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Random People Who Approach You About Your Mini..

5K views 48 replies 37 participants last post by  2phun 
#1 ·
Just curious, what do you feel about people on the street/in public who approach you to ask or talk about your Mini?

I have had varied occurances, the first time I gotteh nerve to ask someone aboutthier Mini the gentleman was very polite and even gave me his buisness card in case I had any other questions I wanted awnsered (To bad he wasn't attractive eh? ;) ) And just a few weeks ago I approached a woman who was very rude and looked at me like I was from another planet. I never approach anyone who looks to be in a hurry and I always start off saying how much I love thier car..

I was just curious how you handle it....
 
#2 ·
The curiosity of people has slowed down a bit, since I have had my MINI for 5 months now. At first everyone had questions, wanted to touch, some wanted to sit in it. It is just part of having a unique car. As long as I am not in a hurry it doesn't bother me. Everyone wants to know where to get one, gas mileage(they don't understand why being an S that it doesn't get 50 MPG), is there any room in it, etc.
 
#6 ·
Had a few people eyeballing my MINI today. A middle-aged bloke at the servo asked how it went, and told me it looked good (yeah, I already knew that :p), then this arvo, while parked outside my local MINI dealership, a family walked straight past all the dealer MINIs, up to the PS/B MCS (mine) and eyed it for a while. I opened it up when Rob (my salesman) told them I was the happy owner :D :cool:

I love it. Never too busy to give a few minutes of my time to anyone asking about my MINI :)
 
#9 ·
The main reactions I've had were in August 2001, I had a Cooper for a week, and there were VERY few around. Got lots of looks and questions then. Then when I had a Convertible this year before the launch I got loads of stares and questions. Good fun. I don't mind taking time to deal with anyone who wants to comment or question about my car, it's not like it's a problem to talk to people, and it's nice they've taken an interest.

:)
 
#10 ·
SoggyCornFlakes said:
Couple of times at the petrol station I've come out from paying to find someone looing at the car and then wanting to chat about it - not many cars have that affect on people :)
I remember when I got my first MINI I was getting stopped all the time and crowds gathering around it :cool: :cool:
Having all that attention was great but as the years past the interest has dropped almost totally now.

Now that I have my RX8 though I still get asked about it :)
Only yesterday at a petrol station a couple were admiring my car and wanted a look at the suicide doors :D :D

I don't really mind the attention and am helpful as much as I can be :)
 
#11 ·
i think now in the uk it depends on the individuallity of the car if the marque is fairly common. MINIs are so widespread it takes something a bit out of the norm. I drive an astra coupe in a very rare bright colour which gets comments fairly regularly. I expect when the MOC arrives in march it will generate a bit of interest but the BEP is fairly subtle! :)
 
#12 ·
Before I bought mine, I deliberatley parked up next to one to have a sneaky peak from the safety of my own car, as I was getting out the owner was returning, and I mentioned that I was waiting on delievery and he would have stayed talking for hours only I was in a rush, he was so helpful, I really appreciated it too so I'm always nice to people who talk to me aswell. I find in general, if I've spent 3+ hours cleaning and polishing I'll come back to finger prints on my windows (Murphys law) A lot of men (dunno why it's never women) come up to me when I'm getting petrol, and the kids from my estate all shout "MINI" when I drive past - which can be embarrassing. I was driving to work one day and stopped at lights outside a school and these boys took pictures on their camera phones - teh car just seems to have something "extra".

I always wonder (worry) aswell about people being at it when I'm not around to supervise, I don't think they mean any harm, but I got a text one night from a mate saying "if that's your car parked up along the quays there's two birds sitting on your bonnet" This was a 2am in the morning and I was DJing in the nightclub downstairs with no song long enough to make it through the crowd out and back to my car to see what was going on - so for the rest of the night I was really worried! (And I've since made a mix CD for similar occassions!)
 
#13 ·
Whenever I'm at college I always try to park my Mini at the end of the car park so that I can look at it when I go out for lunch with friends. Only last week I was just about to walk past it when a girl took a picture of it with her mobile then ran off! I've been stopped by a group of boys asking me various questions about it. Also been asked how the car is by the neighbour's relatives, and how much it reminds them of the classic Mini.
 
#14 ·
I have people stop to look and some interested enough to start a conversation all of the time. Being a MINI nut I do not mind at all. Couldn't tell you how to identify the owners that are willing to talk about their MINIs. Best advice I could give would be to say; if you approach and the owner acknowledges your presence with a smile then proceed, if you get a scowl, frown, or total lack of recognition, pass them by.

