Do any of the week 11-ers have a VIN or actual production date yet? I know production is still over a week away, but I kinda wanna know when I should start calling ASK MINI again..

 

Nope not yet - and it's killing me not to call ASK MINI or my MA daily for an update. I've never ordered a car, so the wait is something new!

 

I don't have a VIN yet either. I'd expect by tomorrow or Monday the VIN should be available. When I started calling the Canadian Ask MINI line back in December, I frequently got friendly people. These days they're less helpful...not sure what changed. You'd think in this economy that the service would be getting BETTER.

 

And here I was going to say I got the nicest lady when I called Luck of the draw I guess.

It seems the VIN comes with the day they start gathering parts for your car, or maybe a day or two beforehand. I can't recall when the info in my "Review your Order" on miniusa.com disappeared, but it seems that when that info disappeared is when I got my VIN.

Of course, the information is back again so maybe it was just a coincidence.

 

Stupid question, but I'm new to chatting like this on line. Why is the week 11 support group a thread and not a forum? Semantics?
Wish I had more to report on my vin etc, but am gonna hit my buddiy's bachelor party this weekend and try to forget about the agony for a few days

 

Well, a thread is a particular line of discussion. A forum is composed of all the threads.

Enjoy the party

 

Yeah, board lingo is a bit different from chat lingo but you'll pick it up quickly. Also, people on NAM are pretty nice in general compared to some other motoring boards I've belonged to.

 

Am I correct in assuming that we won't get any updates from the OL or ASK MINI during the weekend?

Regardless, I am pretty excited...I was quoted 6-8 weeks when I ordered last Saturday, which means I can now say I'm down to 5-7 weeks!

Welcome djeffr

 

Yeah, I wouldn't expect any changes since they ceased weekend production.

 

Perihelion, I have no idea how you have waited this long already. I'm thinking once we actually start production this "tracking" process will be more fun, when we actually have something to track

So, question for all of you orderers - are you getting any of those dealer extras they try to sell you on? I've always been taught to say no no no, but I figured since I have so long to wait, I might as well ask around for some advice!

This is what I've been offered:
- InTire (tire & wheel coverage)
- DingShield
- Key Replacement Plan (they said they only recommend this for cars with comfort access)
- Maintenance Upgrade 6 yr / 100K
- Paint Protectant (don't have the name on this - supposed to protect the finish and they will repair if it doesn't)

Thoughts?

 

So I'm very impatient and decided to call the ASK MINI line and speak to a live rep....and they told me that as of 8:03 this morning, my MINI is in production!! what a surprise!

My OL status still shows "On Order" and the automated ASK MINI still says it's "Scheduled for Production with No Confirmed Production Date".

 

Heh, even when there's not a lot of info in the Owner's Lounge (like over the weekend, or when you're car's still in the "gathering parts" stage) you can do some fun "tracking related" things. I figured out the two likely ships that my car would be on, the TORRENS (03/10 - 9 day transit) or the TOPEKA (03/13 - 10 day transit). I've got it easy on that front though, my dealer's cars all go through the New York port (which is really in NJ) and BMW only uses one shipping line (the WW) to that port.

As for extras, I personally will not be getting any dealer 'extras', they're just not worth it. They're either overpriced or sold under the expectation that either you'll never need it or that they'll be able to deny the claim.

So if there are any that you're even considering, make sure to really read the fine print.

And for some things (like the DingShield or Paint Protectant), those are often contracted out anyway. Find out who they're contracting with and either go to that business directly (almost certainly cheaper) or find someone better.

 

Great news bogs! Good idea on calling; the OL status is always "late" - don't expect to see it change until like Wednesday.

Did they tell you when the expected completion date was? Usually it's 8 days, so next Wednesday if there aren't any delays

 

bogs - awesome news! I called ASK MINI this morning as well, and I'm still only scheduled for production next week.

As for the "other stuff", I've only considered the clear bra. My current car (Scion tC) is pock-marked like a 16-year-old's acne filled face - but this being my second Scion, I know they have extremely thin paint, so I'm blaming it on that. And I got a non-metallic paint for my MINI, and in my experience, it's easier to touch up than metallics...

Any of the other stuff is just not worth it....

BUT the "stuff" I'm looking at now is all the goodies I want to add: glovebox organizer, center console storage tray, possibly the boot box (I need a place to carry all my detailing stuff), maybe even the magnetic stone guards (I think they'll look cool on the OxyBlue)...

 

cameroon - I didn't think to ask when production is supposed to end, I was in too much shock! I am on the WW site now trying to figure out when I'll be shipping out...maybe on the TOPEKA on the 13th if I'm lucky (I'm going to the NY port as well).

Atomic - is the clear bra the same thing as the overall paint protection or is it something different? my current car has tons of those little spots, but I got ripped off on the paint protection for that and clearly it didn't help (though I guess it might be even worse if I didn't have it). BTW, I LOVE the oxygen blue! if it was an S color, I would have gotten that without a doubt. I ended up doing Chili Red so at least I get to share in the benefits of a non-metallic paint with you!

 

I ordered on February 23, and ASK MINI says that Molly II is scheduled for Week 11 production. Cool

 

Bogs,
after reading about your status, I checked my status on OL also, sure enough, its "scheduled for production."
I need to call ASKMINI.

But does this mean you're actually week #10 now?

 

I guess that does make me Week 10. I'm kind of skeptical, though - my OL online still doesn't even show me as "Scheduled for Production", just "On Order".

Also, welcome oldsbear!

 

Thanks for the welcome I thought it would be an easier wait this time, but it seems I am equally obsessed with waiting for Molly II.

 

Cool, looks like some new faces (Or returning faces, in the case of oldsbear)

Bogs, seems like the TOPEKA is a good candidate. I'm hoping to be on the TORRENS myself, but if I miss that then perhaps we'll be shipmates

 

As far as I know the clear bra is NOT the same as the overall paint protection (my paperwork lists them separately as "Super Polysteel" and "Roadblock") - the Roadblock/Clear Bra is a urethane film that goes over the front end, and supposedly you can't see it unless you look REALLY hard...

I have no idea what the heck "Super PolySteel" is...and for $600, I don't want it.

 

I found two nearly information-free URLs about Super PolySteel - http://iasdirect.com/products/polysteel/ and http://superpolyshield.com/ (the site says PolySteel even though the URL says polyshield - *shrug*)

Anyway, the second site has a "check back in April 2009", so it seems very new.

 

Back to the thread's topic:

Called Ask-Mini, told me: my production started 2/27 in the morning. On OL, my status up til last week was "on order", yesterday it changed to "scheduled for production." I feel like I'm being pushed around like a cheap date (in a good way, if thats possible): last week was week #9, wasn't it? Anyways, try calling Ask-Mini, you guys might get some good news!

 

Called yesterday and no change, will call again tomorrow. Had a brief scare where MINI Canada had the wrong specs on my order just a week from production, but yesterday they checked again and all was correct. For all the waiting, this car better be awesome when it gets here.

 

Just keep in mind that you'll still likely get yours before people in Australia whose cars are done now. Poor guy (http73 I think) found out his car is done, but he won't see it until like April 30. Ouch.