Yes, this does appear to be somewhat out of mini's control at this point because they are waiting for EPA certification (or at least that's what I've been told). They have no ETA of when this will be resolved (again, at least that's what I've been told) Now maybe its their fault because they filed the paperwork late, or maybe they built the cars too quickly, or maybe the government has just been much slower than normal in inking their rubber stamps.

What is in their control is communication, and this is my beef at the moment. It would have been easy for corporate to notify the dealers last week of the EPA snag instead of this week. It would have been easy for the dealer to call me on Monday and say 'hey, we're having problems getting your mini out of the VDC, let's reschedule'. While I would have still been annoyed if they called me, at least they wouldn't have wasted my time. For a company that goes out of its way to make their processes transparent you'd think they'd do a bit more housekeeping.

 

jeffs2, you are right.
They should have notified you and rescheduled.
Stuff happens, things go wrong, that's life, but a failure to communicate something as simple as a need to reschedule is a huge FAIL on the part of your dealer.
I hope they throw some nice swag your way for inconveniencing you to such a large extent.

 

I'd like to say that I understand but truth be told, I smell a rat. I dropped by the dealer this morning and they have 3 2012 Roadsters sitting on the lot (this was the first time theyve had more than 1 at a time) not to mention another 110 new 2012s on hand. The moment the first batch of 2013s hits the lot (especially ones that were not custom ordered) they are going to have to discount the existing units.

My suspicion is the wait is due to MINIUSA holding back the new models in hopes of squeezing a few more sales at full MSRP. They have every right to do it and it may even make good business sense, the problem is allowing rumors of EPA SNAFUs and not a word from corporate to dealers and customers to get people annoyed and irritated.

The salesman I spoke with tried the whole EPA BS with me. When I asked if that was "official" and could I see the memo from corporate, his reply was a sheepishly muttered, "that's just what I've heard." He then told me about a nicely equipped 2012 JCW Roadster they'd just gotten in. Silver with red hood stripe, mirror caps and interior trim, black wheels custom leather seats, and a few more nice features. Said I could drive it home today.

 

Your statement is incorrect. Maybe YOUR dealer didn't know, or maybe they did and didn't want to tell you, for fear you'd go buy something else. When I ordered mine, my dealer told me they wouldn't start producing the 2013 Countrymans until around October, and that the rest of the Mini lineup would be switching over end of June, beginning of July, but that they aren't typically released to the dealerships until August.

 

You really need to put things in perspective. You WILL be getting your custom ordered cars soon enough. Yes, the wait sucks, but anticipation is half the fun. And with these types of things, sometimes the dealers have very limited info.

Could be worse. Back in '93, I was looking at Mazda Navajos. I wanted a specific color, fully loaded, but in manual. As it was the end of the model year, there were none to be had. The dealer I went to told me the '94s would be coming soon, some were at the port, they we're just waiting to be released. Said he'd call me when he had more info. Called me two days later to say they just got word they'd be released soon, but needed a down payment from me, as they weren't slated to get the exact car I wanted, and in order to get it, they'd have to give up two cars they were already being allocated. Told him I'd come I'd come in that evening to leave a deposit. He called me 5 minutes later and said they quit offering the manual for '94, and my choices were the two '93s on their lot. I called another dealership, found out it was a lie, and less than two weeks later, I had my '94, in the color and options I wanted, in a manual.

I almost gave up, assuming he was telling the truth. So I wouldn't worry so much that your exact car you want is there, and just slightly delayed.

 

There have been a lot of points made. The situation was and is still being handled poorly. Yes I did communicate with the district manager and dealer and they said they would gladly refund my deposit.

Having gone through this process before with Mini something is different this time. There is no level of customer service happening at the moment and it seems they don't care.

 

The Countryman issue is totally different. It was at auto websites all over the web that it would be a late fall release. My salesman (sorry, I don't want to drink the MA koolaid) told me when I ordered that every year was different and that "typically" new models weren't released till early fall, but .....

He was surprised when the July build order was for 2013 MY and when my car was on the boat he said it would arrive at the dealership in a matter of a couple days after it hit the port. The response to my most recent email was, "I have no idea what MINIUSA is doing." This comes from the top salesman in all of Florida for the past 3 years. No attempt to blow smoke up my butt, just an honest answer.

I say, just tell us the truth, give us a firm date of delivery (for those cars already here in the states) and be prepared to throw a little swag our way, courteousy of MINIUSA.

 

Well, the EPA thing does at least have a small ring of truth to it. The government has posted ratings on a lot of 2013 cars, but none from Mini.

 

Agreed, it does sound plausible. So why such a deep dark secret? Something wrong with being "transparent" and keeping buyers "in the loop"?

 

FINALLY AN UPDATE!

Independence II is nearing port:D
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/def...0&type_color=7

 

Signature changed:>

 

How do you track your vehicle if it is on the K line?

 

I'd like to know as well. Mine has been waiting at the port for a week and nothing is coming up on WW. I'd just like to know where it is.

 

For those of you who are not yet booked on a ship or are on the informationless K-Line boats, you still have some hope. You can pull up the shipping schedules for both WW and K-Line off of their websites to determine the next boats leaving Southampton and try to guess which boat you’ll be on. Again, for K-Line customers, your MA is the only one who will be able to confirm you are on one of these vessels. The links to the schedules are as follows:
-WW Cargo: (Give it a minute to generate…) http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppSche...pe=generatePDF
-K-Line Cargo: This is a pretty complicated schedule, your main focus is the North American Shuttle Service at the top of the schedule. http://www.kline.com/KAMCarCarrier/S...g_Schedule.pdf

"Once you have determined what ship you are going to be loaded onto, you can use the AIS Live site (http://www.ais-live.co.uk/AIS%20Live...uthampton.html) to track your ship as it comes and goes from the Southampton Port! After you are loaded onto a ship, you are at the mercy of the sea while you await your MINI delivery. You can however follow your ship through the Atlantic (until Halifax, NS or the Panama Canal whichever is first) using a very helpful website SAILWX (http://www.sailwx.info/). On SAILWX select “Ship Tracker” at the top of the page and then “Find specific ship by name or callsign”. The last entry on the page will allow you to enter the name of your ship. Once you find your ship, you will be shown the latest information for your ship’s position at sea and any other ships in the area. See the Links section for tracking information for ships at NYC, Charleston and other US ports."

 

Your signature should read "languishing in limbo, waiting for MINIUSA to let my baby come home to me"

 

I got the word this morning. My Mini Roadster is on the Integrity and is supposed to be in Baltimore on Aug. 3rd. It was waiting to ship for about 2 weeks. Is anyone else on this one?

 

Independence II is anchored at port!!! Woo:>
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/def...0&type_color=7

 

Yup. I am, and I believe there was one other person a couple pages back.

--Matt

 

I just ordered a 2013 BRG MCS CAB and I don't want to know anything until it's at the dealer. How does that old saying go? "An unwatched coffee pot boils faster."

 

our cars are cruising together!!
yvette

 

I found an app for my Iphone for MINI owners. I can't really use it until my Mini is registered.

 

Jeeves is at the dock waiting for his boat to arrive... I hope he gets on the either the Athens Highway on 7/28 or Don Juan on 7/29...

 

Even if it boils, you can't have your coffee until the steam has been inspected.

 

Tarbot, I'm waiting as well. I hit the WW site 15-20 times a day to see if he's been booked yet. Maybe we will ride over together.

 

Tarbot and GreyNation, I'm there with you, hanging out on the docks. I'm hoping for the Athens Highway, since it gets to Charleston a little bit earlier than the Don Juan . . .