MINI has found itself at the center of a peculiar incident when its website showed an exceptionally low offer for its Countryman model, a vehicle normally priced at more than €50,000.
For a brief period this weekend, customers had the opportunity to reserve this car for just 820.52 euros, a price that clearly pointed to an error on the page. And, obviously, numerous reservations were made: no one wanted to miss the opportunity to get this model at a ridiculous price.
The most striking detail of this offer was that the real cost of the vehicle was reduced to only 3.77 euros, and transportation costs raised the final price to 820.52 euros. The promotion, which quickly went viral on platforms such as Forocoches and Chollómetro, required an initial deposit of 100 euros for the reservation.
At first, the MINI website allowed this operation to be carried out without showing any sign of error, which led several enthusiastic customers to share their experience on some forums, confirming that they had managed to make the reservation and that MINI had processed the payment of the deposit of 100 euros. Therefore, they were going to get quite a bargain.
Not everyone believed it. While some speculated that the price could be related to a very low leasing fee, others, more skeptical, pointed to an obvious error on the website. However, this did not stop the most optimistic, who decided to go ahead with the reservation, encouraged by the possibility of obtaining a luxury vehicle at a bargain price.
The situation has reached such a point that MINI has had to intervene directly to clarify what happened. As reported by the Motorpasión portal, on the night of Tuesday, March 19, the company sent emails to affected customers, explaining that the price shown was an error and that reservations based on said price would not be accepted.
In addition, MINI has issued a statement clarifying the misunderstanding and has promised to refund any charges made, while apologizing for the inconvenience caused: “We want to inform you that these reservations will not be accepted, in light of the aforementioned error and as soon as possible, we will request the cancellation of any hold or charge made on your card.
Although this may anger some customers, the truth is that MINI has the right not to accept these purchases. According to the Spanish Civil Code, it is essential that there is consent between the parties for a contract to be valid, which implies that any declaration of intention must correspond to the real will of the person issuing it. In this case, MINI has had to prove that the displayed price was, in fact, a human error in order not to be obliged to honor purchases of the Countryman for €820.52.
