[eaglesfan83]

Anyone out there with a high mileage E93 55K plus? Have you had any issues with the hardtop? I would imagine something going wrong out of warranty would be a terribly expensive dealer visit. I am thinking of potentially keeping the E93 long term but unsure at this point how long the hardtop mechanisms will hold up and may either sell it around 45k or possibly buy the extended warranty to 100k to save any possible issues

[sammy_0559]

Just hit 72k Still purrfect.

[TotalPower]

I got the 100K warrenty as to basically finance any mechanical issues w/ it

[O HELLA BMW]

I bought a 5 year/100,000 mile warranty as well just incase the roof malfunctions. I currently have 55,300 miles on my 08 335i e93 and show no problems with the hardtop.

[eaglesfan83]

Thats good to hear no issues. I will probably get the 100k as im sure one issue with the hardtop will pay for itself.

[O HELLA BMW]

Yea my dealership said if the hardtop malfunctions that it would cost $10-$15k to fix depending on how severe the issue is .

I don't know if he was trying to sale pitch the warranty to me lol but he won and I bought the ext warranty

[sammy_0559]

OH shiii, lol I'm out of warranty.... to late I'm guessing....

[MrPig]

I've seen a bunch of leaking roof threads lurking around here every so often (I think 1 over the last 4 or 5 months) but nothing about motor malfunction. If I were you, I'd do a search (here, maybe other BMW related forums) and see how many hits you get.

[eisenb11]

I've seen one or two threads in another forum about roof top malfunctions. One ended up with about 13k in damage and took a long time to repair due to having to order parts from Germany. Otherwise, it seems pretty rare to read about these things having major malfunctions.

My E93 had an issue with the right side sticking and not unhinging properly, but that was fixed with a simple lube job at the dealer and it never acted up again. Sold the car about a year later and new owner appears happy with it.

[Epic404]

I've never had a leak but around 55K my top started to get caught on the front left edge and would stick. I took it to the dealer and they made a free quick adjustment. No problems 20K miles later. I'm still under warranty though.

Side-note, I'd highly recommend SmartTop. I use the bajesus out of my top now that I have that.

[mashimarho]

I wish i had an e93 335i AP // CR

[mds54]

Originally Posted by Epic404

...Side-note, I'd highly recommend SmartTop.

Why? What features does it have over a fully loaded 335is that you like to use?

[TotalPower]

cost like 1000 bucks installed...way over priced and it will void your warranty...no thanks.

[Epic404]

Originally Posted by mds54

Why? What features does it have over a fully loaded 335is that you like to use?

I don't know what features exactly the 335is conv. has but I'll tell which I like that the SmartTop adds to my bimmer:

1. One-touch top up and down. I don't have sit there holding the damn button 25 seconds. I can pull up to the gas station, press the up button once, take the keys out, press lock, get out of the car and it gets all closed up and locked by itself.

2. Top up and down with the remote. I can start the top back down again as I'm leaving the gas station and walking up to the car. By the time I get in my car, it's usually finished. If it's not finished yet, it will finish that last few seconds of the sequence while I'm pulling out (up to 25mph).

3. The mirrors fold in when I lock the car so idiot next to me doesn't bash into it.

[Epic404]

Originally Posted by TotalPower

cost like 1000 bucks installed...way over priced and it will void your warranty...no thanks.

Uh, I bought mine used for $180 and new ones go for a few hundred. You can install it yourself very easily in 45 mins.

The dealer can't detect it as long as the setting to -0- when you take it in. If you need to take your car in for service on the top, just take the Smarttop off before going in.

[JRJ1970]

Zero issues with my hard top so far....

I think the said "smart top" would be cool allowing you to drive while it's doing its top up or top down thing as I've been honked at a couple of times for bad timing putting the top down right when the light turned green. LOL.

BUT my concern with the "smart top" is this -

Wouldn't it be strenuous on the mechanics if you're driving say 20 miles per hour with the top in action and you hit even a slight bump? Seems like something like this could easily throw it out of alignment or a sensor out of alignment and cause the thing to never be the same again. I think BMW requiring you to be going 0 MPH in order for it to work is probably not a bad thing. Thinking I better keep this thing stock.

