I applied at the Mini Dealer, and they informed me over the phone of a great rate...but I hadn't received any paperwork from them guaranteeing the rate or anything. I called and inquired about this because I'm worried about the same thing, and the only answer was that "they don't do that" and not to worry - that they wouldn't be in business if they did a bait and switch like that.

All the same, I'm considering risking another inquiry to walk into the F&I office with another offer in my back pocket, even though MINI blew away the offer I had when I walked in the first time (by ~3%!). Might be better if I just walk away if there's a problem to get a financing offer, since I'm not expecting a problem...

 

I am tracking the Fidelio via sailwx.info. You can type the name in the search field. It runs about twelve hours behind but tracks it all the way. It seems marinetraffic.com only tracks ships close to land. The up side is that it's always a little closer to the destination than is shown on the chart :-)

 

The stripes turned out great! We can hardly wait to get down there to pick it up!!!!

If anyone is looking to buy a MINI, I don't think you could find someone better than John to help you.

 

Here is a good side view -

 

Well guess what news my MA surprised me with today at 3pm, not only was my car at the dealership but it was ready to be picked up. So I went after work, my god it was worth the wait, exactly 8 weeks. In accordance with the laws of this thread I attached some photos, and for those anxiously wondering what the JCW is like... oh it's awesome, I love it. There were exactly 4 miles on the odometer which is the lowest I have ever seen on a car I bought. The bluetooth calling and connecting my iPod/iPhone through the stereo is just awesome. These used to be options but now they're standard so great.

I wanna say thank you to the members who kept me company through the wait it really made a huge difference. I hope you guys enjoy your MINIs soon Just an FYI everyone here should get the MINI Link app, it shows other MINIs in the area and it shows them your location as well. It lets you "wave" in-app when you pass by them (if not through the app, you should wave anyway, it's a MINI rule like naming your MINI). You can drop "pellets" for other MINI drivers to collect. Mine isn't working fully since it won't recognize my VIN, I'm guessing because it's 2013 but try yourselves.

 

Miami Beach Jeff!! Was that you who I met at Braman? Picking up a convertible Cooper S BRG with silver stripes? Forgot to ask if it was you lol.

 

One last thing I want to mention... My car is in my garage, picked her up 4 hours ago, yet OL says "At VDC" and ASK-MINI says "at port." So don't let them bother you if they're not updating.

 

I agree 100%...

 

Thank you for this! I've been fretting that mine has been sitting in QA for four days since that's what ASK-MINI says.

Enjoy your JCW! It's a beauty!

 

I am really happy for you...and I'm droolin' with envy over your JCW! OK, if you can wait, I can wait...for my JCW too!

 

Nice! You went after the same StarBullet wheels I did for my JCW. Very distinctive, different, and a nice nod to late 60s era ralley sport muscle cars. I also went after the sport stripes. Great minds think alike! Don't worry, your MINI is definitely one of a kind. Have fun motoring!

 

Qais: the car looks really great. In some colors I don't really care for the JCW bumpers, but it all looks great in green. Enjoy!

 

Thanks for blazing the trail. Please let me know how it goes when you pick the car up.

 

It's beautiful. With the exception of the bright wheels, this is exactly how I've always configured the exterior of MINIs when playing with the configurator...and they're impossible to find like this - awesome to have actual photos of one!

 

Mini either needs to fix it so that it is accurate or do away with it. Mine says at VDC (on OL) and Ask Mini says In Transport. For all I know it could be at the dealer.

 

As a software guy, I can't really understand why it takes so long to update this information, unless it has to be manually transcribed between systems by a human.

Regarding the Ask Mini robot, it appears to get an update every 24 hours.

 

My guess is that there's some database replication going on at odd intervals. I suspect that they're probably working out of some legacy system where extracting incremental updates (e.g., "what's changed since yesterday") is not practical. As a result, we get infrequent updates and discrepancies with ASK-MINI and the dealers' SCM system.

 

I worked a contract for Louisiana's DHH where we had to proxy data from disparate internal systems (all independently developed by their respective divisions over the years) into a normalized central database. Some of the systems were done very well, others were terrible (no data validation for instance, inconsistent naming, etc), and often they used different terms for the same things and the same terms for different things (or different data types!).

Things still worked on a cycle, but I believe it was much faster than once per day...especially since you can grab smaller chunks of data when you are caught up. It just depends on whether or not the source is queryable by DateTime.


Before us, analysts had to manually input records at least twice. This introduces possible typos, real headaches and slows everything down.

 

MY Roadster S Convertible arrived on the California Hwy on Oct 8, IT has been released to Hauler & they have 4 days to deliver it to Raleigh, NC (it's only a 6 hour drive) but delivering others will also eat up the clock. I SEE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just a tip for those still waiting. Don't take the OL too seriously. My MINI arrived at my dealer on Saturday the 13th and it just changed to At Distribution Center.

 

For me the OL has been about 72 hours behind. It's okay. I've decided that I'm picking my car up next Friday at 5pm, so I'm not even looking at the OL. Of course my baby is still at sea, but I believe in the power of thinking!

 

Your JCW is beautiful qais! Now I can't wait to see my Winston! Hope he gets on board his ship this week.

 

Tomorrow at 11:30 for pick up. So 6 weeks and a day from order....and it took a week to get from the VDC!

 

Wow, that's awesome. Happy motoring!! Post pictures..

 

Awesome!