What could we bribe a modern day captain with? Is rum too cliche? I'll start the Bribe the Captain Fund. With any luck, we can skip all of Europe. They have enough Minis over there.

 

Hmm, let me give this some thought. Rum, while cliched, is quite convincing. Perhaps there are other even more effective inducements........

 

the Tortugas has departed and the journey's end is coming near. but as we all know, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

 

Anyone know how long MINI's are typically waiting at the port? My baby's been waiting five days, but I read Coopdy from week 40 was waiting for eleven.

 

It all depends on how frequently boats to your port are sailing and of course space availability. Not as many boats go to the West Coast and the normal time between West Coast destined boats is 8 days, so mine was particularly long . You can check your port's schedule of departing/arrivals (for the W&W line) to see where you may fall, also your MA should have an idea.

Good luck!

 

The Tortuga's underway at 14.6 kts with ETA Halifax Nova Scotia at 1900 Oct 21. Next stop NYC and disembarkation! Woo hoo!!

 

Thanks for the help. That makes me feel a little better... My MINI is destined for Charleston, SC. Four ships from either W&W or "K" Line that were headed towards Charleston have gone by since she was on the dock, but that was probably due to lack of available space. I'm confident now I'll make either the Southern Highway on Friday, or Independence II on Saturday.

 

Hi

I used this link to find out on what vessel my car was shipped.

http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTracking/

Click AUTO CARGO and write the VIN number.

Good Luck

 

all the guys abord the Tortugas, she is right by Plymouth ( UK ) at 14kt cruise check it out at www.marinetraffic.com

 

I ordered laser blue with white sport stripes, premium package, automatic, checkered flag mirrors!! what else...I can't even remember bc it's been so long.. :(
I want my mini now...before my birthday which is on 10/31!!! lol

 

Got a phone call from my Mini Advisor (he rocks) and told me my Mini made the ship this last Monday. On the Turadot or similar name. Suppose to arrive Nov 2nd.

Anyone else on it?

 

Yeaup, come on over to the Turandot group. Shuffleboard at 11am (my MINI likes to sleep in).

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=156069

 

Well, the OL still says that I'm "Scheduled for Production" but at least the ASK MINI guy now says that I've been released for shipment. Now I guess I just have to wait for it be assigned to a ship and then comes the 2 week tracking across the sea.

 

I'm a week 41'er and Mini Annie is on board the Integrity already - due on US soil in South Carolina about 10/25! I can hardly wait! Anyone else waiting on a Mini Clubman S??

 

shipping schedule for the WW ships.. for some of us whose cars still seem to be on the dock... for the WW ships anyways....
SOUTHAMPTON 15/10/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 28/10/2008 TORTUGAS EA841-TOR 13
SOUTHAMPTON 18/10/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 01/11/2008 INDEPENDENCE II EB842-INC 14
SOUTHAMPTON 22/10/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 05/11/2008 TOLEDO EA842-TDO 14
SOUTHAMPTON 28/10/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 11/11/2008 UNDINE EA843-UND 14
SOUTHAMPTON 01/11/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 15/11/2008 PATRIOT EB844-PAT 14
SOUTHAMPTON 04/11/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 18/11/2008 MAERSK WIND EA844-MWI 14
SOUTHAMPTON 08/11/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 22/11/2008 COURAGE EB845-COG 14
SOUTHAMPTON 11/11/2008 CHARLESTON,SC 25/11/2008 TOMBARRA EA845-TOM 14

 

I ordered my Clubman S on Sept 28th...was given a week 41 build. Build was complete on Oct 11 and is now on the dock awaiting transport to California. ASK-MINI estimated another 6 weeks before it reaches the west coast. Bummer...my MA told me "6 weeks" when I ordered it 3 weeks ago.

MCCS, HotChoc, lounge hotchoc leather, blk pillars, silver sport stripes, sport susp., 6-speed auto, 17" web-spoke, conv package, roof rails, sirius, hifi sound (which I now regret), driving lamps, etc.

 

That's a fairly tight timeline for your MA to provide. The cargo ship alone takes 21 days to hit the dock, then through the VDC, and boats to the West Coast are only leaving every 8 days or so and then of course the manufacturing/QA is about a week, so you're still doing well. I ordered mine June 30th and hope to have it by the middle of next month. Sorry for your extra time though, that is certainly why we have these "support groups" to know that we are not alone in our suffering.

 

In case anyone is interested....My OL finally went to "enroute" today. That said she has been enroute since 10/10 and should currently be in Halifax.

