[TJKonarski]

I've been waiting for my new MCS convertible and have been watching it's progress on the Owner's Lounge. Just so you know, the Owners Lounge is not accurate with a real-time glance into where your MINI might be. (Keep in mind me and my MINI dealership are in Michigan and the Distribution Center is in South Carolina.) So, how do I know the Owners Lounge is not accurate?... Yesterday on the Owners Lounge my MINI went from "En Route" to "At Distribuition Center" (with the next step being "At Your MINI Dealer".) Well, on a whim today I drove by my MINI dealership with the VIN number to my MINI in my pocket. While cruising around the lot I noticed a MINI that looked like one I ordered so I stopped to check it out. Curiousity got me and I compared the VIN of that MINI to the number I had written on the paper I brought -- It matched!!! It was my car!!! It's already here at my MINI dealer!!! I confronted my sales person and her response was that it probably arrived at the dealership late the night before or early that morning and it hadn't been "checked in" yet -- That SHE didn't even know it was there. My point is that whether this is true or not the MINI Owners Lounge is very inaccurate. However, the good side is that my MINI is here a week earlier than I anticipated. So no harm done, right! ;-)

[Paul]

Thanks for sharing your experiences (and welcome to MINI2).

I've moved this thread to the Delivery, Shipping & Order Tracking forum where you can find quite a lot about tracking your MINI more accurately.

[afromanbob]

That must have been an awesome experience! I'd be absolutely in shock to basically randomly find my MINI at the dealer. Congradulations!

[ChicagoGator]

The status is not that accurate, but the delivery date (EDD) gets updated pretty quickly. The EDD started at 10/13 when it first arrived in SC on 10/5. Friday morning, it showed 10/11 and then switched to 10/9 on Friday afternoon. At that point, I called my MA and he said it was on the truck for delivery either that evening or Saturday. As of now, the OL still shows the status as "at fhe VDC" even though it has an estimated delivery date in the past (yesterday). Since my MA is out on Monday, I should be able to pick it up on Tues.

For comparison, here are the timelines for my MCSC order...

Deposit --> 5/15
Ordered --> 8/3
Start Production --> 9/16
Completed Prod --> 9/18
Boarded boat --> 9/24
Arrived in SC --> 10/5
At Dealer in Chicago --> 10/9
Pick up --> 10/12

[TJKonarski]

Thanks Paul Mullett -- I haven't spent much time searching around the forums. I appreciate that you took the time to put my post in the proper area. ;-)

ChicagoGator -- Hey! Your birthday is the day after mine.

Hope to get my MINI Monday afternoon. However, here in the U.S. it is Columbus day on Monday the 11th and most banks are closed. I'm hoping my credit union doesn't officially observe this holiday and is open for business. If they aren't, then I will be picking up my MINI on Tuesday. I've waited 2 months for my new MINI. If I have to wait another day it'll be the longest 24 hours I've ever had to live!

[mataku]

Quote: Originally Posted by ChicagoGator

Deposit --> 5/15
Ordered --> 8/3
Start Production --> 9/16
Completed Prod --> 9/18
Boarded boat --> 9/24
Arrived in SC --> 10/5
At Dealer in Chicago --> 10/9
Pick up --> 10/12

hm... interesting. My MINI is scheduled to be complete on 10/19. Since I live in Chicago, hopefully it follows your schedule and I get my MINI by 11/13. That would be nice, just enough time to get the car prepped for the winter.

[ChicagoGator]

Note that my Mini went though the VDC very quickly as it was at the dealer 4 days after arriving at the port. That might be balanced by a shorter wait for the boat as mine sat at the dock almost a full week.

It also depends on whether yours starts production early or not. This, I believe, depends on the color of your Mini as they do them in batches. Mine could have started as early as week 46, but only started in week 48, which was the confirmed production week from the beginning.

Mataku, what dealer did you go through and who was your MA?

[MINIAC]

Here's my timeline for a West Coast delivery in 2002:

04/26 - On Order (received production number)
05/03 - Status 111 and 112
05/17 - Status 150 (Week 23 [ending 06/07] build)
05/27 - Status 152 (being painted)
05/28 - Status 160 (released for distribution - a week early)
05/29 - Status 182 (waiting for train)
05/30 - Status 193 (in Southampton, loaded on Tricolor)
06/25 - Status 196 (in Oxnard, discharged from Tricolor)
06/26 - At VPC
06/27 - Released to carrier
06/29 - Arrived at dealer (East Bay MINI)

[ChicagoGator]

That's really quick especially considering yours had a 26 day boat ride.

[afromanbob]

Where in the OL does it have any dates?

[mataku]

there are no dates in the OL. Call ASK MINI and you will get more detailed information.

ChicagoGator: I ordered from KNAUZ with David Olenick, you?

[afromanbob]

Ok, that's what I thought. I'm just making sure I wasn't being stupid.

[ChicagoGator]

After my boat was unloaded, the Owners lounge was updated to show an estimated delivery date. Note at that time, the status on the OL still showed my car as being en-route even though I knew it had landed.

Mataku, I ordered mine from John Giuliano at Patrick in Schaumburg. I had heard Knauz was pretty good, but Patrick is more convenient for me. Have you checked out the Chicago Mini group site? http://www.chicagominiclub.com/ They plans some pretty decent events, usually north of the city. Fortunately, my Mini made it in time for this weekend's event, as I have been looking forward to it for a couple months now. When are you expecting your Mini to arrrive?

[mataku]

ChicagoGator: Yah for me the distance between the three is pretty much the same. I ordered from Knauz because my uncle works for the Mercedes dealership of Knauz and I was hoping for a deal. I'm pretty happy with Knauz, they give free washes every Saturday and courtesy car. I'll definitely be using those free washes during the winter when i can't take care of it myself. I actually went to Patrick first, but the people there didn't seem to really care so I don't really know too well what it's like over there. I hope to get it by Nov. 19, hopefully sooner. I did check out the club site and it is pretty intriguing although i'm worried about what the background of the people there are. I'm 19, and I would tend to think that there are mostly older people there. They may not look to kindly to a 19 year old with a lowly MC.

regards.

[vagt6]

The OL is not that reliable. My MINI arrived at my dealership last Saturday and the OL still indicates that it's "at distribution center". As noted in the above posts, the OL seems to be several days late in many cases.

Tracking is fun, but it may drive you nuts! Use with caution . . .

[mataku]

tracking is addicting, yesterday was the first day since my order that I didn't check the OL or call MINIUSA. I was going to try to not check it again today, but my hands started trembling and I got very cold so I caved and called ASKMINI. beware of the effects of withdrawal.