My wife is the anxious (soon-to-be) owner of a new MCS. We've been tracking it on its journey on the Boheme. According to the lengthy thread ("All abroad the BOHEME!"), the ship docked in Southern California on Sunday (9/9). Today I called the dealer to ask if he knew anything about trucking schedules and he predicted a delivery by the end of the month (gee, thanks for the precise estimate) - He'd let me know when he "touched" the car. As an aside, I just bought a new Carrera S for myself. The Porsche dealer knew where the car was at all times from production through delivery. Hell, he not only knew trucking schedules, he knew whether the driver wore boxers or briefs.

Is my Mini dealer stupid, lazy, or just suffering from inadequate tracking systems? BTW, the Mini.com tracking still lists it as on the ship.

 

Once it's done at the VDC they should know what truck it is on. But they really should know where it is if it is off the ship.

 

Yeah my ma kept calling me and giving me info that I knew was wrong. For example he told me that the car was coming to the dealer on the day I knew it was landing on US soil. To his credit I was the first person to order a car from him. It does seem like we know more than the dealer does which is pretty annoying.

 

I'm not defending dealers.

When dealing with ordering/tracking a Mini most good MAs or dealers will over estimate, especially once the Mini is at a VDC. Unless your MA/dealer does daily checks on their system for your Mini, they really can't give a specific date until they know it is on transport unit. So best to keep in contact with them and should have a "date" soon.
As for the Owners Lounge info, it can be very slow to udate and it is possible to take delivery before it ever updates to show at VDC.

 

My MA actually thanked me for all the info I passed along during the delivery process. He did say that from the VDC to the dealer is a black hole where they have no info at all about trucking and schedules.

 

I find it interesting how so many people demand that they know exactly where their car is at all times.

Do you honestly believe that an MA sits around all day with a war map and push pins of different colors plotting the movements of every car he or she has sold? That's madness, in my mind, to expect that kind of service. They have better things to do than that.

My dealer gave me an approximate date to expect the car to be in and ready to drive away. it was a conservative figure, because I'm sure he didn't want me demanding the car on a certain date because that's what he "promised" me.

They also received close to 20 cars in that shipment. They couldn't possibly install accessories, detail the cars and get each of them ready the same day. Well, sure, they could have let people take them as they came off the truck and then people would be complaining later that they didn't remove all the shipping wax.

I'm sure in the old days, dealers of all manufacturers told their customers approximately when they could expect their custom-ordered vehicles. And then telephoned when they were at the dealership and ready to sell. Otherwise, you wouldn't have a clue where in the production it is. Mini's system may not be perfect, but I felt it was good enough to let me know approximately where it was. That's all I asked.

 

Of course! I'm thinking there's a back room at every dealership where they have a setup like those old WW2 movies and move Minis around instead of tanks.

 

Actually, thats what makes buying a MINI different from a Ford or Chevy or most any other vehicle. You have really get to enjoy the wait instead of suffering not knowing a thing about where, or when things happen. I don't think anyone is demanding anything. Three times I have enjoyed this process and I can feel for someone that calls a dealer that is collecting their money and that dealer can't give them info on the car. Maybe I'm a control freak

 

I agree with you with one exception.
The ambitious MA that makes a production out of how a new owner can track his Mini from start to finish using MINIUSA.com, knowing exactly where it is at any given time in the Oxford plant. Then goes on to inform one that you will be able to track the ship from Southampton to Port Hueneme, and then the final journey from the VDC to the dealership. Also how the MA is there for support/questions and has all the answers of the Minis trek.

 

That exact reason is pretty much what made me abandon an order I had with VW for a Rabbit and come over to the MINI camp.
When I call and the sales guy says, "Sorry, its not here. Looks like its going to be a few more weeks." Uh, yeah...thanks, but no thanks.

 

It does seem as if the interactive approach to the car buying experience is marketed as such, then their information should be current. This includes the information in the OL and the tracking info. UPS can track your package at each check in point and estimate with good accuracy delivery date, seems reasonable to assume that Mini could also!

 

Yes, I can see that. I never met my MA in person until the day I drove my car home. All of our dealings were through email and over the phone. I put my deposit down last October and picked my car up the middle of April. Buying a manual Cooper, I knew they wouldn't be available until the March build. So I knew I had to wait a long time.

That just gave me time to give my 12-year-old Civic a proper sendoff. That car had been very reliable and in a way I was sad to see it go.

With the tracking system, I think some people just torture themselves to death. They check the owner's lounge 50 times a day, they call Ask Mini three times a day and they agonize over whether the ship will arrive on time. For them, that much information might be worse than knowing nothing and waiting for the dealer to call when it's ready to pick up.

For me, it was nice to know where things were sort of at, but I didn't get excited until they said I could come pick it up. They even said I could come up to Portland on a Thursday to get it. I told them Saturday would be better to drive the 200 miles up there, not so much for the distance but because I would have been a wreck at work on Friday, if I didn't have a couple of days to play around in it.

 

My mini is still listed as at the VDC although my dealer called to let me know it was in 12 days ago and I picked it up over a week ago.

 

Two comments: First, since there are no price negotiations, the MAs are merely order takers and customer service representatives - we're asking for a certain level of customer service. Second, and more importantly, the Mini owner lounge ("track your baby") gives the appearance that Mini wants to differentiate themselves as being able to provide (dare I say, encourage) the tracking of the vehicles. If that is the case, the MAs should be able to be part of the process or Mini should drop that marketing approach.

These cars are being sold at full boat retail; a certain level of enhanced service should come in return.

 

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Then you weren't that excited to pick up the car. Heck I thnk 99.9% of us would pick up the car in Oxford if they offered ED....and go to work the next day!!!!

 

The MINI tracking system is far from perfect...in fact most of the tracking we do around here uses other sources (ship tracking) for information. Those sources hit a gap once the car hits the VDC. The dealers do (theoretically) get a printout of cars that are released from the VDC, so they to have a ballpark idea of when your will MINI arrive. Of course, dealer add-ons/installs may hold it up further. I advise tracking as best you can, knowing full well there are gaps and guess-timates along the way. I also recommend (to myself mostly) that one take deep breaths, and have some patience. The MINI system isn't perfect...in fact it's pretty mediocre, but it does allow for some fun. Best to try to keep one's expectations well-managed and be kind to your MA...inspite of "the fever."