we just had a snowstorm here in philadelphia and my mini is FILTHY. the rear window is so grimy that i can barely see through it. even before the snowstorm i've noticed that the rear window is prone to getting extremely dirty. has anyone else noticed this?

i reccomend 500cc of elbow grease..stat.

Yep

I've got some personalised mud guards on order from www.muddy-mini.co.uk hopefully this will help.

I also saw a thread earlier today saying that BMW now have mud guards for 05 models

Yep

I've got some personalised mud guards on order from www.muddy-mini.co.uk hopefully this will help.

I also saw a thread earlier today saying that BMW now have mud guards for 05 models

I look forward to your review of the mud guards. My take on this is that the aerodynamics of the car cause crud to be sucked back against the rear of the car and hence make it filthy. Witness the fine layer of exhaust film you'll get after a few days use. The mudflaps can't hurt..but I have my reservations regarding their effectiveness.

Peter... in Denver

Just like my old Cherokee and my current Bronco. The flat backside with window is just the perfect place for the turbulent air that rolls up from under and behind the car. It is the nature of the shape. I have seen many SUVs or older Bronco/Blazer type trucks (notice that I don't consider my Bronco an SUV :D ) that have a wind deflector on the top of the back above the window that forces wind from the roof to come down across the window to keep the dirt from accumulating. I have not added one to my truck, so I don't know how effective it is, but I hear that it is. Of course, I don't see how you could do this for the convertible MINIs.

Dain

I've got some personalised mud guards on order from www.muddy-mini.co.uk hopefully this will help.

I also saw a thread earlier today saying that BMW now have mud guards for 05 models

If I ever see a Mini with these on the back I might just not wave for once :D

Mine stays clean for about two days, then that's it - I can hardly see out the back. I had a peugeot 206 before with a rear wiper - I never thought I'd be so lost without one!!

I washed my car over the weekend and when I drove it on Monday I'd forgotten that I could actually use my rear view mirror which was a nice change - not that it lasted!

Wouldn't know, never seen the rear window, it always lies on the parcel shelf nicely out of the way! :D

Wouldn't know, never seen the rear window, it always lies on the parcel shelf nicely out of the way! :D

Yes...and so does mine..but I just noticed that after a 120 mile drive Sunday -- on clean cry roads -- I have a dirt streak in the fabric below the rear window -- and the top was open.

Unavoidable

Peter..in Denver

I've made washing the rear window a daily ritual before my first drive each morning. I don't mind as it lets me have a nice look at her backside which is oh so pretty ;). It's also less work than trying to keep the white wheels clean that my old MINI had.:D

Even Rain-X on the rear window makes no appreciable difference.

I just drove over to UK and back, and with all the salt and other clag being thrown up (mainly by the trucks) I had to stop every 200km or so to squeegee the screen. Otherwise no-one can see my www.MINI2.com screen sticker!

I reckon this is probably the biggest single drawback I've found to the Cabrio - but what the heck!

It's only about 23 degrees where I am right now. With the cold, slush and salt all around right now putting down the top is not an option.

Mhmm, the whole back of the car is hard work, but damn - getting that window clean yesterday was hard. Now it's all marked with the Autoglym roof protector stuff so I need to go out and get polishing. It's made some nasty marks on the paintwork and chrome too actually, hope I can get it all off :|

If I ever see a Mini with these on the back I might just not wave for once :D

Mine arn't going to to be quite as ghastly as those ones. I'm having them all black so they blend in slightly and arn't in your face so much :D