Yes, in the US, black roof rails are standard on JCW Countryman. Interesting, in the UK they are an option. I don't know why they aren't an option for the other styles too.

 

Ugh, I want one.. haha

 

Then get one!

My ship is in the Atlantic. It has a stop in Halifax before making its way to NY/NJ. 17.1 knots is pretty darn slow. lol

 

I second the "then get one" comment! NY/NJ doesn't seem bad. I have to cruise all the way thru the Panama Canal and back up to CA. Leaving Bristol tomorrow.

I'm now consistently commenting "if only my I was driving the mini". I had to floor it for 2 minutes to reach highway speed so I didn't get run over by the semi merging onto the highway. Pretty soon I can drive like I'm supposed to!!!

 

When I said I want one. That didn't mean a JCW, it was meaning the black roof rails, which is not available in the US yet from our dealers parts department. (That I know of)

 

I’d like black rails as well. Will keep my eyes open for availability.

 

I believe the black roof rails are also paired with the black kick panels under the side doors. The JCW has them this way. If you configure for black roof rails on the MINI UK site you can see kick panels change too. I really don't understand why these aren't configurable on the US site.

 

Ahhh - I don't either(!) especially as they are standard on the JCW.

As for waiting, it's frustrating that I cannot see the actual location anymore now that the boat is in the Atlantic.

 

My Melting gets delivered to me on Friday!! Ordered July 6th- Delivered October 13.
I will do a write up of the process from start to finish so you new Waiters can see the process, at least for how it worked for me.

 

Yay! It's time!! Take pics.

 

Hooray! You must be so excited

 

Using the Forecast Route button on marinetraffic.com, I believe I've been able to track the boat across the Atlantic. Halifax in 2 days it looks like.

 

Just a teaser- I will take more pics when I am not driving. I AM IN LOVE!!

 

Congratulations! Finally home Enjoy driving this weekend and take more photos when you get a chance.

 

Fantastic! It was a long time coming. Great color and I really like the driving lights. I have those on my 2013 Clubman.

 

That looks fantastic!!! Congrats!

Are the driving lights an added option? I could not find where to add them.

 

Thanks! The driving lights are a dealer-installed option. You order through dealer and they install. Warning- they aren’t cheap! The installation time is charged at 5 hours, so the cost of the installation is about the same as the cost of the lights. My dealer actuallly spent 1 1/2 days installing them. Apparently it is complicated and challenging. Glad they only charged me for the 5 hours!

 

Thanks for the heads up - probably something I will tackle myself.

Enjoy her - she really is a beaut!

 

Congrats on the arrival! Looks great!

So it took ~14 weeks?? My dealer quoted me 8-12 weeks and I'm in CA.

 

Yessir, 14 weeks. I think mine was probably slower because I was among the first for the 2018 model year. I know there is a lot of work to do in line and production changes for a new model year. It took better than a week to get from CA (Port Hueneme) to Denver.

It seems like a long time, but after spending the day in my new Melting- All WORTH IT!!

 

I bet it sure is! I had the same feeling back in '08 after ordering my first MINI (MCS).

Now I will be in your boat (pun intended ) as I am at day 1 (actually day -1 as I made the order over the phone but need to come in and sign the papers on Monday). These next few weeks/months are going to be maddening.

 

I will post a couple of pics here and the rest in the photo thread.


Big Silver- Right, Little Melting, Left

 

I promised I would write up my saga for my fellow Waiters. Here you go!

Ordered from dealer 7/6/2017
" Should be delivered end of August”

Production number showed up on Mini Owners on 7/12

7/12 call to 1-866-ASK-MINI (1-866-275-6464) Said that the car is in production and estimated production completion date is July 21

7/13 call to ask Mini
Confirmed Apple CarPlay will be in vehicle
Said port was Oxford (doesn’t make sense with it be built in Born, NE
He estimated 2 1/2 weeks to get to port
3 1/2 weeks to get to US
Vehicle processing- 3 days
California port= Hueneme
Support guy was very nice- excited about CarPlay
Said my car is probably about 7 weeks out- but there are a lot of variables with shipping, prep, etc.
Said the port was Oxford, which doesn't sound right since it is being built in NEDcar


WW shiptracking- https://www.2wglobal.com/webapps?fra...uickSearchPage

7/21 Call to Mini
Production completion date slipped to 8/14

8/4 Call to Mini
Production completion date still shown as 8/14
Support guy likes- “Cool ride!”
Has not heard of any problems with driver assistance system
If production completion date is 8/14, production should start 8/6

8/11 Call to Mini
Production started “a while ago”
Estimate completion 8/14
Everything looks good!
No ADA issue- got resolved quickly
Call every three days or so

8/14 Call to Mini
(Today production is supposed to be completed)
Started production July 10th
Still in production
It does take about a week to build
Should be completed next week
Call next week.

8/14/2017 was actual production date and the vehicle is built! Shows up on BimmerWork.
Now to figure out shipping

8/18 call to ask Mini
Completed on 8/16 started prod 7/10
Quality check 8/14-8/16
System upgrade- data slow to show on Mini system
Put me on hold to check with others
Wednesday final stages of completion (Wednesday 8/16)
Suggested to call back on Monday to check on shipping

8/21 call to Ask Mini
What is shipping status?
Shows that it is STILL in production- said the production date was 8/16
Crazy that there is so much conflicting information!

8/24 Call to Ask Mini
What is shipping status?
Vehicle has been produced, but not yet shipped
Handed to sales to go through workshop- done yesterday
Made in Born- then to Munich? Huh? Makes no sense!

8/25- Mini OL
Finally says- “Awaiting Transport- Congratulations! Your healthy and handsome new MINI has been built. A wee bit heavy for any stork, your MINI will now be loaded onto a ship to make its way across the pond. At night, we’re sure it’ll be dreaming of tearing through tasty turns with aplomb and glee.”

8/30 call with Ask Mini
Arrived at the port-Zeebrugge- it is awaiting shipment
No information on the ship yet
(Hoping it gets on the Fedora on 03 September


9/1 W&W Ship tracking- it is on the Fedora, departing 9/3- Arriving 9/30

Ship- Fedora
Call Sign SKLU

Now tracking the Fedora on MarineTracking

Monday, 9/4/2017
English Channel approaching Southampton

Saturday, 9/16/2017
Baltimore- made it to US!

Sunday, 9/24
Made it through Panama Canal, now headed to final port- Hueneme
Due in Hueneme on 10/1

Sunday, 10/1
Made it to Port Hueneme 10/1
At Distribution Center 10/3

Thursday, 10/5
OL says it will be at dealer 10/7

Sunday, 10/8
OL still says it will arrive at dealer 10/7
I am hoping to have delivery by 10/13

Monday, 10/9
OL says my Mini is at the dealer

Saturday, 10/14
Picked up from dealer.
LOVE IT!!!

I know, it seems like quite a process and quite a bit of time. However, I generally enjoyed tracking the process, and BOY was it worth the wait!

 

My Boat (Don Carlos) has left Halifax and is enroute to NY/NJ! Supposed to arrive a day early. VERY excited at this point. WoooHoooo!!

Also, for those tracking with marinetraffic.com, once the boat gets into open water, the "live map" tracking goes away ... UNLESS you use the "Forecast Route" button and zoom out. If you do that, you can still watch your boat traverse the Atlantic (that was my boat's route.) Your boat will be the only boat on the map and it will loosely follow the charted route.

 

That is a long time at the dealer!