My Clubman should be done by the first week of April. How long it takes from Oxford to SoCal?

 

If you check out the dates in my signature, you can see for yourself how long mine took.

 

Trust me, it takes WAY, WAY, too long.

 

Check out the "How to Track Your MINI" thread-- but it is about 21-ish days from England to the port in Cali, then it goes through the VDC, then to your dealer.

 

I'll assume you've read the "Tracking your Mini" post in the First Gear forum -- it has most of the secrets.

Signing up for the Mini Owner's Lounge is actually useful (for a little while). That will show you the vehicle VIN, which is the key for tracking your new baby across the oceans.

As detailed in the "Tracking your Mini" post, once you get out of the factory, you can start tracking it with the shippers, such as Wallenus Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), one of the major carriers for Minis (and their BMW cousins). WWL is at http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTracking/cargoTrack.do -- you enter your VIN as the Auto Cargo ID, and if you're on a WWL ship, eventually it will show you the details, including the Voyage. If you click on the Voyage data, it will take you to a page of Voyage Details, where you can see scheduled arrival and departures for different ports.

For us on the Left Coast, the destination port is Port Hueneme, near Oxnard (about half way between LA and Santa Barbara).

The Panama Canal has cameras on the locks -- while I couldn't find any schedule information, I was able to catch the ship with my baby on it (and 265 friends) going through the Canal. Search for my posts under the "Toronto" thread for more details, or drop me a pm if you have questions.

It takes a long time; it takes a short time. Waiting for the results for the California Bar exam, that's a long time -- the exam is in July and results come out at Thanksgiving. But I don't have to do that again! And in a couple of weeks, I won't be trawling for information on where my baby is, as it will be sitting in the parking lot outside my office window.

Oh, once you get set up in the Owner's Lounge, you'll be able to download a PDF of the owner's manual (for the car, not for the radios), so you can start reading up on things.

And while you wait, you can read through NAM and make new friends!

Cheers--

 

thanks all

 

Enjoy every minute of the process and anticipation. I was on the Clubman list for over 2 years and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Actually I'm hoping to get one of the 2009 Cabrios. I already asked my dealer to be put on the list when they start it.
It is sooo worth it. Of the 14 new cars I've had over the years, the Clubman is my favorite, to the point my family is really tired of me saying, "I love my MINI!!!"

 

My husband is already sick of hearing of me talking about my Mini and it's still on the way!

 

it only took around 2 weeks to finish production?! woowie! i ordered mine 3-18-08, and going crazy!!!

 

Let him drive it (just once!) when it arrives and he will understand the fanaticism. I've tried to get my sister to try it but she won't. Maybe she's afraid it will tempt her.
She's lucky I offered. I won't let anyone else touch Otto.

 

He did the test drive when we initially went to the dealer and enjoyed it, but I don't think he fell in love like I did. As it's gotten closer to getting Lucy, he has been dropping hints about driving her... And he's already said he's going to get one, so I think he has converted himself!