Go to: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ser...spx?level1=170
Click on "My Fleet, My Notifications, My Data" link (should be first link in list)
Follow directions for signing up for email notification. For "My Fleet", you can select the Topeka from their list.

btw, it now shows arriving at Port: Panama Anch Pacific...loose translation: 1/4 of the ship in the canal; 3/4 of the ship in the Pacific (lol). Original arrival date at Port Hueneme, CA was always 11/15. Then it changed to 11/14. Now it's back to 11/15. So it'll get there when it gets there...sigh.

 

Very very nice and smooth. NAM 1st Gears Approved!

 

My MINI was riding the 'Triton Leader' and docked at Hueneme Port, CA this morning! Si I guess a few days there, then a five day trip to Hawaii. I'm guessing I get the car by the end of next week. Crossing fingers

 

Well the OL finally moved Winston to the VDC at Brunswick GA! I emailed my MA today and he indicated they are installing Winston's JCW Tuning kit at the VDC before he comes to Florida. Shouldn't be too much longer!

 

How long does it usually take to go from "Order Accepted" to where they actually put all your stuff in your Owners Lounge page and start building? My dealer put my order in a few days ago.

 

Kurtster, here's the dates for my car, maybe your experience will be similar:

9/27 - order put in for car
10/1 - MA called me with production number, I signed up on the OL, it said 'scheduled for production'
10/11 - suddenly OL reports my car has been built, and awaiting transportation
11/7 - finally OL says my car is 'en route to distribution center'

That's everything I got from the OL, it's still 'en route'

Cheers!

 

Vehicle in Production, scheduled completion date 11/16! WooHoo!

 

She's beautiful! I like the gray interior and the roof rack!

 

$1000 is worth a little wait! Car salesmen can be so weird! Because they rely so much on commission, some of them take things way too personally and they can get pretty disrespectful. Many of the ones i have dealt with didn't really know their cars that well, and some of them to handled the sales processs in a fairly awkward manor. We had one tell us that the headlights were "made with technology." We still like to point at car headlights and quote him.

 

Well, personally, I prefer headlights that are "made with technology".

 

I just received word from ASK-MINI that my auto was "born" earlier today. They told me it is now going through processing before being transported to the port. Maybe I will have her in a couple weeks?


Ordered: Oct. 16, Prod. Start: Oct. 30, Born: Nov. 8, In Transit: ?, Est. Delivery: ?
2013 Cooper S Hardtop - Eclipse Grey w/ Black Stripes

 

Here are the dates for Winston:

ordered: 8/28
in production: 9/27 (long wait maybe due to month of August shut down)
born/awaiting transp:10/6
enroute: date never posted!
at VDC: 11/7

I suppose options chosen have a lot to do with building time since they have to get everything together to feed the assembly line.

Best course of action may be to wait a "reasonable" time and then bug your MA periodically.

 

Still no word on my Highgate.

Arrived at the Port in Bayonne, NJ, on Thursday 10/25, just in time for Hurricane Sandy, which arrived the following Monday.

The dealer was closed (No power) all last week, so very little reliable info. I got a sketchy report on Saturday, that they think it's still at the port, and they don't think the cars at the port were damaged. Hmmm . . . I find it hard to believe that any car sitting in a lot at the port, anywhere near the water was not flooded. They did mention that 200 cars at the VDC were flooded.

Since the port did not open until Monday, it's unlikely that it will get to the dealer soon, especially if they're having problems at the VDC. My MA was off Mon/Tues/Wed of this week, so I haven't heard anything since Saturday. Then of course, there's the little problem of not being able to get gas for the cars. So I figure:

a) My car floated out to sea last week.
b) It's in limbo and and I may not see it for a while.
c) It's sitting at the dealership right now and my MA just hasn't called me yet. (I know . . . long shot).

Waiting for the phone to ring.

El K.

 

I hope you find out something soon. Are there still major gas issues up there?

 

There seems to be a good bit of wiggle room. Factors include where you are, it takes longer for ships to reach the west coast, when your car makes it to the port, you can get on a ship the same day you arrive at the port or wait there a week or more. Shipping horror stories like El Kabong seems to be living, how far you are from a port, etc....

My MCS was Born on Oct. 26th and is due into the port of Baltimore on Saturday.

 

@ GlazerFL: Scamp's assessment is correct, re: factors, final delivery location, etc. Here's the schedule for my COKESTR:

Ordered: 10/1
Born: 10/12
Departed Southampton: 10/25
En Route: on WW Topeka, made it through Panama Canal yesterday (11/7)
Arrive at Port Hueneme, CA: 11/15
Arrive at Northwest MINI Dealership in Tacoma, Washington: 11/20-26 (best guestimate due to Thanksgiving holiday)
My MA tells me I might get it before Thanksgiving, during that weekend, or the week after.

If you haven't done so already, you need to check out the "How to Track your MINI: Revised, Expanded and Update" thread in the 1st Gears Forum. That thread is "sticky" at the top of the Forum. There is information included about how to "lo-jack" track the ship your MINI will be on for transport, which kind of makes the waiting game bearable, and you meet other owners whose MINIs are on the same ship. You will need the VIN # of your MINI, which you can find via the Owner's Lounge (OL) > "Where's Your Baby?" link > "Review Order Detail" link. Once you know the VIN #, you can get some information from 1-866-ASK-MINI > Customer Relations (live voice, not robot), which has a little bit better updated info than the OL. When your MINI arrives at Southampton for departure, that's where ASK MINI steps out and has no more info, and your MA will have better updated info. The OL is notorious slow and outdated.

Originally, at time of order, my MA estimated my JCW at 10-12 weeks. Looks like it will beat that estimate by 2-4 weeks. That tells me the "birth canal" (Production plant Oxford) is fully ramped up.

Have fun waiting and welcome to 1st Gears!

 

El K: you're in my prayers. Stay safe and warm.

 

Maxine has finally arrived! I opted so skip the JCW rear spoiler and black driving lights at this time, as that added close to $2000 to the price. I managed to get $1500 off MSRP (including the Not Normal event), plus the 0.9% financing.









Cheers!
-Colin

 

Nice! I was never a fan of the JCW rear spoiler. As far as I'm concerned, it only looks good on a GP, but that's just an opinion.

I see you went after the same StarBullet wheels I did. Those I definitely like! Have fun motoring!

 

You should call your MA and ask if they can tell you your vehicle's status

 

Thanks!

I actually like the JCW spoiler a lot, but could not make myself part with the nearly $1000 they were charging, including painting to match the BRG roof. Plus, I was worried when I install the roof rack, it just wouldn't look as good, and could always have the potential for damage (if, say, I were to ever put a kayak on top).

I still may get the driving lights, but can decide that later.

 

...and that's why MINI says "over 10,000,000 configurations"! You get what you want, I get what I want, we all get what we want, and we're all happy motorers

 

...and that's why I could never find a used MINI that quite matched my modest specifications, and ordered a new one that has WAY more junk than I was demanding in a used MINI!

 

I think I had done at least a dozen builds before settling on the final. It took forever for MINI to get the 2013 specs into the configurator, but for me, the timing was perfect. I'm glad I waited until October to order.

 

I did the same thing. Numerous builds in different colors when I was considering it. Then, a few months later, when I needed a new car due to the death of my Miata, I saw the Green Park and knew it was the one for me. I still re-configured the options many times anyway.

Re: The combinations - I can't count how many configurations other people come up with that I see and think "yeah... not for me". And I love that all of those are available, because that just helps make my own that much rarer and special to me.

-Colin