The Blue Bell Mini dealership in Winslow has set up a website dedicated to buying Minis to help them find enough to sell to customers. The site, www.ibuyminis.co.uk, is designed as a Mini appraisal and valuation facility.

Mini owners are asked to fill in details about their Mini, which is then passed on through Blue Bell to a used Mini specialist buyer who will in turn contact the customer with an estimated purchase price.

"Demand is very high for Minis. It's a combination of the waiting list for new Minis, the fact that Minis are setting a trend rather than being part and dependent upon one - and that we are based at the heart of one of the most affluent and image-conscious areas in Britain," says Nicola Dougall, sales manager of Blue Bell Mini.