I just got word mine is complete...so it actually has an 11-11-11 birthday....cool!

hopefully it gets on a boat next week, then is in the US by thxgiving.

 

Congratulations, mkortering5! That's awesome!

 

I just heard from my MA that mine will be finished tomorrow... just missed the 11-11-11 birth date.... Either way, I just wish that we get a ship right off the gate to make the wait a little shorter... Cheers.....

 

@AnnArrogance - "So, apparently my CM has been in paint for like 3 days.... I have an estimated completion date of 11/14, but my MA says if it's still in paint, I may not make that date. :( My MA has been awesome about giving me information, but I just wish that Mini itself would provide more, both to him and me! The OL and Ask Mini have been worse than useless--even when I talk to a real person at Ask Mini (although they are all very nice and apologetic that they don't have more info). AND the OL still isn't showing any of my options in the order detail--just a blank box. Le sigh. I just wish we had more info. That said, at least we get SOME info on the build process--I know most car manufacturers don't even give you that much."

I'm not sure why your MA doesn't think you car will be done by 11/14. After paint comes assembly (takes one day), then quality assurance and you're done. My car was in paint on Monday and it is now on the ship in Southampton as we speak (and that includes the train ride from Oxford to Southampton).

 

Just a reminder for those posters whose MINI was produced in Oxford:

The CM variants and the Clubman are produced in Graz, Austria. After completion, they are loaded on a car-carrier truck and driven to Bremerhaven, Germany. They are then loaded aboard the ship and, eventually, dock in Southampton. Thus, the Countryman's trip from the factory to the ship takes quite a bit longer that the non-CM/Clubman produced in Oxford.

FWIW,

 

I think it's just that it seems to have been stalled in paint since 11/8. The Mini factory video I watched (granted, it was the Oxford plant, not Graz) seemed to indicate the paint process only took a day, so there seems to be some kind of holdup. If it's resolved today, I'll probably be done on the 14th, but if it's held there any longer, I might not make it. Unless my MA hasn't received updated info from the factory yet--I would assume those updates come in in the evening (US time) to correlate with early morning (1st shift, say) Austria time. But that's just an assumption (although my OL only seems to update late at night, so it may be a fair one--I don't know).

Maybe they ran out of Surf Blue paint?

 

Oops...thanks for the reminder. I didn't realize that this was a CM thread when I made my posting. Makes me kinda glad that I didn't get a CM though because it's already three weeks at sea from Southampton to the West Coast so add to that however long it takes to get from Austria to the UK and it a LONG boat ride.

 

I wonder what your MINI adviser has been smoking if he thinks anyone will be able to fit three child seats in the back on a CM with bench seat. I couldn't fit three across the back of a Volvo V70 which is a much larger car.

 

Are you sure about the Clubman? Mine was manufactured in Oxford, as were the hundreds I saw parked at the plant when I went for a look last month.

 

My MA didn't write that. He received it from Mini. So, technically, some guy at Mini is smoking something, not my MA.

 

It's only a one or two day voyage from Bremerhaven to Southampton. There are so many other factors that can affect delivery that it really is a moot point. My biggest delay was when the vehicle hit Brunswick, GA. It was released from the VDC and waited 6 days for a truck.

 

You're right. There are lots of variables and a great deal depends on luck. The ship with my car on it was supposed to leave Southampton yesterday and as of last night at midnight it was still in port and my car wasn't on the manifest. I woke up this morning and checked and lo and behold, I made it onto the ship. That saved me a 12 day wait until the next ship. I'm hoping my luck continues to hold out.

 

When the Clubman was first released, it came from the M-S plant in Graz. It sounds like production has been moved to Oxford then. Did you see any Coupes in Oxford?

 

I noticed in OL that when my wifes CM was in 'On Order' status that it listed all the options, but when it went into 'Scheduled For Production' status the order detail went blank....

Unfortunately, our CM has been in 'Scheduled For Production' status for over 10 long days. Wish I could get more detailed info on where in the production cycle it is.

 

My MCS was in "Scheduled" status for about 10 days also but once it actually went into production things moved very quickly. You have to speak to the live person because the status on the lounge is almost always far behind. The OL still said "scheduled" and the automated system said "Scheduled with no confirmed production date" and when I spoke to the live person, tha car was already in the paint shop.

