And you ordered Mel on 8/2?!?!? I ordered Sully on 7/1 and he's STILL on a freakin' boat!! Man, it ain't fair, I tells ya. . .

Next time, I'm flyin' to Oxford and just drivin' home. . .okay, I know that's not gonna work, but still - you get the drift. . .

Bill "Still Waitin'" P

 

UUNetBill - I'm with you man. Although I have only been waiting since 7/18, I know how you feel and I'm an east coaster! I'm still on the dock but should be out of South Hampton tomorrow on the AIDA.

Shane "Still on the Dock" R

 

Yeah, man, I keep tellin' myself that the wait'll be worth it, patience is a virtue, all that crapola. . .but the fact of the matter is, waiting for a new MINI convertible SUCKS, man. . .it's da pits. . .nuttin' worse. . .especially watchin' summer fade away. . .

 

Ain't that the truth. Being in Colorado, it will soon will be time to load up the ski racks and hit the slopes. Here in AL, we don't see much snow. I'll bet the heater works real good so who cares. Drop the top and catch snow flakes on your tongue on the way to the slopes. I used to ride with the top off of my Jeep CJ5 in Iceland so I'm sure it can be done in a MINI.

 

You'd be surprised what you can do with a windblocker and heated seats.

Gonna use the Pilot for ski trips, thanks. . .MINI only ventures into the mountains on the more clear days. . .

 

While I feel both of your pain (I waited for my first one for about 12 weeks.)....

.....I just got another update.... and I hate to rub it in..... but.....

new EDD: 9/1

 

Just checked W&W status for the AIDA. My MINI is not loaded on the ship yet but many many others are loaded. I checked South Hampton Ship Movements and they show the AIDA scheduled to depart at 14:30 which is 30 minutes from now. Seems that there is no logic to which cars are loaded on the boat. Looks like some cars that have been on the dock as long as mine are already loaded and cars that got on to the dock only a day or so ago have been loaded. Also not sure how "real-time" the web update is. I did notice that they have 475 MINIs booked on this trip. Looks like a bunch are already loaded. I hope mine makes it.

 

GGGRRRRRRRR!!!!!

 

If it makes you feel any better, my CR/B MCS has been sitting at the dealer since Monday and I won't be able to pick it up until Friday!!

But I'm gonna give it a good send-off by taking it on a week and a half inaugural voyage. But that doesn't make friday come any faster.......

 

But yours is at the dealer!! Mines somewhere in the middle of a hurricane tossed sea!! What if it's scared? What if it gets seasick? Someone might find a puddle of chunky motor oil underneath it. . .

Friday. . .sheesh. . .I'll be lucky to have mine by October 1st!

 

Well, I got bumped. The AIDA has sailed and without my MINI on the boat. Looks as if I have been bumped from the AIDA and now booked on another ship leaving in another 8 days, the OTTELO. Not only that but this boat is going to stop in Canada on its way to the US which will now take 14 days to get to the east coast. I'm guessing the dealer put somebody elses car on my boat so they would not have to wait that long. This is really getting me down. I feel like dumping the deposit and buying the 3 series that I was choosing between. This sucks.

 

Droptop - I feel your pain, man - I feel it. . .

 

Thanks, UUNetBill.

Mini2Go - Since you are an insider, ASKMINI told me that basically the dealer has control of the car once it is delivered to the dock at South Hampton. Tell me is it possible that the dealer could have had anything to do with my vehicle being bumped? Is there any kind of priority or priviledge the dealer has over any of this (from production date to delivery)?

 

Wow. That is news to me.

The only influence that I know we as a dealership have ever been able to exert is at two points:

1. In the Dealer Communication System you can mark the priority of a vehicle on a 1-5 scale (1 = Customer Sold and is the highest priority, and 5 = Non-priority Stock and is the lowest priority.) 5 is NEVER used for MINIs and very rarely for BMW. If a vehicle is status 5 another dealer can actually "swipe" your inventory by transferring it into their own inventory. Furthermore, when a customer places an order and puts down a deposit (we don't even consider it an order without a deposit) we ALWAYS mark it as 1 - Customer Sold. This prevents other salespeople or managers from modifying the car for another customer.

