Is it usually correct? How close is it? The reason i'm asking is the OL is telling me 11/23 which would be wednesday but the ship my mini is on isn't due in till wednesday. Mind you I live in NJ and the dealer is less then an hour from the VPC...so thoughts on when the car will actually be here?
Mike

 

My girlfriend and I each bought new Mini's, hers a cooper ordered June delivered in August. And mine a Cooper S convertible ordered at the same time and delivered last week of October.

Both our cars were within 7 days of that date. The biggest tracking problem is that once the car hits the VDC it goes into the nether world until shows up at the dealer. It will wait until the Auto Transport company has enough cars going the same direction and then be on its way. But there is no way to determine when that is.

With our Mini, the Tracking Website was showing it at the VDC; when we happened to drive by our Dealer and actually saw it offloading.

 

Same here Guru!!! The tracking section of the MiniUSA site also said mine was at the VDC, but I got a call from the salesman wanting to know when I wanted to come get my car. It was at the dealer 5 weeks and 2 days from the day I ordered it. Picked it up exactly 6 weeks after the order was placed.

 

http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?f...q_tracking_usa

 

Please don't quote things when they have absolutly nothing to do with what I'm posting about. I've seen the tracking info and it doesn't make any mention of the estimated delivery date listed in the owners lounge. Sorry but it's one of things that gets to me when people link non relevant things. Have a happy holiday
Mike

 

I think my car arrived at the Buffalo NY dealer 3 or 4 days after reaching the port of NY. As a worst case scenario, cars can be held at the VPC for weeks e.g. if they are damaged in transit and need repairing.........so, if it doesn't show up within a reasonable period of time (and for your close proximity I'd guess that would be a day or two at most) I'd start asking questions.

 

I'm sorry my no cost assistance wasn't more help to you. I'll be sure to pay more attention to exactly what you are asking the next time I respond to one of your questions, which, in all likelyhood, will not happen again.

Ask yourself, should early_apex have assumed that you have read the Tracking FAQ?

Should I have also assumed you have read the part of the FAQ which does indeed apply to your question?

"The MINI may be at the VPC for just several days or it can stay in limbo for three weeks or even longer"

 

Also, another part of the FAQ says early_apex linked to says "MINIs have been known to spend as little as several days up to more than 3 or 4 weeks or longer at the VPC before being shipped by truck to the dealer." That doesn't strike me as having nothing to do with your question. Since the answer to your question is in the FAQ, it was perfectly reasonable for early_apex to assume you hadn't already read it.

Mark

 

When I saw your first post, I thought I'd share my experience. But when I saw your second post:

...I thought, well screw this guy if he's going to react like that to someone who tried to help!

But then I thought, I know how stressful it is waiting for your car. (My car is sitting at the dealer 2500 miles away, and it's going to be another 9 days before I can pick it up!) So I decided to try to help after all.

When I placed my order, my MA gave me my production number. As soon as my production date was set, she said plan on 30 days to delivery. That would have been 11/24 - today!

Last Sunday, 11/21, ASK-MINI's automated system said my car was "at the port, awaiting shipment." The Owner's Lounge said the car was at the VDC and EDD was 11/24. A few hours later, the OL moved the EDD up to 11/22. That night, the EDD was moved to 11/21. Note that at this point, the OL basically listed my car in two places at once - at the VDC on 11/21 and EDD (in Cleveland!) of 11/21. The next day - Monday, 11/22 - I get an email from my MA saying the car had arrived.

So, yeah, it gets pretty vague right towards the end. Especially if you knew which ship your car was on and you were able to track her all the way across the Atlantic with updates every six hours!

The best source of information is your MA. Not only do they have more up-to-date information than the OL or ASK-MINI, but they have experience to know how reliable the information they're looking at is. They can also take into account things like holidays.

Next in order, I would say, is ASK-MINI. The least up-to-date info is at the OL.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

As a loose rule of thumb, cars that spend more than a week at the VPC are having shipping damage repaired...a scratch, a dent, etc.

 

Ask-Mini will tell you that once it hits the VDC they can't track it anymore. Following the tracking FAQs and finding the ship will actually get you better information then Ask-Mini. They are great until it is waiting at the port.

But then, even my Sales Manager didn't understand the whole VIN/Wallius tracking system.