals just thought I'd let you know That MINI finally agreed to sort out my Roof on warranty!

They have said that BMW are not accepting there is a fault with the roofs but are willing to replace my roof FOC whilst they investigate further and they are apparently watching this thread, so If you have any problems make sure you post it!

And as they are looking in ' Thanks To Whitehouse Keston who have been great and really helped me loads'

And thanks to you boys & girls for backing up the cause!


Neil

Hi guys and Gals just thought I'd let you know That MINI finally agreed to sort out my Roof on warranty!

They have said that BMW are not accepting there is a fault with the roofs but are willing to replace my roof FOC whilst they investigate further and they are apparently watching this thread, so If you have any problems make sure you post it!

And as they are looking in ' Thanks To Whitehouse Keston who have been great and really helped me loads'

And thanks to you boys & girls for backing up the cause!


Neil
Great News Neil:D:D:D

And how nice to see you posting when sober:p

Well I have to be Sober to go for a spin tonight !

and No Mini drove me to it ! i'm teetotal normally!


Thanks Rakey!

Well I have to be Sober to go for a spin tonight !

and No Mini drove me to it ! i'm teetotal normally!


Thanks Rakey!
make sure you send MINI the bar bill that the distress cost you:p

Brilliant news at last Neil. David & I are both so pleased that BMW have listened and perhaps they will now accept that there could be a fault and not put any other unfortunate owners through the same performance.
I am hoping that I might have mine back tomorrow as I know that the replacement roof arrived yesterday and was being fitted today i'm keeping my fingers crossed !

PS Sorry to hear about the Golf

For the Record, Mini is also fixing my car FOC and giving me a rental to drive while it is in the shop. They have to order the roof from Germany, so I have almost a two week wait. Mini has been good about taking care of me - although I imagine, It helps that I only had my mini for 8 days when it shattered. Mine also shattered while driving, which seems different from other reports. I wonder if others had used the rear window defroster within a day or two of their problems. I used my rear defroster the day before....

Cheers,
-bob

I have now seen my first failed rear window, at MINI Peabody (http://www.minipeabody.com); apparently it blew while the car was being driven.
Two techs were working to replace the roof and it looked like a very painful job - I guess 10-15 man hours!

Partly installed new roof:
http://gbmini.net/images/albums/general2005/ConvertibleRoofReplacement1.sized.jpg (http://gbmini.net/gallery/general2005/ConvertibleRoofReplacement1?full=1)

Old roof:
http://gbmini.net/images/albums/general2005/ConvertibleRoofReplacement2.sized.jpg (http://gbmini.net/gallery/general2005/ConvertibleRoofReplacement2?full=1)

Yea, that is my Mini getting the new rear window. Funny to hear about it here, and not yet from the dealer :-). Can't wait to bring the Dodge Neon rental back!!!

Cheers,
-bob

Yea, that is my Mini getting the new rear window. Funny to hear about it here, and not yet from the dealer :-)
Sorry you suffered that Bob ... hope you don't mind seeing your MINI pictured here ;)

I think you have not heard from them because they are still working on it - with both Bob & Gary working on it (can't ask for better!) the roof was fighting back hard. Looks like you need to put a lot of tension into the roof during manufacture; some hint of a possible reason why the glass might spontaneously explode ...

Sweet

Got my mini back, it took two weeks total to get it turned around (they had to order the top from Germany.) I'm very happy with the work. Wouldnt you know it 4 days later (after some snow), I get in a fender bender... more repair work.. I might be cursed. :-)

Dont worry Mate your not alone!

First the scratch
then the roof
and now the new roof is defective and now it has to go back again!

Sucks!

I picked up my MINIc again Tuesday. For those of you who've been
following along, this is the second time they tried to fix my
convertible top after it was installed shabbily the first time, when
my rear window broke. Well, guess what? It's worse than ever!!
Now, not only is there a huge gap on the passenger side where the
top meets the windshield, now I have the added benefit of wind
rushing through my car when driving down the Autobahn (freeway). So
they actually made the problem worse, not better, when they "fixed"
it. And they apparently decided to tear my whole dash out for some
reason, when trying to make the adjustments, and left little broken
parts in my cup holder. I really hope those little broken parts
were replaced, but I'm doubtful, because now the dash rattles. I am
so losing my patience. Now BMW in Munich is involved, because the
repair shop that my dealer sent it to the first two times obviously
is incapable of fixing it correctly. So now we're waiting to hear
back from them what they plan to do to fix this car, if it can be
done by replacing some hinges or the whole damn convertible frame
mechanism... I'm about done at this point. I asked about their
lemon laws, and they said that it's a problem because it's an
american specs car, sold through the american sales program...blah
blah blah. I told him then I should get the standard American three
year warranty, but I was only given the two year standard German
waranty. So somewhere I'm gettin screwed. Seems like I'm under
american rules when it's to thier benefit. If they don't fix it
right this time, I want a new car, because I don't think it will
ever be right now. Once a convertible top is screwed up, there's no
going back. It will always have problems. So anyway... that's
where we leave things in this chapter of the story-no resolution,
guys. And I'm one unhappy camper.

Wendy

Wow. Sorry to hear it gets worse for you. They seem to have really messed with your car. You should definitely get a new car and let them deal with getting that one sorted on their own time (and expense).

Dain

Wendy,
When I saw MINI Peabody replacing a roof, they showed me how much tension there is and how difficult it is to stretch the roof over the frame - it is obvious that the original factory assembly has some machine to do the stretching and in the dealership all they have is brute strength.
From your description, whoever did your roof replacement failed to apply enough stretch. If they are incapable of installing it correctly then you should demand a new complete mechanism - which will have the roof attached to factory specs.

