The next likely ship for the Port of Charleston is the Maersk Wave, which was scheduled to depart Bremerhaven yesterday according to marinetraffic.com . I cannot yet track it, though. Mine has now missed the Undine (to Brunswick), the Courage (no cars loaded at Southampton) and hopes to catch the next "Wave". The Wave should reach Southampton on Monday and, hopefully my baby will show up on the cargo. I want my car before Independence Day!

 

with MINI financial you get 3.9 for 60 months... at least at South Bay Mini is SoCal...

 

Right, but those special rates are only offered until June 30th.

My MC is arriving at the Port Hueneme VDC on June 20th, so I might be cutting it close to that deadline. Long Beach MINI tried to get me to buy off the lot to lock in a low APR and warned/threatened me about the higher rate if I decided to order a MINI. Not cool. Hopefully MINI Financial decides to extend the rates another month. If not, I'm glad I have a Plan B.

 

I've been tracking it on www.sailwx.info and it appears that to there is a misspelling on the site regarding the Otello. That site has it listed as the Othello, but all the other details are correct - including the callsign, SBLW.

 

Hi, robovega--- I also ordered my mini from Long beach mini last May 14, I called MINI last Friday and I was told my completion date was June 3. Do you know how I can track it? Thank you--

 

Now, I have figured out I might be on the K-line vessel, the Triton Highway, which left England on the 6th and is scheduled to reach Charleston on the 19th. Is there a way to figure out if my car has left Southampton on a K-line ship?

 

Awesome! Good to see a fellow Long Beach MINI motorer.

Looks like we missed each other by a few days, which means our MINIs are probably not on the same ship. You can track it by going to the WW website, and entering your VIN number in the "Cargo ID" field (the field farthest to the right). From there, you should see exactly what ship your MINI is booked on, and if its been loaded onto the vessel.

When you figure out what vessel your MINI is on, head over to MarineTraffic.com and do a search for your vessel. It should give you an idea of where the vessel has been and where it is going. My guess is you are on the Otello (or Othello?). I did a quick search and it seems like the vessel is out of range, meaning you might find difficulty tracking its exact position. You can also try SailWx.info to track the ship. That ship has an ETA of 6/26 at the Port Hueneme VDC. Let us know what you find out!

BTW, who was your MA at Long Beach MINI? I've been tracking my order since 5/10 all on my own and never got a phone call or anything to update me on my order.


I think only your MA can help you track MINIs boarded onto a K-Line ship. You can give the WW website a shot, but I would call your MA. Hope you hear some good news. Let us know what happens!

 

monarl, mine was also completed on the 3rd. There were about 25 cars loaded in the last hour that must have been on the same train to South Hampton. Like Robovega said, check the WW website with the VIN in the Cargo ID section. Your MINI may have been in the same group as mine!

Unfortunately, after reaching the Port, mine still has to travel up to Portland. My MA told me it would be 10 business days once it is loaded on the truck...does that sound right??

I hope you made it onto the Otello!!

 

Thanks for your help guys but for some reason I could not access the website that you gave me, I've been trying it since last night, but I will try again later. I do hope I got in Othello.

robovega, my MAs are Tony and David. I ordered a dark silver one with lounge brown leather and he mentioned that someone ordered a redwood lounge leather a few days ago, that must have been you. Oh and just to let you know- last night I was checking the auto loan rates for Bank of America and found that they had good rates, maybe it is something you might want to check out.

 

Yeah, the WW website is kinda fussy. I'm on a Mac, and for whatever reason, I can't access it through Safari. I use Firefox to get to the website. If you are using Windows, give Firefox a shot.

My MA at Long Beach is Junior, and yup, I'm probably that Redwood Lounge order. I tried to be pretty frugal with my order, but when I sat in the Lounge Leather upholstery, I just had to have it. And if I could afford an S or a Cabrio, I definitely would have considered Hot Chocolate Lounge. Very classy choice.

I actually considered BofA for my auto loan. I wanted a backup plan in case I didn't make a June 30th delivery. They advertise the lowest APR I've seen online (4.40%), but in the fine print they mention that rate has special discounts applied to it that vary by state, plus a $200 loan fee. Just a lot of hidden stuff I didn't want to deal with. I'm happy with the rate CapitalOne gave me and their Blank Check process seems very hassle-free.

Has Long Beach MINI estimated a pick up date for you?

 

Hard to tell, but let's just hope its not more than 10 business days.

I stumbled upon a link to the trucking company they use to transport MINIs from the VDC to the dealers. The site let's you track your MINI by VIN, but I can't find the link right now.

I'll update this post once I do...

