I would be grateful if I could seek your advice with regards to an issue that has arisen with our local BMW/Mini dealership. I currently drive a Mini Cooper Countryman N16 1.6 petrol which I bought new from the dealership in September 2011 for a total cost of £24,700 inc VAT, which had the Chilli Pack and other accessories. Recently, when the car was with the dealership, we had a BMW 3 Series Coupe loan car and my partner and I were impressed by the performance of the car, especially as the Mini Countryman has proved to somewhat sluggish (though practical and comfortable) to drive and not as lively as our previous Mini Cooper 1.6 we previously owned or the Clubman Cooper S we also own.

As a result, we seriously considered trading the Countryman in exchange for a BMW 520d SE Business Edition Touring 59 plate and 35,000 miles on the clock, priced at £17,800. We were very surprised to be offered £13,500 trade in for the Countryman by Listers, King's Lynn, bearing in mind the car is only 16 months old and has done less that 16,000 miles. Having looked at Parker's website for a similar specification car in excellent condition (as ours is) we think that the part exchange offer from the dealer was £3-4000 below value. Though even if our expectations are too optimistic, surely £13,500 is woefully low?