It’s reassuring isn’t it when someone admits a mistake. Sticks up their hand – without being prompted – and says: ‘It’s a fair cop, we made a mistake, we’re sorry, and now we want to do everything we can to amend this oversight’.

It rather takes the wind out of your sails, and especially so if you were getting all steamed up to let them have both barrels on the matter.

But equally, and far more importantly, doesn’t it also make you see the individual or company in a new light?

Which is precisely why BMW, parent firm of Cowley-based MINI, should be praised for contacting owners of Cooper S and John Cooper Works models, nearly 30,000 in all, built between 2006 and 2011, after technical tests revealed a problem with the water pump attached to the turbo charger.

The firm says that in extreme cases high temperatures can cause the part to fail and “the possibility of a fire cannot be excluded.”

All affected models worldwide are being recalled with the part being replaced free of charge.

But as a MINI spokesman was keen to stress: “The possibility of a fire is very rare and we are not aware of any accidents or injuries as a result.”

No wonder the firm is so highly regarded. And no wonder the car is so trusted and loved.