[MiniDaze]

You guys crack me up!!

I can relate to worrying about them tracking how often we call! (and even our dealerships being able to see such info)

Thankfully, I haven't quite gotten to the stage some of you are at...but, still felt like I was calling awfully regularly to see if my car had gone into 150 status yet or not. (felt like AGES before that happened)

Can only guess what it will be like when it's completed & I, like you all, am trying to figure out what ship it's getting on.

Btw, can I ask? (feel free to ignore) ;-)
My Cooper is supposed to be completed March 25. (hard to believe, since it wasn't even in the paint shop yet on Friday)
Anyway, the odds are really bad aren't they that it would be able to make the boat that leaves 3 days later for California, right? Has anyone confirmed that THEIR car made such a tight connection?? (saw a convertible here might have, but it wasn't confirmed yet) If so, I can cling to that unlikely hope for now.

It was days ago I saw info here that said there was a boat on March 28 to Calif. From that, it looked like it might be another whole 2 weeks until another one. Am I missing something here? That seems awfully infrequent.
Am I missing a whole line of boats? (perhaps that was only WW & not K-line ships?)
Not sure now....

Gosh...this is nerve-wracking & exciting all at the same time!
I've had to wait sooo long for my car even to be built, that I just wish it could somehow sneak onto a boat leaving only a couple of days later. Guess I'll keep dreamin' for now, eh? Thanks for any info you might share...

[AprilWhine]

My last car was completed on May 17 and on a boat on May 20, so it can be done. Don't worry about not being in the paint shop yet, I'm due to complete today March 21 and spent the weekend in the paint shop according to ASK MINI.

I call once a day, around 8 am. Sometimes again in the afternoon too. But I'm going to step that up now that I'm due to complete today.

[Pamlico]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tazminia

<snip>
I'm calling my MA tomorrow to see if she can tell me whether our Mini is on the K-Line vessels or not.,.

Remember your MA does not know if your car is on a K-Line vessel.

You need to request the bill of lading from the MA and then call K-Line at the number previously posted. Choose 'Auto Cargo' option and give them the Bill of Lading #. They should be able to tell you if that B of L is on one of their ships.

[rsinsheimer]

Quote: Originally Posted by MiniDaze

Anyway, the odds are really bad aren't they that it would be able to make the boat that leaves 3 days later for California, right? Has anyone confirmed that THEIR car made such a tight connection?? (saw a convertible here might have, but it wasn't confirmed yet) If so, I can cling to that unlikely hope for now.

It was days ago I saw info here that said there was a boat on March 28 to Calif. From that, it looked like it might be another whole 2 weeks until another one. Am I missing something here? That seems awfully infrequent.
Am I missing a whole line of boats? (perhaps that was only WW & not K-line ships?)
Not sure now.... .

You need to understand that MINI is no longer using W-W for the US West Coast, they're using K-line or NYK. So trying to figure out when your car might leave Southhampton by looking at the posted W-W schedule is meaningless. NYK has 7 ships a month heading to Port Hueneme from Southampton, or about twice a week. So your car won't collect too much dust before it ships. My car was listed as "At port awaiting a ship" on 3/11, and "In transit" on 3/15. According to my MA, it'll be at the VDC on 4/3. Once you're on a ship, figure 22 days for transit to Port Hueneme (don't know if that includes loading / unloading time), then the VDC time (could be 3 days, could be 3 weeks, depends on if your car was damaged in transit and other factors) then trucking time to your dealer, then dealer prep'. . . . Sigh -- I want my car now!

[Tazminia]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pamlico

Remember your MA does not know if your car is on a K-Line vessel.

You need to request the bill of lading from the MA and then call K-Line at the number previously posted. Choose 'Auto Cargo' option and give them the Bill of Lading #. They should be able to tell you if that B of L is on one of their ships.

Sorry, bad wording on my part. It should have read "I'm calling my MA tomorrow to see if she can tell me (...the B of L to so I can tell...) whether our Mini is on the K-Line vessels or not.

I kinda sorta knew what I meant to say but shortened it too much. But thanks for pointing that out to me.

Mea culpa,
Randy

[Pamlico]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tazminia

Sorry, bad wording on my part. It should have read "I'm calling my MA tomorrow to see if she can tell me (...the B of L to so I can tell...) whether our Mini is on the K-Line vessels or not.

I kinda sorta knew what I meant to say but shortened it too much. But thanks for pointing that out to me.

Mea culpa,
Randy

Forgiven .............. this one time only.

[btdoyle]

So my cooper s is supposed to be done on the 23rd i know the Jingu Maru leaves on the 25th right? Im guessing thats my first opportunity to hop the pond but when is the next one coming to the east coast? I just want my mini

[dpacker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tazminia

Well, just to let you know-you don't have to feel like the Lone Ranger on that Deb. I too have been calling about every few hours (like 4 or 5) to see if our Mini has been assigned a ship and as of a few minutes ago it's not assigned yet. (do they work 7 days a week there or did I just waste my time this weekend?)

