On subject : It all depends on order volumes at present. You're now hitting a quiet time for new car sales between now and Xmas, so I'd imagine your chances are reasonable. Best thing though is to go into a dealership, and simply ask the question. If they've got a free slot just about to go into production, then it could be as little as 3-4 weeks.

Not on subject, but a reply to the first reply : I think the people most responsible for the demise of MG/BL/Rover are the unions. Ever had a read of the historical news section on HJ classics ? It makes for a damning indictment. Maybe you expect it would have been reasonable of BMW to allow Rover to just continue to bleed them dry, year after year.

That's how governments work. Private businesses are a little different. You make a profit, or you eventually go bust. The unions never actually grasped that fact.

Maybe you would have preferred Rover to be in 'public ownership'. In other words, bleeding all the taxpayers of the UK dry. Like they used to do in the old BL days.

In addition, virtually all models of the Mini are built in the UK. I believe the Countryman is built in Austria or Germany.

A final note : If you've got nothing useful to say, and just want to chew on bile, then feel free. However, this is a forum where people usually try to be helpful.

Why would you want to give money the the German company who asset stripped and dumped Britain's last volume car manufacturer? Shame on you.

Saying 'shame on you' for a person wanting to buy a make of car ?

Maybe the name should be 'ComradeStalin' instead of 'SteveLee'

This thread isn't about the merits or otherwise of BL / Austin Rover, or even of Minis, so let's stick to the point.

No, but it always comes up if someone enters the word Mini .... :-)

SWMBO has had five Minis in succession and I think they've all taken 6 to 8 weeks, built to order. The current one is a 2012 model, and it's possible that lead times may be a little longer for the new model.

This thread isn't about the merits or otherwise of BL / Austin Rover, or even of Minis, so let's stick to the point.

Surely almost every topic on this, and almost every other forum, has a tendency to included incidental comments...which sometimes go completely off topic...but which often simply add interest to the discussion. It happens here every day but I don't see the big stick coming out on each and every one. Avant's advice re. lead times is exactly what the OP wants to know but the additional comments from owners and others give advice and food for thought to those less familiar with the modern Mini.

I used to work on the original Minis, changing subframes and gearboxes, it was one of my first weekend jobs after leaving school, so the development of the name 'Mini' from then to now is something that I'm happy to read about and a balanced chat about the brand isn't so dreadful, surely?

Edited by KB. on 30/09/2014 at 12:44

Lets be totally honest about this. Back in the 70's BL cars were unreliable and rusty pieces of carp. But the other home grown brands, Fords, Vauxhalls and Chryslers were little (if any) better.

The original Chrysler brands disappeared before the BL brands and the new Talbot brand did not have a long life before dying. At least they did make some Peugeots at Coventry.

Ford and Vauxhall did have the advantage of having the backing of the parent group, without it I don't honestly think either would have survived. Vauxhall did sell some decent motors in the 80's such as the Astra and Cavalier, way better than the Escort and Sierra Ford offerings at the time and in a different leauge to the Maestro's and Metro's that BL were selling.

In the 70's and into the 80's I owned all the above brands and have to say that although the Escorts were not great quality (Mk2 and 3) at least they were pretty reliable.

But in 1984 I bought a Golf. What a revelation. So much better than anything I had ever owned, drove VW's for the next 18 years. Only went back to Ford in 2002 when the Mk 2 Mondeo offered a much better car than the Passatt and in 2005 bought a Focus that was much better than the Golf at the time. In truth both were as good as any VW I had owned.

Bottom line is Ford, GM, Peugeot do not make any cars in this country now but some of the Mini's are assembled in Oxford. Add into that Jaguars and Land Rovers that are made in the UK and its fair to say that 3 old BL brands have done better than the others as far as keeping a UK manufacturing base.

If I wanted a small, expensive niche car I would look at a Mini. They do appear to be cheap to run, one chap 4 doors away is on his 3rd and loves them.