Now, a 1 is a 1. We cannot influence the speed of production or transport beyond marking it as a 1. I cannot show any preference to one customer's order over another - there is no channel to do so even if I wanted to. (I suppose, that is, aside from getting approvals ALL THE WAY up the BMW corporate ladder - but it had better be for something awful d@mn important to try this.)

2. The ONLY other time we have any opportunity to influence the delivery is AFTER it arrives at the the VPC. We have made a few (only a few) desperate calls to the VPC to see if there was any way they could expedite processing and release to the carrier. This was always due to some mistake we made or other self-inflicted problem that we needed to try to "save face" with the customer. Sometimes the VPC was able to help us out, sometimes they weren't.

That's as thorough, straightforward and honest an answer as I know to provide.

Keeping in mind a few other things I know about car sales - namely that the salespeople and sales managers want to get and deliver as many cars as they can each month - I find it difficult to think that they have any motivation to slow down or bump any of their own customers. Rather, they would try to bump other dealers' customers - which BMW won't allow to happen.

There are a few little things that I think helped me to get mine quickly that I knew to take advantage of. They are very simple and don't have anything to do with dealer influence - it is simply knowing the process.

1. Each vehicle progresses through a sequence of Status codes. When it is still just a twinkle in MINIs eye it has a code "017," and is called a "Dummy Order." Shortly thereafter the dealer sees this "allocated unit" in their order bank. The dealer can modify this unit up until it reaches status "112" - The Twelfth Hour. Sometimes, though, not all changes are accepted by the factory when submitted at status 112 because the very next status is 150 - Production Started. It is a little bit of a risk to submit an order at 112.

I took a calculated risk and submitted my order on a 112 status. I got lucky that all the changes were accepted - (the allocated unit was Chili Red, with Premium, Sport and Cold Weather.... you get the idea; not my car!) - and my car went into production just 3 days after I submitted the order.

2. I ordered a body-color roof and very few options. Really, the body-color roof was the time saver. It can add a few days to production to get a contrasting roof color.

As for catching a ship and getting through the VPC so fast - I just got lucky. Well, actually, even though I'm excited - I'm really not even ready for it to be here! I have things that I planned to finish taking care of this week and next to get ready for the car that I still haven't completed....:impatient I can assure you that I had no part in this thing arriving this soon! I would have been just as happy having the extra week of time!

I hope this long-winded answer gives you the information you wanted.
I know it doesn't really explain your situation - but I really don't think there is any "monkey-business" on the part of the dealer that you need to be concerned about. I honestly don't have a good guess for the reason of your delays. ....Sometimes a little information is dangerous..... You know just enough to be frustrated, but not enough to understand what is really going on. I feel for you man. I really do.

 

I spoke with my MA last night...our car had not hitched a ride down to ottos as of 7:00 last night. My MA was about as frustrated as we are, as he put my work order in on monday, expecting the car on tuesday.

Hopefully today, more likely tomorrow!

sorry to hear about everyone else as well... UUNetBill, i hope your mini isn't too scared out there!

----

Ugh. Just found out from my MA that there has been an increase in price for the 06 3-series and for some reason all the 3's are getting on to trucks before the cars that have already been sold! Hence, our mini, even though it has been released, hasn't made it onto a truck.....