I think I read that they work three shifts during the period of the day with a non-stop line. It was at that point that I realized that I could call at all hours of the day to check the status. And, I forget who said that it was a good thing that the number is toll-free, but I couldn't agree more. If it were one of those $1.99 per minute numbers, I could be in big trouble!

One question for you ship experts. Last week my car immediately showed up on a WW liner when it finished production and was bumped. There is a vessel that is leaving tomorrow, but I still don't show as booked on anything. If your MINI travels by one of those K-Line vessels (or that other one that I can't remember), should your status still change at 866-ASK-MINI? I hadn't called for my B of L number yet because I was expecting to see it booked for the WW vessel leaving tomorrow.

[rsinsheimer]

Quote: Originally Posted by dpacker

One question for you ship experts. Last week my car immediately showed up on a WW liner when it finished production and was bumped. There is a vessel that is leaving tomorrow, but I still don't show as booked on anything. If your MINI travels by one of those K-Line vessels (or that other one that I can't remember), should your status still change at 866-ASK-MINI? I hadn't called for my B of L number yet because I was expecting to see it booked for the WW vessel leaving tomorrow.

The only way your status will change is that it will report "in transit", the only way you can tell if your on a W-W ship is if you're in transit and you're showing up on their website. If you're in transit and not listed on W-W, then either you're on NYK or K-line, or your MINI has gotten tired of waiting and is driving itself across the pond on the sea bottom.

[Tazminia]

Quote: Originally Posted by rsinsheimer

The only way your status will change is that it will report "in transit", the only way you can tell if your on a W-W ship is if you're in transit and you're showing up on their website. If you're in transit and not listed on W-W, then either you're on NYK or K-line, or your MINI has gotten tired of waiting and is driving itself across the pond on the sea bottom.

Won't that play hell with the rust-through warranty?

[am0eba]

Well I spent entirely too much effort to get this, and I will try to provide a method for others to follow-up on their own at the end, but I just confirmed that my MCS Ragtop, Murray (built March 16, 2005) is onboard the NYK Line ship Capricornus Leader. It departed from Southampton UK on Friday, March 18, and is scheduled to arrive at Port Hueneme, CA on April 13.

How did I get this?

1. When I called the automated "Vehicle Production Status" at ASK-MINI, it changed from "Awaiting vessel" (When I called on March 18) to "In Transit" (when I called on Saturday, March 19.)

2. My VIN was not recognized by the W&W shipping Auto Tracking web page.

3. I called my dealer (South Bay MINI, Torrance, CA) and asked if they had any info about it. They gave me the Bill Of Lading ("BOL") Number, but had no info about what shipping line or vessel it was on. (The BOL started out with the characters "NYKS", so I cut the gordian knot and deduced that the vessel is part of the NYK Line. Unfortunately, NYK don't easily (If at all...) provide this kind of info on the web, unless you're a registered customer, i.e. MINI!)

4. I called NYK's Customer Service number for the US: 1-888-NYK-SHIP (1-888-695-7447) and explained my situation and provided the BOL number. I was then informed that they only had info for container vessels at that number. FOrtunately, the person I talked with was kind enough to provide the contact number for RO/RO (Roll-on/Roll-Off) vessels: 1-310-618-6073 (Advisory: this may only be valid for West Coast vessels. The area code is that same as mine (!) and I live in San Pedro, CA - right next to the Port of Los Angeles - hundreds of miles from Port Heuneme.)

5. I called the RO/RO info number, explained my situation, gave them my BOL and was provided with the ship's name and estimated date of arrival.

YAY!

For those also sailing on the Capricornus Leader, you can find a nice photo and vital info at:

http://translate.google.com/translat...3Den% 26lr%3D

I'd be happy to hear from any shipmates!

_Dave_

[HoustonMini]

nice Dave, thanks for the info. I'm sure other Mini owners will find it usefull in the future. You should PM

MINIAC (I think that's the username of the mod of this board..not sure though)

or another mod so they can add that info to the FAQ with the WW info.

[MiniDaze]

Thanks so much for the further info & assistance & most importantly,
HOPE!!

Will keep fingers crossed. Called Ask-Mini & it STILL shows 150 status...
not even in the body shop yet. :-{ (and supposed to be completed by Friday)

But, I'll hang in there...if April says hers just got into the paint shop & is supposed to be done today? Exciting for you April!!!

Gosh...this stage is soooo nail-biting.
Appreciate everyone's wonderful info here.
It really clarified what we West Coasters need to do.