I imagine if roof replacements continues to be an issue, then the stretching requirements will also become a major hassle for the dealerships.

Sorry you are suffering - get someone high up at both the dealership & MINI, and make yourself heard! Of course also point them to this thread where they can see that the rest of the MINI world is listening.

Hi guys I'm back

Sorry to hear your having trouble still Wendy.

I too took my beloved back as the new roof was just awful, it had 3 distinct ridges running from front to back and a cable sticking out on the passengers side!!

The garage agreed to replace it ( wish they hadn't screwed it up first time though) with no real fuss.

When I went to pick it up I got in the car and it was Red Hot and apparently the dealer was told to soak the roof, fit it as it stretches easier and then dry it out. with my heater!!!
The new one looks great and i will say that the old one was looking better than when it was fitted as I used to rinse the roof down when I was cleaning the car and then stick the heating on full then


Neil

Hi guys I'm back

Sorry to hear your having trouble still Wendy.

I too took my beloved back as the new roof was just awful, it had 3 distinct ridges running from front to back and a cable sticking out on the passengers side!!

The garage agreed to replace it ( wish they hadn't screwed it up first time though) with no real fuss.

When I went to pick it up I got in the car and it was Red Hot and apparently the dealer was told to soak the roof, fit it as it stretches easier and then dry it out. with my heater!!!
The new one looks great and i will say that the old one was looking better than when it was fitted as I used to rinse the roof down when I was cleaning the car and then stick the heating on full then


Neil
Yet again Neil, posted something I was about to ask about;)

Jo's cab has 3 very visible wrinkles/ridges in it over the drivers seat. It went in this week, as the hood had
stopped working completly, they said that it would level itself with the weather. I am not happy with this response as you can imagine;)

Wendy,

I presume you bought your Mini through Pentagon Car Sales? What dealer are you using? If they aren't treating you right and this is the dealer that Pentagon sent you to for delivery I'd let Pentagon know about the problem and see if they can get you some action. If not it is time to get a German lawyer retained. You are correct that you have the same rights as any German car buyer and they take defective vehicles pretty serious. I'll bet you get some action pretty fast when they get a letter from a lawyer putting them on notice.

Good luck,

Steve

Just thought that everyone would be pleased to hear that it is a recognised problem now and a service bulletin has been issued to all dealers. The problem is a 'thermal issue with 'some' glass where by inner and outer temperatures can cause 'some' glasses to shatter unexpectedly.

The fix is to re cover the hood, that is fit a new fabric and glass assembly, not the whole roof as some people have had done.

The glass problem is being looked at as for how to prevent this from making it to production, but at the moment this is still work in progress. Reported incidents are few considering how many cars are out there.

So anyone having this issue will not need to worry about having to get it replaced under insurance:)

gf had rear glass shatter while driving and dealer wants over 5k to replace! someone noted there was a tsb related to this, anyone know the tsb number? i had worked for bmw in the late 80s and they had this same thing happen on bmw cars and did cover it under warranty if you complained, if not they just took your money and never said anything. it even happened to a car in for service over night and of course the dealer somehow managed to get that one covered! anyone in the states that can help it would sure be appreciated, although its not my car its still not right for anyone to have to pay for a known defect especially when its not the first time that bmw has had this problem. right now the car is just sitting, she doesnt have 5k to fix it and they wont give her a loaner. her insurance states they are not about to pay for a whole top, only for the glass. she is so down now thats she is contemplating just letting the bank repo the car and ruining her credit. i cannot believe bmw is treating their customers like this!

she is so down now thats she is contemplating just letting the bank repo the car and ruining her credit. i cannot believe bmw is treating their customers like this!

Don't let her do that. Don't even let her get down on owning a MINI. Make the dealer own up to it as warraty work. Don't take 'No' for an answer.

Good luck.

Who is her insurance company? Now I'm worried again (my cabrio has been ordered). First is the worry that MINI will cover these under warranty (which they are assumed to do, but who knows). Then is the worry about insurance covering this after the warranty period expires. What if this happens to me in year 5, after the warranty is up? Will I be shelling out $4k to replace the roof? Or will my insurance company replace the top? What if it happens every year or two?

:confused:

did the glass shatter?

1800-miniusa

not sure name of insurance company...just driving down the road and pop! the rear glass was in a million pieces...i think the insurance company (and i dont blame them) thinks the dealer is nuts to want that much for a rear glass...and thanks for the replies...

why are you talking to the insurance company? its a fault on the MINI, not a common one, but dealers are aware of it, so get them to do it under warranty.

all the information is in this thread and cases where it has been replaced under warranty before the memo went out to dealers telling them it is an aknowledged fault:rolleyes:

My beloved little friend was stolen last night! they broke into the house hunted around to find the keys then found my laptop bag instead stole that then realised I had stupidly left the keys in the bag!

after 16 hours of feeling sick I was just coming to terms and then I have just recieved a call saying they have found it after 2 chases!!! but they cant tell what condition it is in until after the weekend!

now I feel really sick!!

oh nooooooooooooo! Mini Virgin sorry to hear that your baby was stolen. How come you have to wait until after the weekend to find out more news...?

p.s. you might want to move this to a thread of its own....

Mini Virgin - any news.....?

Not really !

They rang me today... I felt sick with anticipation..... and they asked if I could provide a key as they couldn't get in!
why they didn't ask for that 2 days ago I didn't know!

I asked what condition it was in and all they would say was it looks OK, "I didn't really bother looking" i believe is what she said!! I know they see dozens of cars a day But surely the realize people are concerned !!

any how I'm delivering the key tomorrow and intend to insist on seeing it!

I'll keep you posted