Just don't hold some individuals reactions against the rest of the MINI nuts ... I mean affectionados. :D
 
#15 ·
It's mainly children that ask about Daisy! On two occasions i have come back to find couples discussing her flowers with the bloke saying it look silly and the girl saying Daisy is cute!
I love it when children walking with their mums point Daisy out to them. she brings a smile to alot of peoples faces whether they love her or are just laughing :D
 
#17 ·
i've caught people looking at mine when i come back to it, form, say, shopping. you get a few who are arsey and dont like to admit that they're looking at it for fear that they may have to admit that they like it, but usually i just get a grin and a few questions, and its never a problem answering those- after all, my wee silver bullet is just about my fav topic of conversation! it's also a bit of an ego boost when you've spent ages cleaning and polishing, and then park it up on the main street on a sat afternoon, stand across the road nonchalently and watch people walking past looking...i love it! :D
 
#18 ·
I had a guy come to my door to sell me gas and electric and as always I gave him short shrift because I dislike door to door sales pitches. But then I felt really awful when he was on his way back down the drive, he commented on how good looking my BEP baby was and asked me questions about it.
:)
 
#19 ·
Mini Lou said:
I find in general, if I've spent 3+ hours cleaning and polishing I'll come back to finger prints on my windows (Murphys law) A lot of men (dunno why it's never women) come up to me when I'm getting petrol, and the kids from my estate all shout "MINI" when I drive past - which can be embarrassing. I was driving to work one day and stopped at lights outside a school and these boys took pictures on their camera phones - teh car just seems to have something "extra".

I always wonder (worry) aswell about people being at it when I'm not around to supervise, I don't think they mean any harm, but I got a text one night from a mate saying "if that's your car parked up along the quays there's two birds sitting on your bonnet" This was a 2am in the morning and I was DJing in the nightclub downstairs with no song long enough to make it through the crowd out and back to my car to see what was going on - so for the rest of the night I was really worried! (And I've since made a mix CD for similar occassions!)
There's an advert on TV running now for Jeep -- this guy starts seeing people with dirt all over their faces and hands, and can't figure it out....until he comes around the corner, sees the new Jeep, and leans up against the window to look inside. Pretty funny ad. Kind of how it would be w/ the MINI, if I let it get that dirty!!!

Had some friends tell me that they were near my car in the garage (the smokers) and saw someone walk up to my MINI and try the handle, luckily the door was locked. Another bud has also said he's seen plenty of people look inside.

Have also had plenty of people compliment me on it....but one guys says he looked at buying one, but then decided to get a real sports car -- a Z4. I said yeah, it sure is, but the MINI is not. Course, he's part of a big VC firm, there's plenty of high price iron in our garage.
 
#20 ·
I still get people, but it has tapered off.

About half are people 45-60 who had one (or knew someone who had one) in their youth. "Of course," they always then say, "they're much bigger now". This crowd is generally appreciative and respectful of what the MINI's background is.

The other half are people who don't quite get what the car is intended to be. I'd be surprised if MINI outsells Porsche by a very wide margin here in Canada; they really are not that common. Consequently there's a contingent who usually fall into the "it can't be safe/fast/roomy, can it?" camp. Pointing out six airbags and a curb weight exceeding some current offerings by Ford, Pontiac and Honda usually shuts them up.

-CW
 
#21 ·
Aqualung said:
Had some friends tell me that they were near my car in the garage (the smokers) and saw someone walk up to my MINI and try the handle, luckily the door was locked. Another bud has also said he's seen plenty of people look inside.
I would never try the door handle... But :confused: i have been known to hug one in a parking lot.. is that worse
 
#22 ·
EefsJ_JArc said:
Aqualung said:
Had some friends tell me that they were near my car in the garage (the smokers) and saw someone walk up to my MINI and try the handle, luckily the door was locked. Another bud has also said he's seen plenty of people look inside.
I would never try the door handle... But :confused: i have been known to hug one in a parking lot.. is that worse

lol, I'm not sure which would worry me more! :)
 
#24 ·
My minis have always had far more attention than me! :) :mad:

People have come up to me at petrol stations and asked what I think of Minis... I've been interrupted while washing her by people wanting to know about Minis - how good they are etc.. and she had her photo taken by tourists off the top of a london bus, and was used in a hairdressers photo shoot once too. I'm always enthusiastic and will talk for hours about them... I'm probably far too emotionally involved.. :rolleyes:
 
#25 ·
Every time I get petrol and forget the pump number the cashier says 'is it the MINI?' When I say yes they rattle off for ages about how they used to own an original and ask about how much fuel it uses. When I say about 35mpg they seem shocked and say there's used to do near 50mpg. They don't seem to realise the massive difference sometime which makes me laugh!

Kids always come up and I'm known in my village as 'The MINI Man'. :rolleyes:
 
#26 ·
I get alot of stares in the MINI (and give them a good show, specially around a corner), and about once a week, I will see someone really eyeballing it, or they will come up to me and talk... the other day an old man even walked back up the parking lot to talk to me... the funniest one was I was with a friend who has the MINI2 sticker on his back window. We both have CR/W MINIs... and some old lady was walking around them looking. When she saw the sticker, she started laughing, and said "Oh, I get it, 2 MINIs!" Silly lady...
 
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