 

My order status detail is back on the OL at last! Wasn't there at about 4 PM, but now at 10:45 PM, it has magically re-appeared. Maybe that means my CM is finally out of its stall in the paint shop and on to general assembly? Fingers crossed!

This thread (and board in general) has been really helpful going through this whole process, both in terms of information and emotional support! And it's so great to watch everyone's Minis being built together! Hooray for the 2012 Bench Seat Club!

 

You're right! I couldn't have done this without this board. Imagine people who don't know about NAM, order a car and then just wait two months for their MA to call. I'd go nuts! However, i's been expensive being on here. I've already spent about $800 on a car that I don't even own yet! Every time I see something on here I think, "Hey that's cool", bookmark the page and now that my car is on the open sea, I'be been ordering stuff from my bookmark list.

 

It's so true! Here's a list of things I bought for my CM that have arrived (or will arrive, at least) WELL before my CM:

1. Craven Stubby antenna (duh)
2. Craven Chimex (I keep my heavy purse on the front seat, and I hear the seatbelt alarms are super sensitive!)
3. Gobadge holder
4. SEVERAL grill badges
5. Nifty leather keyfob case from ebay
6. RGM Rearguard
7. Eyeshade (will be here Monday)
8. Go Mini Go glovebox tidy (ordered today)

Things I may buy within the next several months:

1. PoochStyle cargo mat (asking for this for Christmas--with 3 dogs, it's practically a necessity)
2. Cold Air Intake (MAYBE)
3. "Clear" turn signal bulbs for the headlights
4. Prima starter kit from Show Car Supplies
5. SprintBooster (MAYBE--still looking into this one)

My first actual "mod," though, once my car arrives? Moving the BT microphone to the American side of the car. Yet another thing I learned from NAM!

 

You know, your list is a perfect example of why these cars are different from all other cars and why people develop such an attachment to them. It's the personal nature of the car. I have a long list too, but the only thing that's on my list that's also on your list is the stubby antenna. My first mods will be viper stripes and changing out the RF's. I'm ordering the tires tomorrow from tirerack.com. There goes another $500!

 

No Coupes or Roadsters but plenty of Convertibles, Clubmans and regular MINI's. My Clubman was a 2007 model, near the start of Clubman production, the CM took over the X3 production line, I can't find any info on Magna ever building the Clubman.

 

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I got my Go Badges and Mini flash drive yesterday and I've ordered a car care kit. When my wife got the mail, she just handed me the box, rolled her eyes, and said "Really?". How are your spouses handling your obsession?

 

I'm probably going to swap out the runflats too, but I'm going to try and wait until I'm close to needing new tires. Or at least until I get my first flat. I'm really regretting that I didn't order the tunnel spoke wheels, so I'm thinking I might order those and get normal tires once the first set of runflats have "run their course," so to speak.


My husband is dealing with it OK. He's definitely sick of hearing me talk about it, but he's fairly excited about helping me with some mods on it, and has been reasonably accepting of my growing grill badge collection. The other day, however, just before we went to bed, he asked me "what's wrong? You haven't talked about your Mini once today!" So I promptly told him all about where he was in the production process and so forth.

 

Not sure which day my MINI was completed, but the OL now states, "Awaiting Transport"!!! She'll soon be on her way! I'm thinking of calling her "Turtle", for taking such a long time through the production process. That would make this "Turtle Sunday"!

 

So last word from my MA this past Tuesday was that Boomer was scheduled for production this coming week, 46. For kicks and giggles I called Ask Mini just now and it says I'm in the Paint Shop with a completion date of 11/14!!! Sweeeeeeeet!!!!

 

There appears to be a bit of a hold-up in Bremerhaven. We were meeting with our MA on Saturday to finalize paperwork and he mentioned that he has been waiting for 4 CM, all produced after 10/24.

Those who are expecting to have their CM come into the NY VDC will have to wait for the next WW ship ("Glorious Leader") which leaves Bremerhaven on 11/17 and is due in NY on 12/01. FYI -- the next ship after that is the "Topeka" due to leave BH on 11/23 with a 12/07 arrival in NY.

Note that there are two shipping companies: Wallenius Wilhelmsen and K-Line. Based on their ports of call, K-Line does not stop in NY.