Last week I ordered a few bits 'n bobs from my dealer but several of the items were canceled.

Parts counter guy informed me that MINI had put a stop on any orders where the part had to come from the German warehouse and would only process orders if the parts were in stock at the USA warehouse.

I asked him how long this will be in effect and he said likely a couple of months.

R50/52/53 owners will probably be impacted the most by this action.

Hell inna handbasket,
so the world goes.

Disruption has been a major drag.

 

Even within the US warehouse logistics operations there are delays. I’m 3 weeks waiting on a part located in US without an ETA. Fortunately just a minor part.

 

Cant see it getting much better anytime soon. Shitz getting real.

 

I'd try ordering from another dealer. I use to buy a lot of parts from Sewell MINI and one day out of the blue they said **** the online business and got out.

However nothing would surprise me, back in April it took four weeks to get (2) JCW wheels out of Germany. To be fair it's not a common wheel stateside. 498 Race Spoke

 

I did recently cancel a backorder for a Hope brake bleed kit. I ordered two months ago and watched the date get pushed further and further up. I ended up buying one from an eBay scalper for twice the price

 

With this news update, even happier I already ordered and received (installed already) my replacement R53 door panel and JCW Sport coil springs, both orders having come from BMW Germany warehouses. NOS R50-R53 parts are quickly becoming NLA and this action doesn't help USA buyers...

 

Wow, just got email reply (pricing inquiry) from the parts manager of a well-known MINI dealership that has/had national online OEM parts sales presence. I won't name the dealer nor individual, however here's the text from that reply:

Sorry, We are not taking orders right now and I’m not sure if we will in the future.
Glad you were able to get the door panel.

 

I'd start to wonder if MINI is pulling out of the US market. There's been slim pickings for new cars on the ground for the last year and half.

 

Maybe dealers are tired of holding backorders with unknown ETAs esp if customers start pestering and canceling.

 

Got some details There are regional distribution warehouses throughout the country. Each dealer is assigned to one of them. If the part you need isn’t in their assigned regional location, they normally could get it cross shipped (dock to dock) from another warehouse.

That capability is now suspended, and BMW/MINI is not shipping parts from one warehouse to another.

The part I need is literally available at every regional warehouse in the US, except the one assigned to my dealer, so for now they can’t get their hands on it.

Not sure if a cost cutting issue or distribution issue or a worker availability issue, but that’s the current situation.

 

Perhaps forum sponsor vendors whom sell OEM parts and accessories (@ECS Tuning , @OutMotoring etc) could chime in on what's happening and how that might affect their business and their customers? For example, I recently ordered an OEM Air Duct / Rear Pan (hangs beneath R53 rear battery box) to replace the original which had been deformed slightly at some point. ECS' unit price with free shipping at $49 (free sponsor plug) made them the easy choice. Clearly not an item ECS stocks, so estimated ship date slipped several times until received into their warehouse and shipped to me (received yesterday). Will those types of orders cease going forward?

 

Many thanks for the update of accurate info as to what's happening.

Good to know.

Excellent suggestion!

Hopefully Mike @ ECS will see this and chime in.

 

Hmm I just ordered a part from a MINI dealer with an online parts presence this afternoon and I already have a tracking number. It's for an F56 and is a trim piece.

I hate to be vague, but I don't want them to get in trouble if the pause is coming from up on high

 

To add my experiences: I recently order a couple of parts from the dealer. They both were heavily delayed. "3 days" turned to "about a week" then I received it in about a month or more. Another "end of the week" turned into 2 weeks. They blamed shipping delays so I really couldn't blame them. Luckily, neither put my car out of commission.

 

I just ordered a few parts from ECS a few days ago.....a couple of them have to come from overseas....guess I better call ECS and see if they are impacted by this shipping issue

Bryan

 

I know I had several shipping issues when it comes to FEDEX. My shipments getting stuck in Mississippi for a week. Not moving.
An Im still waiting on two lower rear shock bolts I orderd 3 weeks ago. Order them from BMW of Atlanta.

 

Some success stories on ordered parts shipped/received (including my own) seem anecdotal, i.e., delays in fulfillment and transit which are likely are related to ongoing and ever increasing Covid-19 global supply chain disruptions. IMO, more to point with this topic is what actions BMW/MINI has implemented very recently and how those might impact subsequent OEM parts purchases WRT costs and leadtimes. Personally, I'd hate to be forced to buy only from regional MINI dealerships (most local being prox 100 miles 1-way) and then with that, F-T-F at parts department counter with return trip or added cost of shipment to my home for special ordered parts. In that scenario, pay BMW retail prices plus prevailing sales tax and then add travel time with related expenses on top of that. Boo!

 

Yep, they are holding some orders, but we are working with our global supply chain on Genuine MINI parts and other parts to help with this issues. We do have aftermarket versions/supplier direct on some parts, which dealership don't have those. Looks like the worker shortage is hitting them hard.

If the item is in stock here at ECS, I would order it as with working with BMW and MINI parts since 2004 myself I have never seen it like this. We can get more stuff then most dealership as we have a better network. But things can still get delayed due to shipping companies and things being out of stock in Germany.

Aa always I am here for you guys!

 

MINI has told us that parts with a 51,41 or 11 prefix have been put on a hold for the full month of October so they can catch up with the massive backlog of parts pulled but not transported to the dealer level or secondary warehouse locations. Most other parts are shipping and have been taking a few extra days and in some cases weeks. We're seeing a fair amount of delays on Lifestyle Gear, and all related gift type products as well as the normal delays on items coming in from Germany which usually take 12 days but have been taking a bit more time lately.

 

I just got off the phone with ECS and they have informed me that they are experiencing the same shipping issues that everyone else is.....my order has been pushed out 2 weeks as of now....might be longer as the shipping time gets closer.

Nothing that we over here in the States can do about it I guess....it's just a waiting game now. I just hope my parts are not going to be stuck on one of those cargo ships anchored off one of our coasts waiting to unload

Bryan

 

This doesn't mean they're bad companies, but ECS and OutMotoring charge list prices for BMW/MINI parts and everyone is paying sales tax now unless they live in a state with no sales tax

 

Totally agreed WRT mentioned forum sponsor vendors! OTOH, I'm finding increasing numbers of online retailers NOT charging sales tax on purchases, including the east coast MINI dealer's parts dept (other MINI dealers too) that did not do so on above mentioned OEM BMW/MINI parts despite the 2018 Supreme Court South Dakota vs Wayfair decision. Unsure on reasons for that, however my home State of Arizona does routinely collect sales tax with most major retailers (such as Amazon), adding that to retail purchases.

 

Tax/shipping aside, the price at ECS for the part I needed recently was 40% less than my closest dealer. The driver side scuttle on my R60 fell off, so I called the dealer to see if they had it in stock (they didn't). $50 at the dealer vs $30 through ECS. It's a no brainer.

 

I talked with ECS today about my order I placed earlier this month.....now the order has been pushed out a couple weeks.....again I stressed with them that I hope my order isn't floating around the ocean in one of those containers that fell off the boat......

it's just a waiting game now I guess

Bryan

 

Update
My boltscame in on Monday. Yeah