MINI USA’s Cash for Clunkers Bumper Sticker

Sections: Marketing Jul 31st, 2009 36 Comments

Brilliant. Apparently this was given out to dealers recently to be used over the next several months.

So here’s our question to US MF readers. Are you going to take advantage of the Cash for Clunker Program? If so lets hear your story. And since similar plans have been in place for European markets, we’d ask the same question for readers in the UK or Germany. Have you taken advantage of any government plans that offer cash for your old car?

via Jalopnik

Written By: Gabe

robble

Wasn’t CFC suspended last night because it’s possibly out of cash already?
Volkan

I did took advantage of the program to buy a Jetta SportWagen to replace our baby mobile. If R60 was here, I would have purchased that one. We looked at the Clubman, but a two-door setup (even with the side door) is not very practical if you are running errands and need to move your kid from the car seat few times a day. The Jetta is not a MINI, but it will serve its purpose perfectly. In the mean time, I’ll enjoy my R53. I wish the VW was creative and supplied a sticker like this. I would have used it on the Jetta.

As rooble mentioned above, the program is almost out of money. There are talks to find additional funds, but the mpg requirements might be more strict. We’ll see how this plays out…
http://minimaniac.ca/Home.html beken

Interesting this “bumper sticker” doesn’t fit a Clubman bumper.
http://www.lilcoopr.com lilcoopr

Haha oh my that is a funny one!
lavardera

As somebody who had a child with a 2dr hatchback with less access than a clubman, I’d say all this compulsion for 4drs is a bunch of hog wash. Suck it up you bunch of wimps.

We did not have a Mini, rather an Acura Integra, but the rear seat access was probably worse and lower than the Mini. In all those years I’d say there was maybe one time we needed a larger car. Hour and half drive to my in-laws, three adults, two kids, a greyhound, and all our bags for a weekend. Two adults upfront, one adult and the two kids in the back, and the greyhound in the hatch. You know what – we lived. And its actually a pretty fond memory too.
Sideways Eh!

In 2008 Canada had an EcoAuto rebate of $1000 for those who bought a more fuel efficient car. Now there was a list of cars that made the grade (MINI being one of them), but you had until March this year in order to apply for it…I would think that just like CFC the Government ran out of funds and pulled the program, because this year all we are getting is a $100 rebate on the gas tax…It’s still better than nothing, but that $1000 was a great sales pitch ;)
goat

I’m with lava on the overemphasis by so many fellow “enthusiast drivers” on the need for 4 doors. Each time I visit Europe I note families (including my own extended family) happily “crowding” into 2 door hatches or similar for family vacations. No flip down individual DVD screens and “rear HVAC controls” either! :) Back to the post… this is a clever bumper sticker… I do wish we had the “Cash for Clunkers” program, short-lived as it may have proved, in Canada.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=15612671 Alexander Chemerys

The program has already run out of money. Check CNN for details.
C4

At last, something that Mr. Lava and I can fully agree on. Have lived with 2 MINIs in our household ever since my son was born and not a single problem. Actually, it is easier to get to the back seat of a MINI than any four door car. You can even nearly stand up in the back of a MINI.

It all comes back to the classic stupid American mentality…. Baby = Biggest SUV money can buy. Here is my message to you people…. You don’t need and can’t always bring the whole house with you!

Not having individual LCD screens, DVD players and iPods in our cars are incentive enough for family conversation while on the road. MINI make families stay close together!
Franticfreddy

Concerning “CARS” or “Klunkers for Cash” Not that I want to make a political statement here. But…… What did you expect???
Jim Coco

The government found more funding to continue the program.
gokartride

Since I have always opted for high fuel efficiency in my cars, I would never have been able to take advantage of this program. That said, glad to see it is so popular and glad to see it’ll get more funding!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1145665586 DUDE!

I wonder if they’d take my ’04 S?
neuron

Why drive a car of any kind? Why not get the family of five on a scooter like millions of people do around the world? May be we all have some degree of whimpiness?
MINIme

When your MINI is run over by an SUV and your child is in the back seat, you’ll be whistling a different tune. I do pray that doesn’t happen.
MINIme

C4C is so over
Jim Coco

The extension of the program is still going through the process. It may or may not be go through.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=780739777 Chris Harte

Just think of all the perfectly good cars that are going to get scrapped as a part of this deal. I get that jingle stuck in my head every now and then that goes “1 877 kars for kids”. I think there is still use in the clunkers sector other than scrap metal. The government could probably make more money on these cars being taxed and registered by new owners, rather than scrapping them.
RamÃ³n

I haven’t seen even one Bay Area MINI dealer listed on the CFC website. I have a 1994 gas-gulping six cylinder Jeep Wrangler that I’d like to be rid of but I haven’t noticed one smug local MINI dealer sign on to the plan. The “gubmint” alloted an additional two billion dollars to the effort today.
Jim Coco

The White House said the weekend deals would count, no matter what. (talking about this weekend)
Jay Jacobs

