I ordered my car last Friday, and my MA said he should have a production number for me by tomorrow (Thursday). Is that typical? Why the wait?

 

It depends on several factors, but it is mostly about the dealer, their individual practices, and how full their order log is.

1. If you place an order and the dealer will switch an exisiting order for a lot vehicle, you will get a production number whenever dealership order people figure out which they will swap. It could be immediate, or it could take a few days.
2. If your dealer is not willing to swap an existing production number or is unable to because their allocation for customer cars is full, then you have to wait until the next open allocation of production numbers.
3. If you place an order for an option that is not in production yet, then you would have to wait. For example, the rear bench seat configuration was not available for production until November for US cars, so early model year 2012 orders had to wait.

When we ordered the 06 MINI, the dealer allocation was full. We waited 3 months before we got a production number. For the CM we got the production number about 3 weeks after we ordered. Here we had to wait for an open allocation of bench seat production.

 

Not suprisingly, you get the number when your car goes into production. This can take anywhere from a day or two to several weeks. If your dealer has cars left in their monthly allotment, they can be reconfigured to match your order, resulting in a quick number for you. However, if they've used their quota, you'll have to wait for the next allotment - i.e., it could be a while. Also note that not even with the internet are all things instant. It my take 24 or more to update the system. You may get your number and check its status only to find a completely different car - one that was scheduled for production that they're reconfiguring for you. Just gonna take a minute or two to update the specs in the system. Patience and faith are two real important factors here.

 

Everyone typing at the same time.

 

Thanks for the replies. Hmmm, patience and faith, not sure I have much of either, but I'll try!

 

yep...

Neither is required for this journey you are embarking on, but it helps. If you have neither, you just come on NAM and update the 2012 countryman on order topic with your updates. We will all congratulate you as you progress through the milestones and sympathize with your frustration.

Sanity will return once your car is delivered.

 

Yeah, right. Whole 'nother journey starts then. Mostly good, but watch out for the pot holes. Especially with the run flats.

 

This is the kind of timeline you need:

ORDERED 3/23/12.
PRODUCTION NUMBER 3/23/12. (took a dealer spot)
PRODUCTION STARTED 3/28/12 according to Mini 800 number although originally booked for week 15 (April 9 - 15)
VIN 3/28/2012
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE 4/4/12
PAINT SHOP 4/2/12
FINAL ASSEMBLY 4/4/12
BORN 4/4/12

Car is on the way to the Port of Southampton according to 800 ASK MINI.

 

Wow, that is an insanely fast turnaround!

 

Supa fast! I'm on WEEK NINE.... and still no mini......






.

 

OK, got my production number on Friday, a week after ordering. Now how long before it will move from 'On Order' to 'Scheduled for production' in the Owner's Lounge?

 

You should have gotten a production number 24-48 hours after ordering and your MA should be able to tell you today what week your Mini is scheduled for. Any other response from them is a brush off because they do not have an allocation.

 

I must say that I do feel a bit 'brushed off'. I was told when I ordered on a Friday that I would get an email on Monday with the production number. When I emailed him late on Monday, he replied back that he would have it by Thursday at the latest. It didn't come on Thursday, so I sent him an email on Friday asking where it was. He emailed me back later saying that he got it and that he would send me an email later with it. Once I got it, it still took me 2 more days to be able to use it to log into the Owners Lounge. Now the status has said 'On Order' for 2 days, and I keep logging in to see if it has updated.

 

Tracking Your MINI

 

The Owner's Lounge is well behind on being updated. You should look at:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d-updated.html

and go through the steps. I would absolutely call your MA and insist on a scheduled build date and call Mini at 1-866-ASK-MINI (1-866-275-6464): (Production Status and Dates) and speak to a live person.

 

Thanks Ozark!

 

Quick update - I called ASK-MINI today, and they said that the status is 'Order accepted', meaning there is no production date yet. This is killing me, I've gotta try to go a few days without checking. I can't bear to keep checking with no updates.

 

Obviously your dealer does not have an allocation and you are being left to twist in the breeze. If it were me, I would call the MA and tell them an order with no production date is no order at all. Unless you got a screaming deal to compensate, go negotiate elsewhere and make sure the dealer has allocation. If the dealer you are working with now wants your business they will swap a built unit or an incoming unit with a future allocation for your order.

 

I don't want to go back to square one at this point. Hopefully I'll have a production date in the next couple of days.

 

Your MA should be able to tell you which week your Mini is going to be built and if he cannot he has zero allocation and you will not get a car.

Wow - you have 14 Mini dealers within 82 miles of your location - we all should be so lucky! Start emailing the stores, near to far, spec out the order you want and tell them the price you want to pay and that the order is allocation dependent. So what if you pay a little more - right now you are probably not going to get to use the $750 Test Event credit if you do not take delivery by July 2!

 

Just like to say that I apologize for appearing maybe just a little aggressive on this thread. If MCJoe feels comfortable with his current position it is entirely his business and I respect his decision.

 

Well, another thing is, my dealer has a new policy that if you are ordering a car, you have to put down a $2000 deposit. So, shopping around at this point is not an option. I would have gone to another dealer, but I was set to order that day, and the dealer is 5 minutes from my job. Any other one I would have had to take a day off of work.