I'm a "retired" biker and Jeeper. I wave all the time, within reason of course, sometimes we get one back and sometimes not. It's just the way things are now.

 

I got my first wave and it was from a Countryman.

 

I suspect there is a strong correlation between the type of MINI owner and the probability of receiving a wave in response.

People who are enthusiasts see their MINIs as more than basic transportation and respect other enthusiasts of similar mind are more likely to wave. We are the people who bought our MINIs when we could afford a car that cost 10 times as much and those who bought our MINIs when we couldn’t afford it but still had to have it. We are the people who pay a fortune to keep it original and those who pay a fortune to customize it.

People who bought a MINI as basic transportation, might have liked the size but would have been nearly as happy with a Civic, have no connection to their MINI and certainly not to anyone else who drives a MINI. They don’t see us as part of a club that they belong but as just another vehicle on the road standing between them and their destination.

Enthusiasts are hard to spot at 60 miles per hour. There are signs, a perfectly detailed MINI the day after a snow storm, a convertible top down on a 45 degree day, a caravan of 10 MINIs in a row. Otherwise. we tend to blend in.



Wave for the possibility that you are passing an enthusiast. Wave in the hope that the driver who could have had a Civic someday may understand how lucky they are.

 

Bought my first Mini in 2007, first year of the R56. Lots of waves. But most of them were R53's. You know, the ones with the checkered mirror caps on them. The ones whose biggest mod was a pulley. With the windup key in the towing hook slot. I actually bit on a full page ad in The Rolling Stone magazine (I still get it) with something like "Let's Motor" on it. I called the Scottsdale dealership (only one in AZ then) and found out they were having a Mini Rally the next Saturday. Lots of cars. So I showed up and found my "Sparkling Silver" (aka beige), MCS. Went back and bought for full price the next day. Best move I ever made. And I still wave. And believe it or not there are 2 other JCW Coupes JUST LIKE MINE in Prescott, AZ. Go figure.

 

Lurking on this thread...I'll chime in. Used to wave with our "03 (sold it 10 years later-daily drive-saw it last week still going) but not now. My wife's coupe got smiles, but fewer waves. My '15 MCS got no return waves, gave up five years ago.
In the last few years, women drivers in my town, in MINIs, look straight ahead with a scowl, looking like they are sitting on a corn cob. Have the impression that if I wave, they will call 911 about the pervert stalking them.
Then there are the old dudes (like me) who pull up next to me at a stoplight look straight ahead and rev their engines in their Justa...no thanks.

 

Im an old man in a Justa, I wave when I actually notice another mini. Half the time with my eyes getting older I dont notice them till they are half way past me, and lord knows how many I miss between the ones I actually spot. Ive trained my kids that as front seat co-pilots that their job is to watch the road for other minis and wave!

I don't care if people dont wave back, I just assume they are busy dealing with life and avoiding the other road users like I am, but when I get a wave it gives me a nice warm feeling, and hopefully other people feel the same way from time to time when they catch my wave. It costs me nothing so Im going to keep doing it even if many people out there have no clue whats going on.

 

I owned my 2003 back in the day when almost every MINI driver, and even the occasional non-MINI driver, would wave or give a thumbs up. I no longer own a MINI, but my boyfriend both wave when we’re out in his JCW Clubman. The other day we he noticed that we were being followed by a MINI while we were driving to San Francisco. It was an older BRG “justa” with very distinctive abstract art decals on its bonnet. Of course I turned and waved through the back window! I guess the driver noticed, because he pulled alongside us and gave us a thumbs up. He was a younger guy, possibly even a teenager. It was nice to see a kid carrying on the (ahem) old traditions!

Anyhow, if you’re the driver of that BRG MINI with boot and bonnet decor, thanks from the couple you waved to near Roseville!

 

Oooh, those Rolling Stone ads started my obsession with MINIs. They used to print little booklet ads with tongue-in-cheek descriptions, and I’d tear them out and save them. Living in Vermont, though, we had to travel to NYC at that point to find a dealership. Add that I was a poor college student, I had to wait til 2013 to finally get my own MINI.
I will always wave; it’s ingrained into my checkerboard soul <3

 

You can sometimes spot the enthusiasts by the stickers or obvious mods. Otherwise it can be hard to tell if it’s somebody who loves the car or just drives it. I saw a justa the other day and got the biggest smile and return wave I have ever had! And coming up along side other R60’s and giving them the 2 finger wave with my arm out the window and they don’t even notice..... or look at me like they are so completely baffled by it, that the fact we are driving nearly identical cars doesn’t even seem to register in their glassy eyes.
I had someone else actually initiate the wave yesterday! First time in a long time.