[mds54]

Originally Posted by Epic404

I don't know what features exactly the 335is conv. has but I'll tell which I like that the SmartTop adds to my bimmer:[INDENT]1. One-touch top up and down. I don't have sit there holding the damn button 25 seconds. I can pull up to the gas station, press the up button once, take the keys out, press lock, get out of the car and it gets all closed up and locked by itself.

That's kinda nifty, but I don't mind holding the button....I kinda like showing off the retractable hardtop.

2. Top up and down with the remote. I can start the top back down again as I'm leaving the gas station and walking up to the car. By the time I get in my car, it's usually finished. If it's not finished yet, it will finish that last few seconds of the sequence while I'm pulling out (up to 25mph).

Again, nice, but not a selling point for me.

3. The mirrors fold in when I lock the car so idiot next to me doesn't bash into it.

I use the mirrors to secure the car cover almost anywhere I park.
Thanks for sharing, but I can do without a Smart Top.

[Epic404]

Originally Posted by jrjinsa

Zero issues with my hard top so far....

I think the said "smart top" would be cool allowing you to drive while it's doing its top up or top down thing as I've been honked at a couple of times for bad timing putting the top down right when the light turned green. LOL.

BUT my concern with the "smart top" is this -

Wouldn't it be strenuous on the mechanics if you're driving say 20 miles per hour with the top in action and you hit even a slight bump? Seems like something like this could easily throw it out of alignment or a sensor out of alignment and cause the thing to never be the same again. I think BMW requiring you to be going 0 MPH in order for it to work is probably not a bad thing. Thinking I better keep this thing stock.

Right, I only use the top up/down feature while driving feature when I'm pulling out/into parking spots and not on the road too much.

[Takeshi]

Originally Posted by jrjinsa

Zero issues with my hard top so far....

I think the said "smart top" would be cool allowing you to drive while it's doing its top up or top down thing as I've been honked at a couple of times for bad timing putting the top down right when the light turned green. LOL.

lol I never open my roof unless I know the light just turned red. Or I'll try to pull over on a side street to open/close.

I got caught once in the rain (was sunny the whole frigging day then started raining hard outta nowhere). Put on the 4 way flashers, stopped the car and closed the roof. Ppl were staring at me as they passed but nobody honked probably cuz they were more amused that I was getting wet than annoyed that I was blocking them.

But ya, I've been opening that roof every chance I get and so far no issues. I'm only at 50k kms though.

[Thunder Dump]

2 1/2 years and 23K miles on my '09 and not a single hardtop-related issue. I installed SmartTop on mine after the first 9 months and it is the best! It's how the car should have come from the factory but thanks to the sue-happy lawyers in the US they have to disable a lot of these great features (one touch open/close, remote open/close, etc). Highly recommended for any E93s out there.

I did some pretty thorough research before buying mine because of the concern I had about the hard top mechanical bits, but other than some isolated leaking tops (and the ones that leaked, leaked heavily and could not be fixed), there have been VERY few reported issues with the tops, and these have now been in service for over five years.

[skidderss]

7/07 build E93 335i 58K - works perfect.

I don't have any leaks - air or water. I use 1Z Einszett Rubber Care Stick “Gummi Pflege” a couple times a year on every rubber seal I can find. This really helps in my opinion.

My 1998 Z3 with the hydraulic top never had an issue, even at 10 years old. Granted, that was a much more simple operation, but I never worried about it.

Note: I am in MN, I don't get much use out of it (~25-30 operations a year I'd guess).

[SomeRandomer123]

My friend had a pre-LCI E93 325i at about 20k miles and one sunny day, he naturally decided to drop the roof. The roof did its job perfectly. The roof storage didn't though. It remained stuck closed whilst the roof carried on and crashed on top of it. It was still under warranty so I don't know the costs involved.