Sorry, forgot to comment on the VDC timing - cars that are listed as "owner-sold" get priority at the VDC and they move them through there as fast as they can. The only reason that it could be held up for more than a day or two would be if there is a need for a software update or and i hate to even think - damage from transit. Otherwise they get moved through rather quickly and onto a carrier for delivery. I would expect that you could see it arrive at your dealer in the NW in about a week from arrival at the VDC provided all goes well. BTW, i think that there is even more detailed info on the timing and process in a post re: tracking here in the 1st Gear forum. There is also a post from a VDC tour - neat place if you ever get a chance to see it in action.

 

The VDC does a final Quality Control on the cars before they are shipped to the dealer.

In addition, one of the things they do is to pressure-wash the car to remove the cosmoline that was applied to the car in Oxford. This is a preventative to keep salt spray from affecting the car. There is no "charge" for that cleaning. I'm not sure where you heard it cost $150.

According to my salesman, you can count on the car arriving at the Portland dealer 10 days afer arriving at the VDC. They ship the cars by covered truck. Then the dealer needs the car for "a week to 10 days" to apply the dealer-installed options.

No tracking in the Pacific.

 

As the Turandot approaches Southern California, our minds turn to tracking her again. We have nothing better to do, right?

From the Asian Emperor thread (the ship that many of us missed and which left Southampton 5 days before the Turandot), I found a link to the BMW forum which has been following the progress of that ship. If you have some time to kill, you can get a good idea of what is coming up for us in the next few days. Here is the link:http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112549

If you want to get to the heart of the information you will find it in this post: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2206520&postcount=153

If you follow that link to the Shine Micro website, you can register there for access to the AIS tracking site. The registration is free. Once in, click on the US and then Southern California. You will see a chart with all the ships in the area. The chart automatically updates every minute.

With this, you can start checking tomorrow and view the progress of the Turandot.

As a side note, many of those on the Asian Emperor received their cars in just 3 days after arrival! Of course they may be "Priority One" customers. If you are waiting for your Mini to be shipped, that thread has a toll-free number for the trucking company. I'm not sure if it is the same one that Mini uses, but you can supposedly call them with the last 7 numbers of your VIN and track the truck.

Have fun.

 

We're definitely in the home stretch...since nobody could pull up the ship via AIS, I decided to double check the schedule at the port. See this link:
http://www.portofhueneme.org/documen...0229104942.pdf

It says Sunday March 2nd AND Monday March 3rd....probably based on a lot of factors including port availability. Funny thing is they spell the name wrong "Turnadot"......lol

 

Thanks Jeremy - yeah, i saw that too but I didn't want to get everyone too excited. That is really good news - we may have the Clubman next weekend if all goes well.

 

The Turandot is showing up on AIS off Long Beach!

 

I got it.... It was 7 am (PT).

 

That's great news! We were beginning to wonder if the pirates had gotten her.

 

So at that rate the ship should be arriving in PH at about 2-3pm this afternoon if all goes well!

 

I think she should be in the port in the next few hours

 

I can't quite seem to track it but just sent an email to the sales rep at Rasmussen in Portland. She might know something, like how long it takes to get there from the VDC and how long they keep them before notifying the owners. I wonder how many minis are ordered in any given month--I'm curious. Thanks for all the tracking work you are doing!...

 

has anyone checked out the Microsoft Vitual Earth site, lately?
that boat at the bottom right sure looks like our baby!!!

 

ok. ok. the more i look at it, the more i realize that it's probably not it. but....
a girl can dream!

 

She's probably been in port for 2 or 3 hours by now.

 

Is virtual earth free to use??

 

Does anyone know the Turandot's MMSI number?--or What that is exactly?
I've only put a "down" on the mini, so I don't know if they consider that "sold".--I hope everyone gets theirs at the soonest possible time.

 

MMSI numbers came into common usage with the availability of DSC (digital selective calling) radios. MMSI stands for Maritime Mobile Service Identity – the scheme managed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland. Here’s how it works: each vessel applies for an MMSI number that is unique to that vessel. The same number is shared by all radios on board. Acting somewhat like a phone number, the MMSI can be used to “call” a specific vessel (or even a group of vessels).

 

document.write(''+ituTop+' - '); document.write(''+ituFeedback+' - '); document.write(''+ituContactUs+' - '); document.write(''+ituCopyright+'
'); document.write(ituContact+' : '+ zContact + ''); if ( zUpdatedDate != "") { document.write('
'+ituUpdated+' : '+ zUpdatedDate); }

 

The above table did not copy well - sorry about that - I found 3 different MMSI numbers for the Turandot. 308312000, 309541000, 244090871

 

To all my fellow AZ drivers: any ideas on when our Minis are going to arrive @ Mini of Scottsdale? I can just imagine us all picking our cars up on the same day, a mob of new owners burning up and down Scottsdale road...

 

The miniusa site still lists the mini as being "in transit"--not quite at the VDC yet. Maybe they take Sundays off? I wonder if there is a way to track our various trucks once they leave S. California...

 

Sorry, I meant to say "in route"--and it is still listed as such this morning.

 

Confirmation of arrival in Port Hueneme from this am. Thanks to you all for the tracking - I figured I was close enough to try to get you all an image and this is about the best I can do given the 10' walls around on all sides. Now if they can just get the MINIs offloaded and down the street to the VDC we'll be in great shape. Hopeful that we may take delivery next weekend.

 

Very nice work! A picture says a thousand words.

 

Oh ... really great to see her in the port. I hope every MINIs are OK during transit.