[dpacker]

Quote: Originally Posted by rsinsheimer

The only way your status will change is that it will report "in transit", the only way you can tell if your on a W-W ship is if you're in transit and you're showing up on their website. If you're in transit and not listed on W-W, then either you're on NYK or K-line, or your MINI has gotten tired of waiting and is driving itself across the pond on the sea bottom.

Well, I hope that my MINI is more patient than I am because I wouldn't want it to drown!

Thanks for the info. I guess that means I'm still stuck at the port then! Haven't been there, but I'm getting really tired of the port! Just how many cars can there be in front of some of us? Wouldn't you think if you got bumped off of one boat that you would be somewhat near the front of the line for the next one? Or, was my MINI being bad? Did it get sent to the end of the line?

Those were all rhetorical. I'm just venting this evening. Don't feel obligated to reply.

At least some of you are having good luck, so that's cool. Have a great week everyone!

Debbie

[Ken30307]

Quote: Originally Posted by MiniDaze

Thanks so much for the further info & assistance & most importantly,
HOPE!!

Will keep fingers crossed. Called Ask-Mini & it STILL shows 150 status...
not even in the body shop yet. :-{ (and supposed to be completed by Friday)

But, I'll hang in there...if April says hers just got into the paint shop & is supposed to be done today? Exciting for you April!!!

Gosh...this stage is soooo nail-biting.
Appreciate everyone's wonderful info here.
It really clarified what we West Coasters need to do.

I know the feeling. I called ASKMINI and spoke to a rep today..my MCCa status is 150 too. It's supposed to be completed by Thursday. She did hint that there might be a change by tomorrow since they started production on the 15th.

But..it's given me time to start to investigate other financing options. Global Imports has been so slow in getting back to me about financing, I decided to get a home equity loan instead to pay for my MINI.


What are the rest of you doing to statisy your MINI cravings?

[Tazminia]

Quote: Originally Posted by dpacker

Well, I hope that my MINI is more patient than I am because I wouldn't want it to drown!

Thanks for the info. I guess that means I'm still stuck at the port then! Haven't been there, but I'm getting really tired of the port! Just how many cars can there be in front of some of us? Wouldn't you think if you got bumped off of one boat that you would be somewhat near the front of the line for the next one? Or, was my MINI being bad? Did it get sent to the end of the line?

Those were all rhetorical. I'm just venting this evening. Don't feel obligated to reply.

At least some of you are having good luck, so that's cool. Have a great week everyone!

Debbie

Deb, I don't know what to make of this news but I thought I would relay what my MA told me tonight. She told me she could not get the B of L at all. She also told me that her dealership alone was waiting for over 30 Minis and some have been built before mine ! And here I was hoping to be jumping on a boat soon. *grumble*
As of today, I re-checked the WW line and saw these updated departures:
(corrected as of today-all from Southhampton to Charleston)
23/03/2005 - Patriot
25/03/2005 - Madame Butterfly
01/04/2005 - Resolve
07/04/2005 - Maersk Teal

That about covers the next week anyways.
Now that I think about it...are you even watching for the S.C. port or the N.Y. port? Oh well, if not then hopefully this post will be useful to someone else who is watching the S.C. port.
Have a good one...
Randy

[erickvonzipper]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ken30307

What are the rest of you doing to statisy your MINI cravings?

I just watched both versions of The Italian Job on DVD. I think that just made it worse (the waiting, that is). ;o)

Zip

[btdoyle]

does anybody know which east coast port is used for chicago bound cars?

[dpacker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tazminia

As of today, I re-checked the WW line and saw these updated departures:
(corrected as of today-all from Southhampton to Charleston)
23/03/2005 - Patriot
25/03/2005 - Madame Butterfly
01/04/2005 - Resolve
07/04/2005 - Maersk Teal

That about covers the next week anyways.
Now that I think about it...are you even watching for the S.C. port or the N.Y. port? Oh well, if not then hopefully this post will be useful to someone else who is watching the S.C. port.
Have a good one...
Randy

Thanks - didn't realize that the dates had changed. Who knows...maybe we'll get lucky! And yes, I'm watching for SC port deliveries.

[Tazminia]

Quote: Originally Posted by dpacker

Thanks - didn't realize that the dates had changed. Who knows...maybe we'll get lucky! And yes, I'm watching for SC port deliveries.

Someone asked about Chicago. Don't those go through NY? I thought I saw that somewhere...but I'm not sure.

Let's hope we get on one of those for sure.
As for the Chicago Minis btdoyle asked about...that's where my Mini will be going (Bill Jacobs Mini) . I can't speak for all dealers up in that area (isn't there 2 or 3 in that vicinity?) but my MA in Chicago said all the Minis in her dealership go through SC.
Hope that helps y'all.
And the waiting continues....
Randy