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The new MINI appeared at UK dealers and the reaction has been phenomenal. The interest has come from all classes and ages – just like the original Mini. Stories from around the MINI dealerships reflect the national love affair with the car and new MINI owners ranged from 3 to 73 years of age.
Rocking and rolling
Jim Houghton, Dealer Principal at Halliwell Jones in Chester, went to great lengths to prepare sales staff for the impending trade-in of small cars taken in part-exchange for the new MINI. However, jaws dropped as one of the first MINI Cooper customers arrived at the dealership in grand style – at the wheel of a 1977 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow – then asked the dealership to take it in part-exchange. Jim Houghton commented: "We’ve had a great time getting to know the new MINI, but nothing could have prepared us for the arrival of a Rolls-Royce. I’ll never forget that moment!"
The oldest swinger in town
Newmans of Canterbury welcomed hundreds of visitors to their new MINI showroom, but even their MINI experts were left looking relatively inexperienced next to one of the first MINI customers. A 73 year old customer traded in her 16 year old Mini Cooper, and the only car she had ever owned, with a grand total of just 6,000 miles on the clock. The pristine Mini had been expected to fulfil all her motoring needs, but on seeing a picture of the new MINI, the customer was determined to get her hands on it.
14 year wait for a MINI
Snows of Portsmouth spent much of last weekend explaining to customers that demand for MINIs means their cars cannot be delivered before October, but found one customer who wasn’t planning on turning the key until 2015. A local man turned up with his three-year old grand-daughter on Saturday and registered a car in her name. The Mini Cooper will now go into storage until her seventeenth birthday when she will have the pleasure of firing up a brand new, 14 year old, car.
Planes, boats and automobiles
Calterdon Ltd of Inverness took one of their first orders on Saturday from a couple of intrepid customers who battled the elements to ensure they honoured their pre-booked test drive. Stanley and Karen Pyke had arranged to fly to Inverness, but had to re-plan when bad weather grounded all flights out of Orkney. A ferry ride and a three hour drive later, ensured that they were able to put down a deposit on one of the first new MINIs in Scotland.
Thousands queue up for new MINI
The new MINI’s first weekend was experienced at 148 dealerships around the UK and all reported packed showrooms, queues for test drives and customers signing on the dotted line. One dealer on a test drive even reported being pulled over by a police car just for the policeman to ask for the particulars of the car, not the driver.
Trevor Houghton-Berry, General Manager for MINI in the UK, commented: "It’s been a fantastic weekend for new MINI and a great start for the dealerships. I’ve never seen such a positive reaction to a new car and, I suspect, never will again. One dealership had almost 2000 visitors at the weekend, and the MINI Sales Managers around the country now know what we mean when we say - MINI makes you smile."