-jac

 

Mini2Go - Wow, thanks for the insight. That is exactly the kind of honest answer I was looking for.
Although I'm a bit peeved that I have had absolutely no customer service from my MA, at least I know the waiting process has nothing to do with the MA or the dealer. I contacted the BMW/MINI dealer yesterday evening and was able to speak to the "head MA?" seems there is really no manager?. I first asked him what the status of my vehicle was and he explained "looks like it's almost on its way...awaiting for transport" I asked him if there was any other information he could give me about why it is taking so long to get the vehicle and he said "That's all the information that I have". Next I explained to him what I knew, which was very detailed down to the day that everything happend through the order/build (The booking, bump, etc). I asked him why I could get more info than him and I was told that he could get this information if he tried. Then I heard the keys typing in the background while he asked me to wait. Bingo, he started to rattle off a list of dates and processes that the car has been through (Basically every thing I told him). I explained my situation and the fact that I have been giving my MA more information than my MA gave me. This MA is fairly new and may not understand what customer service is yet. He apologized for the other MA and for things beyond his control. He mentioned something briefly about modifying a 111 or a 112 and said he would have my MA look into the order and call me tomorrow. My MA has yet to ever call me back when he said he would do so. I have had to prompt my MA very everything, right down to the sale itself. It's as if he does not have to deal with me because I live 2 hours away and I can't see him face to face. Anyway still awaiting a call.

 

Oh, I'm sure he's fine, really, thanks. He's actually got four things going for him right now:

1) He's British. You know, stiff upper lip, blood, sweat, tears, all that rot.
2) He's named Sully, after the big blue monster in Monsters, Inc.

and being a big blue monster, well, you just can't be scared. Unless there's a little girl stowed away on the BUJIN!!

3) He's pretty much loaded to the gills and (in my opinion) a real looker, so he doesn't have to worry about MINI envy.
4) He's surrounded by other MINIs to keep him warm, comfy, and worry-free.

But thanks for the good thoughts.

 

UUNetBill - Sounds like Sully will have a fine voyage. He's probably hanging out on the Lido deck by the pool right now.

BTW, my MINI has now been dropped from the W&W site and is not booked any longer. The VIN number is not registered any longer with W&W. I think he's going to have to swim here.

 

Tell him to wear water wings. . .I think the seas are still a mite rough. . .

 

This is my first post so I want to start by saying hello and let you know the info I have gleaned from lurking has helped my blood pressure. I ordered my LY/B MCSa the same week as droptop with almost identical dates along the way (build week 8/8, on AIDA, off AIDA, on Otello, now in limbo, etc).

My MA E-mailed today to tell me my baby is still scheduled to arrive in SC on 9/12 according to the MINI computer system. He did not have any info on the boat change and thought perhaps WW may have entered it on the incorrect boat (Otello) since it was on the Aida. He also said that MAY be the reason it isn't showing at all on WW website now. Speculation on his part, but he is trying to help. St Louis MINI has a good reputation and has treated me well. They are frustrated by the unreliable comunication processes too.

I was originally told 9/30 when I ordered, so it is still within the original time frame. Early would definitely be better!

Mike

 

Bluebeemer - Welcome! Sounds like we are in the same boat, literally. In another thread (Rats! Missed the boat), MiniSteve told me that it is very possible that we were loaded onto the FRANCONIA. That's a K-Line ship that was in port on the same day loading up MINI's. Maybe AIDA filled up and they put the excess on the FRANCONIA which would make more since that our VIN # dissappeared from the W&W bookings. This happend to him as well the last time FRANCONIA was in port. He had the exact same problem beeing booked on a W&W ship and then his VIN did not appear on the sight any longer. He found out 3 days later from his MA that his MINI had shipped but did not know the shipping information. So we will have to wait and see.

 

UPDATE: Got a call from my MA yesterday (See what a bit of proding can do). He said that my MINI did make the boat...the FRANCONIA. Seems that MINI Steve's hunch was correct. Bluebeemer, I bet your on that ship as well. I bet your MA would know for sure. He said it is scheduled to arrive in Charleston 9/5 and if everything is smooth at the VDC, I will be able to pick it up on 9/17.

 

Cool 4 U

For those interested, here's a picture of FRANCONIA.

That's my baby (with the water wings option package) hurrying to catch up

 

Hmmmm.... after all that rapid progression, Mel is still not here. ?? He's gotta make it here today though 'cuz I want to get pictures as he gets unloaded from the truck!

 

Are you able to contact the trucking company and have them radio the truck to see where they are? Is the trucking company owned or operated by BMW/MINI?