BTW, MINI is contracting with other carriers for a few runs. My car is not on a K-line or WW ship. It is on the Altair Leader due to dock at Port Hueneme on Nov 9. This boat only has Countrymen and BMWs (no other MINIs.) I think the Asian King was a special contract boat, also. Obviously something is going on with international car shipping that is backing things up. Influx of 2012s? Hope it sorts out soon.

 

I doubt i would have to wait 3 weeks for the ship to get here, seeing i'm on the east coast. I believe it will take roughly 10-12 days, then probably another 3-5 from the dock. i'm guessing i'll have the car by Nov 10th

 

Keep us updated, our car is due at the same port Oct 24th. So I think 1st week of Nov is a safe time frame. Good luck, we are so close!
Ron

 

I will keep you updated. As of now it will be at Bob Smith Mini on the 27th, but I can't understand why if the ship docked on the 20th, it takes 7 days to get there. Some have said that their car was at the dealer two days after arriving at the port. Also, just wouldn't you know that I have a very busy end of the week coming! Darn!

CMS/light coffee/polar beige gravity leather/sport steering wheel with paddles/Streptronic/Universal garage door opener/white bonnet stripes, roof and mirror caps/interior color carbon black/color line polar beige/int. mirror with compass/dual pane sunroof/heated front seats/mini-connected with nav/white turn signal lights/alloy wheels in silver/2 part center rail/premium package/technology package

 

Just a couple of observations...

"Waiting for the ship" can be interpreted as waiting for your vehicle to be loaded on the ship or waiting for the ship to arrive at the VDC. If it is the former, the timeframe varies widely. The logistics of moving vehicles across the pond involve destination, load planning, and timing. This is, ultimately, up to the shipping company and even if your vehicle is parked at the dock, there is no guarantee that it will be put on the next ship to arrive there. Folks have waited at port for up to three weeks before their vehicles have been loaded. On the other hand, my R53 waited only two days! Check the ship's manifest, if you can...though sometimes it is a crapshoot to track by VIN.

Another unknown is the time spent at the VDC. There are many thousands of cars (BMWs and MINIs) that go through our VDCs each week. The VDC isn't just a transfer point either. Some prepping is done, some accessory installations are completed, and (unfortunately) some repair work is also done there. Then there is the idle time at the VDC waiting for ground transportation; that can be a real hold up!

So, anticipating delivery time is nowhere near a science, it is a lesson in patience! I just hope that my bench-seated R60 gets to the dealer by January 3rd. There's $750 in it for me!

 

apparently it takes 14 days from BREMERHAVEN to New Jersey, then roughly 3-10 days from there to my dealership. so i'm looking at 9 more days until it hits the US then another 10 to my dealership. 19 more days

 

Things must of really slowed down…NJ to dealership (CT) to delivery and that was with a Navigation error code message (glade those are over with )
6 days if I recall. Hope things quicken up for you…as I surely remember the anticipation..the final week was a killer.
It's all worth it though

 

Yeah, I thought from Austria it would take 8 days, but apparently the ship is stopping in Southampton, England. I can only assume its there to pick up other smaller minis

 

Actually my ship the Faust left Bremerhaven, stopped at Southampton, Zeebrugge, Halifax and then landed NJ/NY

 

Do you remember how long it took to get to NJ

 

Bremerhaven to NJ, 11 days with 3 stops in between

 

Singha here is the timeline of my CM from order to delivery in NJ

 

Just got my car...now need to learn how to drive stick...this will be interesting

By the way, I went through Norm at Herb Chambers Mini of Boston. Great to deal and a great guy in general. Parking is a hassle though

 

thanks for the timeline...i also ordered my car from HC Mini of Boston 30 days ago and my car has been stuck in 112 for 95 percent of this time...i told the SM that i am getting frustrated more with each day passing of no information. this is not fun any more for me.

 

what i suspected...my SM told me that the CM-S with bench is going through the production line faster. if i had known that, i would have ordered the "S" since i don't want to wait 3 months for my car.

 

As long as the car doesn't have a VIN yet, which it sounds like it doesn't, you can still change it to an S. You can change anything you want before it gets a VIN. Just make sure your MA gives you a new order number (production slot) that is not too far off. Ask them to give you the first dealer production slot they have for a Countryman S. Eight days from you're production date your S will be on the dock at Southampton!

 

thanks chaswyck for the advice....i hope you dont mind but i copied and pasted your suggestion and sent it to my SM. again, much appreciated and i will update you with whatever i hear.

 

I don't mind at all. Let me know how you make out. If your experience is anything like mine has been with two different MA's at two different dealerships, you should hear back from them sometime around Christmas. I'm actually wondering if the MA I bought the car from still works at the dealership. Either that or he entered the witness protection program.
I changed my wheels, added anthracite headliner and HK sound two weeks after I ordered the car and the day before it was scheduled for production (and therefore, given a VIN).

 

i'm pressing my SM about getting some answers...he has a person he contacts but that person seems of little use. i pressed him further and he said he has another person he can contact...it's like mini (or bmw) saying..."we can do whatever the heck we want....just because".

 

Nope!

 

There's a thread on here somewhere about the Motor-tober promotion and it seemed like most people were saying that their MA told them they would honor the certificate even if the car didn't arrive until after 1/3. My MA said that too, but my CMS is on a ship that left Southampton about an hour ago so I don't have to worry about it. Instead of dumping the CM altogether, why not get your deposit back and start over with another dealer and get what you really want? That's what I did.