Been anxiously awaiting news on my Week 34 build which has been in "released to carrier" limbo since the 24th. Spoke with someone today at ASKMINI who told me my car was built in Germany. Was the first I heard of that though when I googled my VIN it had shows Germany as country of origin. When I asked where she said there were several places and it depended on the specific attributes of the car. Apparently, my tracking the comings and goings in Southampton has been a waste of time! Anyone know the scoop on this? What port do they use in Germany?

 

The car is made in the Uk with parts from Germany. It will ship out of Southampton for sure.

 

Mini's are manactured the UK, some parts of the engine are made in France but the enigne is assembled in the UK. The 6 speed transmission is made in Germany, the auto transmission is from Japan. There are some Mini's made in the past with diffeant companines used than I mentioned.Since BMW manfactures the Mini, Carfax and similar searches will show production in Germany.
If you do a search here on NAM you will find several threads on this topic.

 

I really should know better than to take anything I am told on the ASKMINI hotline seriously. I certainly was aware of the other threads about parts made in Germany etc. and confusion over the country of origin etc but the support person was adamant that it was made in Germany and will be shipping from there. UGH. Do the folks who answer the hotline phones get any actual training?

 

Most people have good expieriences with the ASK MINI people, this is the first I have seen any posts about something like this. Perhaps the person was new, or it was before having morning coffee.

 

I dropped the vin for my car (which is at the port waiting to get on a ship) into carfax and it shows as being built in Germany. Go figure...

 

Oxford, England. Do a Google Earth search and zoom in on the plant. They've got a pretty impressive complex there.

 

WE know that but apparently the folks working the phones at ASKMINI don't know that!

 

They're all made in England as part of the agreement when BMW bought the Mini and John Cooper names about 10 years ago. Reason it shows Germany is because the BMW factory is in Munich and they control all the VIN numbers from there. I ordered mine in Kaiserslautern (about 80 miles east of Frankfurt), was built in England and sent via ferry to Belguim. From there it was railed/trailered to me.

Hope this helps,

Robb

 

We could always refer to them as "DONTASKMINI".