She set sail this morning and is expected to be in port/SoCal on May 21st.....hopefully the VDC moves quickly and it get's loaded on a truck for norcal.

It's almost here

 

I'm on the Carmen too. What dealer did you get yours from?

I ordered from Concord Mini.

 

Ours was supposed to be on the Carmen but it didn't show it was loaded. Its been on the dock for 5 days now. What day did the two of your car go to the dock?

I have an email into our MA hoping she can confirm it and the website isn't updating.

Hope we're sailing with you!

 

We ordered from Niello in Sac on March 30th.

Nui,
I believe we were released to transport on the 26th.

 

I'm on the Carmen. My MC arrived on the dock in Southampton on April 26.

(Every time I think of the dock in Southampton I hear "The Ballad of John and Yoko" in my head)

 

Did any of you order floor mats? I've been holding off on this thinking I'm going to pressure the MA to throw them in.

 

This is confusing. On-line it shows we missed it. The shipping company said we made the ship although they claim the name of the ship is Taiko and its due the same time at Port Hueneme 5/21.

Hopefully they got the name wrong and the travel right. Crossing our fingers!

 

That's really strange, Nui. I don't even see a ship named Taiko on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen website. I tried googling "Taiko Mini Cooper" and no good leads showed up, at least not on the first search page.

On another front, the NAM message board tour of the Port Hueneme distribution center is really interesting. It's at https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...&highlight=vpc.

 

Floor mats, you say? I'm in an odd situation with my order, and floor mats are part of the story.

I placed my order with my MA via email (dealer is Rasmussen MINI in Portland, OR). He sent me the paperwork, and it contained two oddities. One was a minor omission from my order that was easily fixed. The other was a $175 surcharge above MSRP that was unanticipated on my end and unexplained in the paperwork.

I emailed to ask to have the charge removed since I thought we had agreed on MSRP. He emailed back apologizing for the confusion, and he explained that the extra charge was for dealer prep--floor mats, a full tank of gas, detailing, and wax. He said he talked with the sales manager, and they would remove the charge and not do any of the dealer prep. He didn't ask my preference, he just said they wouldn't provide any of the usual services.

This has left me imagining that they might try to deliver a dirty car with an empty gas tank. I know I won't get a dirty car, but I tend to think "glass half empty." As for the floor mats, I don't need them but it would be a nice gesture if they threw them in.

Best wishes on your floor mat efforts.

 

Today the Carmen made it into the Caribbean! It's still going to take forever to reach Port Hueneme, though. It's hard to wait.

 

How are you tracking it? I was curious about that. I am also having a hard time. I seen it's scheduled to arrive in Port H on the 21st.

 

You can track it at http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shi...html?call=S6IW or at http://www.oceanweather.com/data/.

For the second link, click on the ocean area you're interested in, select marine observations, and look for the call sign S6IW. You'll also get to see other ship traffic.

 

We must be a small group...sounds like many others are on another ship. Any ideas on how long we'll be at the VDC?

 

Hi Besimmons!
You will definitely get gas and you will not get a dirty car. I promise! Its basically the floormats you will not receive. What you can do is use your preferred customer discount and get them at the parts department on the day you pick up your car. Hope this helps.

 

Well, there are 288 MINIs on the Carmen, but I guess not that many of the new owners are tracking it like us.

From what I've read, the stopover at the VDC could last from a few days (typical) to a few weeks (unusual).

p.s. Thanks, Jarid, for clearing up my order situation and for the phone call today. I can't wait!

 

This update brought to you courtesy of my OCD.

The Carmen is waiting at the Panama Canal. Currently the traffic at Gatun locks is Caribbean-bound, so the Carmen must wait until traffic is Pacific-bound and then take her turn.

Virtually everything I know about cargo ships and their travels I've learned tracking my MINI. Any input from someone with real knowledge would be greatly appreciated. For instance, why is the ship scheduled to take as many days from Panama to California as it took from Southampton to Panama? Are the currents or winds or something that strong along the Pacific coast of North America?

 

After a day off from traveling, the Carmen has now made it through the Panama canal and is in Pacific waters!

 

My wife is enjoying how much time I'm spending on this board tracking the ship's movements.

It's almost here....

 

My partner thinks perhaps I'm spending a little too much time with this. He understands, though, and he's looking forward to our new car, too.

 

Same here. She's looking forward to it too. If it wasn't for her, we'd be driving a DS/Bl with leatherette, Prem/Cold/Sport/LSD and webspokes. We showed up and the firsts words were no way....Dont' like the wheels, and I want leather.

Then the wait began!

 

Our MINIs are now enjoying themselves while cruising by Acapulco. I'm jealous.

 

It's getting ever so close.

So I decided to contact my MA and asked about getting some floor mat's thrown in....the response....The sales manager doesn't do that on MSRP. Pretty sad considering it's a rather expensive car...not much cheaper than a BMW which would have the mats coming with it.

Oh well..I'll pick some up elsewhere and probably cheaper.

 

According to the shipping site we have been unloaded as of 0100 PST. It's only a matter of days I hope .

 

I don't see being able to take delivery sooner than two weeks from yesterday, if then. I don't think my MC will be available from my dealer here in Oregon before Memorial Day, and after that the dealership's hours of operation don't sync very well with the off hours my partner and I share. I hope I don't have to wait more than two weeks, but I know we might have to.

 

I was told by our MA anywhere from 2days to 2wks at the VDC....hopefully since L.A. is only a day's drive from Sac...it will be here sometime early next week at worst and at best by Friday...too bad we'll need to big vehicle for the Memorial Camping weekend.