Hey all you geniuses in the MINI hive mind...anyone know about where production dates are sitting for new orders?? I placed my F54 JCW two weeks ago and still no date. I'd love to hear what the hive mind knows

Addendum:As of March 22, 2017 my MA has told me my F54 JCW is scheduled for week 14 and is a priority one car. So let's see when it gets here!

 

I know I had my production order confirmation in ~1 week and production started in ~2 weeks, but from what others have commented on the JCW's can take a bit longer due to how they are slotted into the production line. Keep in touch with you MA, as they have the best access to see the status of your car. You should be able to get screen shots like this throughout the process from your MA:

 

I am keeping in contact but he saying there aren't any production slots for F54 JCW that he can get. Mostly wondering what others are hearing from their MAs to gauge what I will eventually get

 

Keep on your MA, they will get you the most accurate/up to date info. Hopefully one of your fellow JCW owners can step in with what they experienced...good luck.

 

I'm going to call tomorrow, as that is the 1 week point.

 

I hear about once a week from my MA. I hope I can figure out how the timing will work. I have a lease ending (a damnable TDI, no less)

 

It is my understanding that dealers are allocated monthly production slots. They can use those slots to order cars for stock or they can use some of the slots for custom ordered customer cars such as zagman's.

What is unclear is if, within the allocated slots, there are sub-categories for specific models. When I ordered my Clubman in late summer of 2016, I was told that my car would be ordered as part of the dealership's monthly allocation -- my order took one of their slots. As a result, production happened pretty quickly because my build was included in the dealer's regular monthly order, which was submitted immediately.

So the question one might ask the MA is: Is my car part of your regular monthly allocation or is the order for my car in addition to your monthly allocated slots?

 

Assuming your car is built in March and makes it to the Southampton dock within a few days of build and is fortunate enough to catch a ship coming to North America within a week of arriving at Southampton, and transits from England to Baltimore and down from Baltimore with only a couple of intervening stops on its way to the Canal, then it heads up the West coast and stops at Port Hueneme and ships from that VDC, as opposed to staying on the ship to the Pacific Northwest and shipping from there.... then trucked inland to your dealer...

Point is, if you've got a lease ending soon, best case is probably 8 weeks from order date, probably late April delivery, maybe even early May. This is the agonizing part of special orders. Sometimes the timing clicks and it's under 8 weeks, usually not.

 

And, if you're leasing your new JCW, money factors and residuals are important, as they may not be the same at delivery as they were on your order date. If leasing, MAKE SURE it is in writing that the money factor AND residual are locked at order date rates -- if the rates are better at delivery date you get those, but if they are worse you'll want to preserve the order date rates. And make sure you know what the order date rates were. Residuals often fall as the calendar year progresses, and, on a $40,000+ build, a few ticks down in residual or a few ticks up on money factor can mean a lot of dollars over the life of a lease.

 

I appreciate the advice more than you know! I am purchasing the car out right (done with leases). I can't really gauge how hard my MA is working to find a slot. I did email a few dealership in neighboring states to see what they might say. My wife was mentioning last night she wanted to do a road trip! So I will sit and wait....and wait....and wait....

 

I finally have a production slot!

 

Now the fun begins, and goes on, and on, and on. Worth the wait.

I admit to tracking the ship daily for like three weeks

 

So far my best answer has been from MINIUSA:
Our records indicate that your MINI is currently anticipated to begin production week 14 of 2017, or the first full week of April.

 

Just as an FYI, as I'm starting to think there is quite a bit of "luck of the draw" in terms of production timings/slots/etc, this is my experience to date:

2017 F54 JCW

1/23 - Ordered Car, Received Production Number
--- Nearly a month of weekly calls to MA/Mini Customer service, with no updates/changes...
2/17 - Scheduled for Production 3/5 - No VIN Yet
2/21 - Received VIN from MA, Scheduled Production Changed to 2/23
3/1 - Told Production has now slipped to 3/7
3/3 - Told by MA that Production was complete on my car and it was waiting to be loaded on the train from Oxford to South Hampton.
3/6 - Car not on the WW ship leaving the docks.
3/14 - Next Ship departs SouthHampton - and my fingers are crossed...