--- title: "The Car Shortage Is So Severe Mini Wants You To Do a Puzzle While You Wait" description: "Due to parts shortages, many Mini customers have been waiting ages for their cars, so Mini is sending them puzzles to do while they wait." date: "2022-06-27" modified: "2022-06-27" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-car-shortage-is-so-severe-mini-wants-you-to-do-a-puzzle-while-you-wait" categories: - "Mini News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "MINI" --- # The Car Shortage Is So Severe Mini Wants You To Do a Puzzle While You Wait ![]() Global supply chain shortages continue to affect both car brands and customers, as many of the former can't keep up with orders from the latter. Faced with supply chain shortages that are drastically delaying customers' orders, [Mini]() announced last week that it has a plan. To help alleviate customers' frustrations waiting, Mini will send some customers puzzles—some of which are life-sized—to assemble while they wait for their order. Mini is calling these puzzles “THE WE’RE-WORKING-HARD-TO-GET-YOU-YOUR-CAR, WAITING-IS-THE-WORST, IN-THE-MEANTIME-HAPPY-PUZZLING, MINI PUZZLE." Or just "NOT SO MINI" puzzle. (That wasn't a joke, that's actually the name.) Mini isn't saying how many puzzles they'll send, or who will receive the puzzles. Not all customers will receive a life-sized puzzle either, a regular-sized puzzle will be shipped too. (We'll update this post if we hear back on those specifics.) ![]() It would be cool if each customer received a puzzle of the car they ordered, so customers could create a reminder of the car that's not yet parked in their garage. Plus, once they finally get their car, the puzzle would become a nice little collector's item to go along with it. “People buy a MINI because of its cheeky and fun-to-drive spirit, so we wanted to give owners something fun to do while they wait to get behind the wheel of their new MINI,” Mini spokesperson Rah Mahtani said in a statement. At first, this seemed to me like a hilariously pathetic way to deal with [supply chain shortages]() and order delays. After thinking about it, though, it's actually a fun little way to show that Mini hasn't forgotten its customers. Mini could do like many brands and just ghost its customers who are looking for updates on their cars but instead it's chosen to send them a small gift. So as silly as a puzzle might seem, Mini could be sending its customers nothing instead. *Got a tip? Send it to tips@thegarage.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()