 

I'm definitely interested. The whole time you didn't know your MINI had made it onto a boat? My baby made it onto the docks on the 10th and everything still says "Awaiting Transport," and she's not showing up on the W&W auto tracking. Maybe, just maybe, she's already on a boat and everything's just slow showing the updated status. Maybe.

Congratulations on making it on a boat! Won't be that long now...

 

I knew she was on the boat. Just a little jab at the useless OL. Have you asked your MA if you made it on a ship?

 

Mine just went "Awaiting Transport" in the OL. ASK MINI says that it's at the dock by doesn't have shipping assignment info. Guess it's a (small) step closer to being here, but I was hoping it would be half-way across the sea by now seeing as it was build a week ago. *sigh*

 

mrng gadgett,
just got off the phone w/ askmini.....just to confirm the OL.....on the docks wtg.... and haven't seen any progress yet... VIN is'nt taking on the WW site. so I"m hoping were on a WW or Kline this weekend, that puts our cars in charleston early Nov... maybe at S.Antonio MIni by mid-November???.....
I was tempted to email/call Rob, but don't expect him to say much either, so probably wait till next week sometime....

 

Morning edjd,
Looks like we're in the same boat (ha!) and maybe even going to be ON the same boat. Hopefully we'll be making the voyage together soon. BTW, the last few times I pinged Rob at MiniofSA, he said he didn't have any info, so I started pinging Sean (the sales manager) instead. Sean's been very helpful but hasn't had a ton more granular info, either. I'm crossing my fingers that like some others in this forum, we'll get a pleasant surprise in a few days that says that our MINIs have been on the water for a week already and will be here sooner than we thought. OK - I'm being a tad delusional.

BTW, if you can wait until next week sometime to ask Rob for more info, you've got way more patience than I

 

LOL! yes, I'm a patient person overall, doesn't mean I' don't want my car asap, but nothing I can do about it... so taking it in stride... Gadgett, can I ask ya a few questions since your a previous mini owner (if I recall correctly), etc:

1) Gas? I'd be surprised if u've been able to find/use 91 octane around here? i"M assuming uv'e been using 93?.... how bout 89?.....
2) since ur in austin, had u been driving to S.A. to get your oil change,etc. or having someone else do some of your maintenance in austin?... I don't feel comfortable going nearly a year for my '1st' oil change, so I'd like to get my 1st at least 4-5 months in... your thoughts would be appreciated?
3) Assuming u have had to have any maintencae done at MINI of SA, did u find their service to meet your expectations?....
heck anything u want to add,Im sure were all ears!....again, I'm coming from a background all always having had very conservative japanase cars (honda/toyota), so this is quite a change to go to a MINI, let alone a European vehicle...., mean that in a good cautionary tone!!!!

DOnt' mean to change topics, but figure this might be a good way for us to kinda 'kill' some time while we wait......for ships.....to ......p i c k ...u p......o ....u.....r......c....a...r..s.......so....slooooo oowwwwwwww....

 

Hi edjd,

I'd be glad to answer your questions, especially to help pass the time as you mentioned :-)

1. I've been using the mid-grade gas since day-one with my MCS. After 3 years, there have been no ill effects. I have never tried the "regular" and never wanted to spoil him by giving him a taste of the good stuff ;-)
2. Yes- I've been going to MINIofSA exclusively for service. In fact, it was well over a year between my most recent LOF and the one prior. That's why I was down in SA - to get a "low-mileage LOF" and while I was there, I had Rob appriase my MINI at which time I decided to just order a new one. My car has only 16k miles in 3 years, so it's very low mileage. BTW, BMW of Austin has aquired a MINI license and I'm told that they're only months away from breaking ground on their MINI of Austin dealership (www.minicooperofaustin.com . It'll be nice to not have to drive down to SA for the simple stuff, but I really don't mind too much as we do other stuff while down there.
3. I have had a few service visits over and above the regular maintenance and MINI of SA has been great, with the exception of being nearly 100 miles away. They've always been prompt, curteous and thorough. Even more so now that they have separated their MINI side from the BMW side.
I've always been a fan of German autos and even though the MINI is technically British, I still consider it a kissing cousing of our German Beemers. As such, it's been a reliable car so I have no complaints. I will say that although my car is low mileage, I had to replace the performance run-flats in what I thought was a very short amount of time/miles, and they weren't cheap. I'm sure you can say that about any performance car with sticky/soft tires, though.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions. Hopefully you'll soon see for yourself how great the MINI is :-)