 

The best loan rate I found was a local credit union. They have a 3.90% rate for 48-month regular financing. And no loan app/processing fee - unlike the $200 BofA charges.

Is the current 3.90% offered by MINI financial cover the cabrio, too? I would ask my MA, but I must say that I've been totally underwhelmed by his assistance thus far. I have probably emailed him 4 times total since I ordered (4/17) and all of his replies have been single sentences - with no suggestion or hint of additional information. Thank goodness for NAM!

 

mtubesing - Double bummer:

1 – On the Long Beach MINI dealer website, the fine print for the financing says "excluding 2009 MINI Convertible."
I'd say go with the credit union. That's a fantastic rate, and I doubt MINI financial could beat that, let alone match it.

2 - Bummer to lackluster MA assistance. I'm in the same boat you're in. I've had to track my MINI all on my own since the day I ordered it. Not once have I received a call or email updating me on the my order. I feel like I'm an annoyance. Oh well, at least we have each other here on NAM.

 

Thanks!! Much appreciated!

I also feel like I've been a pest to my MA...and I seem to be one step ahead of him when it comes to my MINI (thanks to those on this board). Oh well, thank goodness for the internet!

Monarl, I have the same problem when using my mac. I have had to use my work computer (PC) to track it and check the VIN info. I don't know what the deal is with Safari.

Does anyone know how long it takes for a car to clear the VDC? Time to hurry up and wait!!

 

Well, my MA emailed me that mine is on a ship which has left Southampton and is scheduled to arrive in Charleston on June 19th. Since it does not show up on the cargo tracking site, it must be on a K-Line ship which means it is on the Triton Highway. Although I have tried both the sail.wx and the marine.traffic sites, I cannot locate the Triton Highway so it looks like my efforts to track the ship across the sea have reached an end. The "owner's Lounge" has not, of course, been updated - the car would have departed port on June 6th. Now, for the wait. If anyone can track the Triton Highway, please let me know. Thanks.

 

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shi...html?call=JKPS

but, apparently, they stopped submitting their weather data sometime back in 2007... so not much help there. Sorry.

 

You guys are right, after downloading Firefox on my mac I was able to track it. I can confirm now that my mini is onto Otello too together with PenelopiePDx's mini and scheduled to arrive Port Hueneme on June 26. Might not be possible for it to arrive the dealership before June 30 because when I ordered the sports stripes, my MA said it will be installed in the port meaning it will spend more time there.

Robovega, no they did not give me a pick up date, all they said it will be on or before July 15. May I ask you if they offered you a refundable down payment for the car? I was told mine is not refundable because of the color combination I ordered w/c is Dark Silver/Lounge hot chocolate brown-- they said they have not seen anything like that. By the way, thanks for the information about B of A auto loan, I did not read the fine print, you saved me some time because I was planning to go there and apply.

You guys are so helpful!!! Thanks again

 

Glad to hear you are on a vessel!

I'm thinking about stripes myself. They aren't on my order, but my MA says they can be installed at the VDC or the dealer when the time nears. I have an SS/W MC, and I'm debating between white sport stripes and black bonnet stripes. I still haven't made up my mind. I haven't seen white sport stripes on SS before, nor have I seen mismatched roof and stripes before. Any suggestions?

BTW – My $1,000 deposit was non-refundable. I think that just depends on the dealer you go to. MINI of Monrovia has a fully refundable $500 deposit. Go figure.

And for your auto loan, give CapitalOne a shot. The rates are as competitive as BofA, without all the hassle and fees.

 

Glad to see a bunch of us made it into the OTELLO. I have the same words from my MA.. it arriving at Port Hueneme on June 26.. but in my case because of the JCW aero kit, I will have to wait like more week.

 

Good morning robovega! I think you should go with the white sport stripes, in my opinion it will make your mini look very classy-- and sports stripes are not too common yet, well atleast here in Orange County. Thanks for the info about capital one, I will check the website right now.

 

Strange, I thought I'd be on the Maersk Wave, but tracking now found I'm booked on the "Integrity". ETD from Southampton is June 10, ETA New York is June 18 (same day as the Maersk Wave). Whatever, at least it'll be here in 9 days.

 

MA confirmed mine is on Triton Highway which goes first to Baltimore and then on to Charleston - it does not appear to be a way to track it so I will just have to wait (impatiently) until the 19th. Anyone else on the Triton Highway?

 

I'm hoping it's faster than that as well - mine is heading a bit farther north to Seattle. Perhaps on the same truck? At last report on sailwx, the Otello was just past the Azores - getting closer!

 

The Undine arrived on time in Halifax this morning...

http://marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdet...MMSI=265884000

Getting closer!

 

boo the ETA for NY arrival is now the 12th :(