I was a Week 49 build (because I wanted the Sport Package) and here it is week 50 with no word so when I contacted the MA at Park Lane MINI here in the UK this morning, here is what I got:

The latest we have is that your MINI Clubman is being built this week, so you should be expecting it early in January.
We will be in touch as soon as we know it has been released from the factory.

When I called back this afternoon, he told me mine was the very last car in production...

If the factory closed this past Sunday for four weeks, how are they still producing cars?

I paid for this in US dollars (and the pound has dropped 25% since this car was ordered) on time, had all my paperwork in on time and get told "early in January"?

I'm here in the UK and can't even call ASK MINI; I am soooo unhappy with this situation that if MINI called me and offered me a full refund, I would take it and run!

 

That is pretty weird since they were supposed to have "shut down" on the 7th.

 

Sorry for your pain....but you're talking to folks who have to wait for their cars to cross an entire ocean and then get held up while they are inspected prior to crossing half the county by truck. Our perspective on waiting may be a bit skewed. Still....getting stuck anywhere near or around a model change or plant shutdown just sucks. Hope you get some good news soon!!

 

Sorry you have probs but mini ownership is full of them i know we are on our forth cooper

 

they just dont shut the factory down, it is a gradual process, and yr car could've been one of the last ones produced this week.

Jeez if y're getting all uptight about this perhaps U should consider another brand.

 

Do you mean you paid the deposit in US $$?

If there is a balance due I would think it could either be financed or paid a variety of ways including in pounds equivalent to the US $ on the date ordered.

 

Park Lane MINI is the only dealer here in the UK that Americans military (or others) can buy BMWs or MINIs without paying VAT and the other UK taxes: I think Pentagon Car Sales in Germany is set up the same way. Everything is priced in dollars, the car is built/set up to meet all US requirements, alomg with any local mods or adjustments (lights, etc), as if it had been brought over from the states and when delivered, the car is properly registered with the host nation. Since it appears from what the other Week 49 owners have said, it looks like the US Spec export models, i.e. LHD, etc., (mine was ordered that way) were produced first so as to get them on the ship (or truck/train for Germany) and on their way; I just assumed that even though mine is a "local" delivery, as a US Spec version, it would likely have been produced in that batch.
Believe me, with the slide in exchange rates here, paying in pounds would have saved big bucks even with the conversion charge the bank gets.
Don't know if this holds true for folks like David and Lillux in Germany but we don't even get access to the Owners Lounge; when I got my VIN (we don't get production numbers) and tried to register, it didn't recognize the number.
Maybe my customer service experience would have been better if I were shelling out $50,000+ on a high end Beemer. If it really is a week 50 build and not sometime next year (oops, sorry, we forgot you ), it sounds almost like my MINI is (or maybe will be) produced by whoever they can find from whatever parts might be in the bins.

 

Be warned too that the computer that tracks build status for consumers is notoriously lagged in updating things, I'm not saying you're in the clear, but that could very well be a week to month old statement, people have gotten the call their car is at the dealer, when the MINI website says it's still being built.

 

My real MA is back from holiday but singing the same song; delivery to the local dealer 30 Dec and delivery a week or two later. I can drive to the factory in 2 hours but it takes them 3 weeks to get car from factory to dealer?

Is that one lump of coal in your stocking or two? Bah humbug!