Quote:
Originally Posted by ejm3
I'm the original owner of my 2012 135i convertible.
This was a big concern of mine buying the car.
But my original top is still in good shape.
Now this was never really a daily driver.
It doesn't go in the rain or snow.
Occasionally it might get stuck out in a shower or something but rarely.
Back when I was going into the office every day it would take it fairly regularly to work (75 mile round trip) especially when the weather was nice.
Its garaged all the time at home.
I never put the top down when its wet.
Its a black top it dries in no time if you leave it in the sun for a bit.
I don't really wash the top unless there something on it that specifically needs to be addressed. I bought some stuff to treat the cloth but never ended up using it. The top is almost as black as when I brought it home and dealer says it looks great.
But where I disagree with others is putting the top up all the time.
My top goes down in late April every year and essentially stays down until maybe mid-Sept. If it might rain I just don't take it.
I even [very carefully] wash it with the top down.
The top might go up a couple times during the summer if I get caught in an unexpected shower or if it needs to go in for service or something.
I also avoid taking it to sketchy neighborhoods and I leave no valuables inside.
My logic is this:
If the top is down, the UV rays won't eat away at the cloth.
Yeah the top is up in the winter but the sun isn't as strong and the car is not driven as much.
Second, I'm more concerned with the roof mechanicals than the roof itself.
Putting the top up and down 5 times a day is likely to stress both the top and wear out the mechanical (like the motors).
At the end of the day worst case its much cheaper to replace just the cloth top than both the cloth and the mechanical components.
Just my two cents based on experience.
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I understand you points, but leaving the top down for months on end causes creases in the fabric to stay. It's like pulling out a wrinkled shirt you cannot iron. As far as the mechanicals go, this top uses a worm gear so the least robust component is the fabric top. In the end, the top may be the cheapest replacement part, but it is about 1800-2200 to replace.