Brihyanna
Happy birthday to your baby. It will be sailing the ocean blue before you know it.

 

Thanks for the link! As of this morning 9/13, WW shows our mini as Loaded on Elektra. I'm waiting for the position to show up somewhere..it hasn't appeared here since july.

 

How longs it take a mini to get to Honolulu?

I'll be there on the 20th so save me a seat at my favorite restaurant, Irifune's on Kapahula.

 

AISlive.com shows the ELEKTRA as being dockside in Southampton. Of course, you already knew that, since your car was loaded today. Mine hasn't been loaded yet, but the day's not over. My car's VIN is listed on the manifest for the ELEKTRA, and isn't wait-listed like it was when it was originally scheduled for the FREEDOM, so things are looking good.

AISlive will show when ELEKTRA leaves Southampton, but the AIS reports will probably dry up as she gets further out to sea. I don't know why the ELEKTRA hasn't been showing up on WXinfo, but I'll keep checking.

As long as there aren't any delays for foul weather, the 22nd looks pretty firm for arriving in NYC. Time is money for cargo transport operators, so it's uncommon for them to deviate very far from their schedule.

There's probably more uncertainty and variance in the time it takes to get from the US port of entry to your dealership than there is in getting from the UK to the US.

Scott

 

This is the AISlive page that shows the port of Southampton, and shows the ELEKTRA (right next to the QE2!!).

I don't know if a direct link to the page will work if you don't have a login for AISlive, but here goes:

http://aisfree.aislive.com/Influx.as...%20Southampton

Edit -- Well, the direct link won't work unless you have a login for AISlive.com, but the registration is free, and once you register, that link should take you directly to the port of Southampton without having to start off with a map of all of Europe and drilling down through the layers to get to Southampton.

Scott

 

Just noticed that convertibles seem to be over-represented on the ELEKTRA. Of the 169 MINI's manifested on that ship, 38 of them are convertibles. That's almost one of every four cars on the ship, which I think is a higher percentage of convertibles than in the general MINI population. Maybe the factory clumps similar orders together (coupes or convertibles) to make the production easier, so that's why this one ship ended up heavy on convertibles.

Regardless, there's a bunch of topless MINI's (including mine) getting ready to go on an ocean cruise!!

Scott

 

Dot movement!

 

Dot movement for me too! It's official!!!

 

Thanks I registered, but it's not in that view. I had to zoom out one. That might mean it's moving and on its way!

Checking WW..yes..Elektra has sailed.

I attached the port image...

 

Hello. This is my first NAM post.

My production was completed on the 6th and the nice ASK-MINI robot changed to "in transit" on the 11th. Long Beach MINI said it was due at Port Hueneme on the 28th, but didn't know the ship or carrier. WW doesn't recognize my VIN either.

Does anyone out there with same arrival date know their ship? I'm getting really jealous reading everyone's posts with ship pictures and GPS maps... :P

 

Well, my car is still listed as being at the Southampton docks. I don't know why it wouldn't have made it on the ship today, considering it's been at the docks since the 8th. But, there's another MINI that arrived at the docks on the 7th that, according to the WW site, hasn't made it on a boat either. Maybe I need to call ASK-MINI and see if they have any further information.

Kind of bummed, since my car was originally manifested on the FREEDOM, and then the ELEKTRA, and now it doesn't look like it made it onto either one.

Scott

 

Just found out why my car has been delayed. Some MINI employee (probably an ex-employee by now) put incorrect VIN numbers on 147 convertibles. The incorrect VINs mistakenly labeled the cars as 2007 models instead of 2006 models. All 147 have been recalled to the factory, and MINI will have to re-build all of the cars.

Because the VIN appears in so many places (stamped into the engine block, frame, etcetera), it's not going to be a matter of simply replacing the VIN plates.

If you're currently tracking a convertible MINI, and want to know if yours is affected, check the 10th digit of your VIN. It should be a '6', denoting it as a 2006 model. If it's a '7', your car is one of the ones that was screwed up, so expect at least another week of waiting while they re-build your car.

My motoring advisor said that MINI might "sweeten the pot" to apologize for the mistake, but I have *no* idea what that might mean. It might be a letter of apology, a gift certificate, or a dry fruitcake.

Oh well, my car will be a little later, but at least it's a good story.

Scott

 

ditto!

 

Scott that is so sad and so scary. Thanks for the details on what to look for in our VIN... I'm releived to see a 6 in that position.

 

Rebuilding 147 convertibles?

Doh!

Let's assume those aren't part of the one-in-four population of that boat, OK?

 

hi Urban Elf, your car is probably with ours on the Sirius Leader. West coast frequently ships via NYK line that isn't trackable. They set sail on 9/9 and should arrive around the 28th or 29th. Hope this helps.

 

Of the 38 convertibles manifested for the ELEKTRA, 17 of them were mistakenly tagged as 2007 models and have to go back to the factory. Again, the way to see if your car is involved is to check the 10th digit of your VIN. If it's a '7', it has to go back to the factory, and MINI is probably already building a replacement for it. Remember that all of the cars involved are convertibles, so if you have a coupe on order, there's no reason to worry.

I don't think any of the "oops" cars were actually on the ELEKTRA when she pulled out, because MINI was well aware of the problem by then, and either kept them on the docks or pulled off the ones that had already been loaded onto the boat.

Evidently, some cars made it onto ships and were headed across the ocean when the mistake was discovered last week. Those cars will have to be sent back to the UK as soon as they arrive in the States.

Scott

 

That really sucks!:impatient

 

We have been slowley breaking the news of our new baby to our 19 year old Suzuki Samurai, Sammy. Little did we expect the outburst of despair this teenaged 4WD boy could lay on us. A horrible screethcing sound came from somewhere in the vicinity of his throwout bearing. We took him into the doctor for an examination.
The doctor asked us if anything unusual was going on. We told him about the new baby brother Merlin. The doctor said "Ahhhh. That must be it."
To make a long story short Sammy threw a fit and got himself sick to the tune of a full clutch replacement and a partial tranny rebuild. $1,700 worth of hissy fit. No 15% pulley or CAI for Merlin for at least 3 months.
Then to boot the hot tub named Vulcan decided he had to put in his two cents worth and blew out his heater pump. Another $800. Cheeze and they say machines don't emulate the human condition. Heck my four adult kids aren't this bad. I dont even want to talk about the wind damage to the garage roof I discovered yesterday.

 

Yikes!! I don't envy your machinery issues, JJ!

Every day I get into Katie (my POS Cavalier), and pet the dashboard, and tell her she's a great car and that I love her, and pray to God she doesn't break down in the next 3 weeks!

 

Don't get me wrong. We love Sammy, we really do (I just claybared and waxed him last week) but, he can be a real brat. Vulcan? Well that is just unexusable behavior!:impatient

 

I would agree! No extra-special aromatherapy oils for Vulcan! He is grounded for sure!

 

Foomanchu - my new MINI's being delivered in Ohio, at Classic MINI. I'm moving soon and it's for the best even though I will be without her for a couple of months. Rather that then one extra long trip to Oahu and then another back to the mainland.

 

I just got a quote from Clear Armor in San Carlos for a clear bra package - $1100! I think I'll be doing a bit of shopping around first - I understand they're the best but that's a BIG difference between the other prices I've seen - like double!

 

Yeah, they came very highly recommened so I gave them a call. From what I could see, I like their pattern and coverage better than the others... just not 2x as much! I'm probably going to go with one of the Xpel kits.