$1 billion dollars divided by $4500 is 222,222 cars. Do you really think that a quarter million CLUNKER cars were sold in one week when average sales in the entire USA is 800,000 a month??
bee1000

I was wondering if you could find a cheap, gas-guzzling clunker for sale, buy it for $500 and then get $3500-4500 from the Cash For Clunkers program for it. Is there a requirement that you have to have owned the clunker for a certain amount of time?
RamÃ³n

bee1000: Yes, you have to be able to prove that it was insures in your name for the entire previous year.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1477028168 Andrew Zimmerman

Rather than destroying these “clunkers” I would rather see them given to or made available for purchase by low income needy families in need of transportation to get to work.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1134606899 Dean Cory

My dad has a 1986 Chevy K10 4×4 short wheel base truck that qualifies but the 2 nearest MINI dealers will not return his calls (D&R in Indy, and Jacobs in Shaumberg)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1286761775 Fredric Haberer

Try Patrick MINI in Schaumburg. They have always responded to my phone calls.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=550247827 Aaron Woolsey

Why are some folks here preaching to the choir about SUVs and getting a family of four into the MINI Cooper? If you’re going to talk about how stupid and whimpy we all are for buying larger cars when we have the means, why don’t you make an argument for people just walking, riding their bikes/donkey/mules, or maybe taking the bus. Seriously…why is there a need to criticize how other people live their lives just because they don’t live their lives in the manner by which you live yours? Maybe next time, you guys should use a typewriter to draft your comments and post them via telegraph. It’s quaint, brings back good memories and it’s what strong, smart people do, isn’t it?
SFRedMCc

Hopefully they will revise the program to allow for parts removal before crushing them. I heard something about it creating a used parts shortage. Seems like our elected “leaders” spend so much time arguing and finger pointing they can’t get anything right.

I’m not sure of the exact details, but in Japan if your car has over a set mileage you have to pay a huge surcharge to keep it longer. It’s based on the theory that the older a car gets the more it pollutes. It creates a huge market for used engines and transmissions, etc. that are shipped to the USA and other countries.

I discovered it when I had to replace the transmission on my Honda delsol. An imported used transmission was $2500 installed, it was $3000+ for Aamco to rebuild mine, and $4000+ for a Honda rebuilt transmission installed. And I think they all had the same 6-month warranty.
Mark

Dean Cory- Have you Dad call me. I work at MINI of the Main Line in Philadelphia. I can help. 484.434.2687 I’ve been a Motoring advisor for 7+ years. If it can happen I’ll be more than happy to help him out. Mark
greg

Yes Jim the politburo er…government is going to take more of our tax $ for CFC. Oh goody.
Bill Lawrence

This Cash for Clunkers thing is a mess. Why should I, as a taxpayer, have to pay for other people’s new cars? I’ve been driving fuel efficient cars for 20 years as a personal choice. Why should I have to subsidize those who chose to drive gas guzzlers? I support a person’s right to drive whatever they want, but don’t make me pay for it!
KipperFillets

In the UK the scheme allows you to trade in a car you’ve owned for over a year, that is 10 years older or more. For this you generally get Â£2000-Â£5000 off the new car, depending on how much it costs.

Most people with a car that old aren’t the sort to want to buy a new car, considering how much you lose once you’ve driven it off the forecourt.

The incentive was to get the car industry/economy moving again, but it appears that most of the people using this scheme have been buying the cheaper Korean type cars (approx Â£8000 range).

I would have thought that just scrapping a 10 year old car and replacing it with a new one would be less environmentally friendly than maybe getting the old one fully serviced.

Again it’s an attempt to be seen to be green and also getting the country back spending money, but in reality it’s been rather ineffectual.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1134606899 Dean Cory

You know, Have been thinking about it alot and talking with my non MINI friends. Sure they have gotten new cars, but they also have new car payments… and some have lost jobs in the last week.

GREAT we are green and get clunkers off the road and now they have no way to pay for the car they bought.
RamÃ³n

Just walked in the door two minutes ago from visiting MINI of San Francisco; the attitude was typically ICY.

From my previous comment, you can read that I have a clunker that qualifies for CFC, but gee; I don’t know about the bad attitude at this local MINI dealer. Do all MINI dealers slap on such high markups?

A question: Is there a noticeable difference in performance and ride between a 16″ and a 17″ wheel on a MINI?
Dave

In light of all the critical discussion of the US Cash for Clunkers program, similar programs in Europe, especially Germany, have been very successful. My wife and I watched the legislation and when the President signed the bill we took action. There was a laundry list of documents we had to provide with our â€œtrade-inâ€; two years of vehicle registrations and proof of insurance but it worked. Long story short; we now have a new â€™09 Clubman sitting in our garage. The MINI dealership did ten CFC deals in two days. They thought the â€œClunkersâ€ money, one billion dollars, would last about a week and they were right. Were we lucky, maybe a little, but it was more about taking action early and knowing how the CFC program works.
greg

@Andrew Zimmerman. Excellent point sir! However, this administration is not concerned with doing something that actually makes sense. Symbolism is more important than substance. And we all are footing the bill.

Fools.

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