I just noticed that my baby now has a VIN - I guess that is pretty good evidence that she has an identity as she rolls through the factory.[IMG]images/smilies/thumb-up.gif[/IMG]

How exciting.....

I was told by the dealer that production would be early January but from all signs she may be on her way West by then (hopefully) !!

Bill

 

I just checked ASK MINI this morning and got the message: "Your car is in the paint shop with an estimated completion date of January 15th, 2006."

I'm happy that I finally have a date, but it's disappointing that it's going to take a full month to go from the paint shop to being complete. I guess I was effected by the early year shut-down afterall.

Does that mean I'm week 2 or week 3, '06?

 

My estimated completion date is January 18th but ASK MINI tells me that my car is listed to be "produced" during Week 1 of 2006 and that the best projected dealer arrival date is first week of Feb but maybe late Jan.

I ordered a little later than you - November 19 - and got my production number on December 2, which is probably the "real start date" of the promised eight week wait.

They also confirmed that ASK MINI loses ability to track specific location when the boat sails - but I believe there is some way to track the boat through the shipping line. This sounds a bit suspect though since the website has listings for "at distribution center" and "at dealer" so Mama MINI must have some ability to know when it is in these places.

I am not yet panicking but I have a set of snow tires on order from Tire Rack for my new baby that are back ordered with a date that keeps slipping... Plenty of time for them to come but I just want to be ready for any Feb snowstorms !!

Bill

 

How long does a car usually stay "On Order"?

 

We are in the same boat. I also called ask Mini and was informed that we are a Jan 18th completion date and currently in paint shop! Just think, all our Mini's will be siblings, they must all be on the line together. Guess this is the second MINI trimester then!

 

Latest update:

"Vehicle production is complete and is waitng to be released to the carrier".

Damn that was quick.

 

I learned that calling ask mini gets you more information than the Owner's Lounge on the web site - they said the exact same thing to me, that my baby is in the paint shop and due out the door on the 18th.... I have recently been collecting web sites for the shipping lines used by the company and plan to track my ship across the Atlantic, boring everyone to tears at work!

The neatest thing I saw recently was by using Google Earth, you can look down on the plant in Oxford and see the MINIs lined up being driven onto the rail cars - its an old photo and not video but very cool nonetheless.

I continue to have a bit of concern about the plant shutdown - I originally thought that it was for a bit less than 2 weeks in mid-January and that we might miss it, getting out the door before it started. In a recent Motoring File piece on how many units they produced last year, they note that they are extending the normal Christmas break into the January shutdown. If that is true, then nothing is going to happen until late January and our recently painted bodies will sit unattended and ignored for quite a period. Hope this was an editorial error and that the 18th is still a valid estimate.

Bill

 

Congratulations!! Man, those are the words I am looking forward to reading, that your MINI exists and is making its way to you !!

It won't be (too) long now !!

Bill