 

I have had a few waves and always wave back. I am a bit shy though and not usually the one to initiate such a thing. It's not that I am an unfriendly person, if you came up to me and asked me about my car (any of them) I would probably talk your ear off. I'm just one of those people who has a bit of fear of initiating in any situation where it is not absolutely necessary.

 

I only wave when I’m on my motorcycle. I find it pointless to wave to other drivers.

 

I wave all the time, when I'm driving my MINI, my motorcycle and when I'm walking the dog. I wave at the neighbors as they drive by. I don't walk with my dog on the leash, he stays close and when a car comes by, he sits next to me and I give him a baby carrot, he loves those baby carrots.

 

I wave to all the Minis I see but sadly only got one wave back. I will keep trying .

 

Still waving over here! Got a 2nd gen vert wave back at me last night, so that was pretty cool. Up to 4 people that have waved back. Probably see 4-5 countryman and the larger 4 door Mini's on the way to work (3 mile drive), but haven't gotten one to wave back yet, but im trying!

 

Buy a Jeep Wrangler or a Motorcycle if you crave other owners waving to you.
The mini is a fiat is a beetle is a soul is a miata is a cube is a tesla is a TT. Just another one of the many somewhat interesting cars driving around, mostly by people who AREN'T enthusiasts that spend time on car forums or facebook groups.

 

Because only true offroad enthusiasts buy Wranglers!

*Please read with as much sarcasm as you can muster*

 

Sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. A good drive on back roads should cure that.

 

Hah! I totally forgot. We saw another Paceman on our 6hr drive to Independence Day shenanigans! (Probably only the 3rd I've seen in two years of ownership...) We leapfrogged the other R61 (she wasn't using cruise) so she got a chance for each of us to wave spastically to her. We did get a wave back, but also a pretty heavy eyeroll. You win some, you win some.

 

I'm the king of sarcasm but you lost me there. Weather you off-road or mall crawl, Wranglers are the king of the wave. Behind motorcycles.

Or... maybe someone can't handle the truth.
Seriously, it's a car. To non-mini owner that's all it is. To MANY mini owners, it's a fun car, but that's it. The enthusiast population that cares about waves is small fraction.
Don't get me wrong, I love mini... love to drive them... love to customize them... hope to own a original someday as well.
But I couldn't care less if you wave while I'm driving. Actually, I'd rather you didn't. I'd rather just quickly admire your ride as you drive by and mostly keep my attention on driving.
Now if we are both stopped at the gas station, or in a parking lot, or at a car meet... that's a whole different story. Let's chat it up.

 

Not a Jeep guy, didn't realize it was still going strong.

My only exposure is my Sister-in-laws FIAT Renegade. She got one of the first ones and got a lot of waves from Jeeps in the beginning. Now there's a Renegade on every street corner and the sales staff keep forgetting to tell people to be friendly to other Jeeps, so logically the OG Jeep guys probably don't bother waving to Renegades any more when all they get in return is a blank stare. I can tell you I received more waves in our R56 than the R61. I also don't expect waves from sleeveless HD riders when I'm out on a BMW/Kawasaki. This is all to say that enthusiasts, even tightly knit groups, are still elitist and cliquey.

Beyond that, just like you said, for most people it's just a car. The Wrangler is easier to live with now more than ever, so I figure that dilutes the number of enthusiasts driving them which results in less waves. Similar to the popularity of the Countryman diluting the number of people who actually care about MINI.

Good for Jeep I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Apologies for the confusion.

 

My aunt in England had a Citroën 2CV. I'm pretty sure they were 100% wavers.

 

You missed the first post of this thread! I have a Wrangler and get the wave; have a Honda S2000 and get the wave, and had the same MINI back in '03 and got the wave. In my area I can guarantee you that the Wrangler owners see them just as another car, but still wave. I'm guessing there's a disconnect from the showroom to the street; maybe the salesman aren't explaining the 'culture' to them? It's funny though, I mix up which cars to look for when I'm driving the different cars, and my Fiance lets me know that I forgot to wave to the other Jeep that waved as it drove past.

 

Hah! I do the same. I seem to find cool MINIs while driving the FIAT and vice versa. I still wave, even if it confuses them a bit.

Once in a long while I'll wave at a cool motorcycle in a car and feel real stupid. -_-

 

I wave to bikes, Jeeps, and Fiats. I love all cars. i guess that’s why i have had close to 60 in my lifetime. There’s something about this little car that makes me think I will keep it.

 

The wife and I went for a couple of drives this week in her F57 and saw about 10 or 12 Mini's. Waved at all, but got only 2 of them to wave back. Went to a State Park and was following an older red conv. from IL., and actually got a friendly chat between vehicles. I've got 300K+ riding street bikes (tourers, standards, crotch-rockets) and "waving" was a big thing. Heck, I've owned two Jeep Wranglers, and yeh, it's a "thing".Times are a chang'n! Mac