hey guys this is going to be my MINI let alone my first car (im only 17)...but i called askmini and they say im scheduled for production on the 23...i tried asking the guy what ports they ship to on the west coast but he said that it depends. I thought there was only one...im close to san francisco so we are close to the port of oakland but do any of you guys know?

 

So after talking to my MA today he told me that my MCS is awaiting transport and after checking the tracking and ship i saw that "Captain" is catching a ride on the "Patriot" heading to Charlston, SC.....is there anyone else on this ship?

 

The rep at 866-ASK-MINI just confirmed that Logan (or Stevie, still haven't decided) is scheduled for production in Week 4, i.e., the week of January 23. She had no idea about this facotry shutdown or slowdown, but was very friendly nonetheless.

Can't wait! Woohoo!

 

My MINI should be aboard the Elektra tonight for her voyage tomorrow to New York, to arrive on Jan 27. Would love to know if she has any silbings aboard belonging to members here - let me know !! According to the shipping line the Patriot leaves two days later. Man, that is a lot of MINIs.

The WW shipping website has a wonderful collection of digital images of its ships including a high def TIFF of the Elektra, which now hangs on my wall for me to stare at over the next nine days....

Really torn over a name for my MINI - looking for a good British female name and was sold on Maggie for a while but currently leaning towards Fiona (because of the CR hair....)

Bill

 

My MCS is also on the Elektra - it has been a killer waiting this long (production was complete on 12/18)....my current inspection expires on 2/1...the real question is...will my MCS be available before then or will I have to have another NYS inspection done?

 

Got live confirmation today that I went into production today......Week 4. Said that it would be completed and out of the factory by Jan. 30........or earlier. Nice.

 

It may be close in timing for you since I just noted that the Elektra has just been delayed a day in departure and will leave tomorrow (Thursday). Arrival in New York is now set for Jan 28. I am not sure how much time is spent with the car going through the distribution center, passing QC, and getting to your dealer (set aside dealer options and dealer prep) but it has to be a few days at least, even for a nearby dealer.

On the topic of inspection stickers, I don't know if you live in NJ but I was just advised by my mechanic that "it might be a good idea if I got my car inspected sometime soon...." I looked at the sticker and it expired at the end of September! We now have 2-year inspections in NJ and I just totally forgot to get it done months ago. Amazing that over all this time I was never stopped or challenged on it - but I am not pressing my luck furher and will get it done today. Moral of the story - there is probably a very high chance of you "getting away with it" for a couple weeks....

Bill

 

I can feel the love! You can't rush perfection! ...and waiting for your MINIs to come through production is like waiting for a baby to be born...although I think the MINI is a bit more predictable. When I was waiting for mine, I think I checked every five minutes to see how far it had progressed...So, for the time being, take a breath, sit down, and imagine how much fun your new baby will be and how much more fun you'll have getting it tricked out (if that's what you have planned.) When Ducky finally showed up, I think I arrived at the dealer's the same day the car did....and then to see it sitting in the lot with a "Sold to" sign is a rush...I thought I was going to jump out of my skin! I am very happy with my MINI...this is my second...and the feeling doesn't change. Have fun everybody, keep motoring and be safe....Flora Blue

 

Wait.. you're week 4 but it went into production today? Doesn't week 4 start on Jan 23rd?

Regardless, congrats on the start of production.

 

Contrary to what we had been told earlier, there does seem to be a production week 3 this year. My mini is in production now and the VIN is listed on the website when you track 'where is my car?'. ASK-MINI told me on Monday (1/16) that it was in production with an out of production date of 1/27. I am assuming that it will actually be finished sooner than the 1/27 date as he told me I should check again on status this Friday (1/20). I think the production week 4 support group is in truth a production week 3-4 support group. Having a production week 3 makes sense given that a press release on the mini website spoke about the factory being closed until 1/13.

 

I just checked with the MINIUSA website, my status is now "Scheduled for Production" and I have been given a real VIN number. Looks like things are getting close, having a VIN makes me realize that this thing is for real now!!!

Jason

 

BTW, Stefanie, great looking 2003 Mini you have and best of luck in selling it.

 

Jason! You're killing me here! We both ordered from Classic MINI and you keep getting news days before me HUGE congrats on the VIN number. Are you the first to get one?!?

Thank you! I adore him but its time to move onto a MCS. I hope he goes to a good home.

 

 

I also just checked the MINIUSA website and have moved to "Scheduled for Production" and now have a VIN number as well. Nice to finally see things moving forward.

 

Ahhhhhh! WHERES MY VIN?! :impatient


TornadoHawk - Congrats!!!


Edit (the edit of the century): I HAVE A VIN NUMBER! woooooooohoooooooo! The rep said that he started production yesterday with an estimated finish date of the 28th.

Congrats guys! Our babies are being born!

 

Just got off the phone with a MINIUSA rep.....he said my car went into production on Monday the 16th!!!!!!!!!! Thats a full week ahead of schedule!!!....and a day ahead of Stefanie!!!!! Looks like week 4 has become week 3..but who's keeping track???

Jason

 

 

Im not sure when my car went into production but it says its scheduled to be done on the 27th....im really happy that i got a real vin number!!

 

Add me to the list of folks with VINs! ASKMINI says that production started today at 4:30am (not sure which timezone). I'm now racing against the 1/31 departure of the DON CARLOS from Southampton for Port Huneme.

Anyone else waiting for the DON CARLOS to come to the west coast?

Note: the "production week" is an estimate of completion, not start. So we're all week 4s even if we start on week 3. And note that we are ramping a manufacturing line back up from zero (essentially). So I'll bet they sandbagged on completion dates a bit as they get back to max throughput.

--dwf

 

I guess, then, that I am really a Production Week 2/3 person (since my assembly completed last weekend)... though I think you really have to gauge Production Week by when Assembly happens and not Body/Paint shop. You get your VIN once the body is complete and off to painting - but (at least in my case) my painted body sat for 3-4 weeks before assembly, and then assembly was over in 24 hours. I suspect that they "take up the slack" of the production line by storing a lot of painted bodies and then feed them into assembly when appropriate, perhaps staged by what they are producing that day.

However, I do feel like an honorary Week 4 person as you have all been so nice....

Bill

 

hey dwfrank...what did you spec out your mini to? i am also from the bay area and trying to get on that 31st departure date. im glad to see that someone in the bay is also keepin up with this thread..

 

Anyone else get the Mind Meld email for the car programming? With all the talk around NAM of what is/isn't programmable and the complaints you have to surf the manual for them, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this email.

I got to enter 6 radio presets, decide on DRL, follow-me-home, and a couple other items. It listed my dealer, so clearly they'll get the items and will have my car setup when I get there.

What a fantastic way to a) make us feel loved during the long wait and b) reach out with a valuable service to the customer. Mercedes and Lexus talk about their customization features in ads, but it's clear that MINI pioneered this. Totally the future of corporate-customer relations. Expect more of this in your life, not less.

--dwf

 

dwf - I havent gotten one yet but I remember getting it for my first MINI. Hopefully they'll send me one again.


Think our cars are done yet? No? ok.. :(

 

Who was the email from? I didn't get one when I bought my '04 and so far nothing for my '06.

I did find out that my MINI was built on Tuesday and will be departing from Southampton on the Patriot on Saturday for a short cruise to New Jersey.