Mini SE Factory shutdown for paint booth upgrades?
- Thread starter fasttr
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Novadar
Active Member
No "build" activity has occurred since July 20. That is when mine and a few other MINIs in the tracker were at "EXTERIOR BODY ASSEMBLY BEGINS" or "IN THE PAINT BOOTH".
I called the plant in Oxford England last week and was told the Factory never "closed' but all build activity was stopped back in late July. I was also told that builds would commence starting tomorrow, August 23. I hope this is true. Ask-MINI and my MA tell me the system shows a completion date of September 1 for my MINI. I placed my order and received my Production Number on June 22.
Good luck to us ALL!
endquote
Well-Known Member
You can just call the factory? I never thought of that, but I did find the folks at 866-ASK-MINI to be much more helpful than my dealer. I got my production number two days after you and they said production was scheduled for the week of Sept 13.
Novadar
Active Member
Haha. I searched and found a number. I called over the course of two weeks. There was no answer until last week. I was actually surprised the phone was picked up.
bmartinez028
Active Member
I read the “paint booth upgrade” story back in Feb during the shutdown to switch over to the 2022 models.
Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
I thought the previously upgraded paint booth was what made possible the gradient roof of the Electric Collection MINI Cooper SEs that have been shipping for some time now.
fasttr
Member
Well now that I have talked to a couple of dealers, I think the paint booth excuse might have been a distraction. Apparently (as mentioned in another thread), chip shortages have resulted in the HK audio system being eliminated from the Sig+ and Iconic trim levels. One dealer told me the HK audio system will start again with Sept. builds. Maybe they got a lot of crap from people who expected HK but received the standard audio and decided to just wait until the HK was available again.
Novadar
Active Member
Lol. There seems to be a massive pyramid of distractions, half-truths, and outright "I have no idea what the hell I am talking about but I will say it anyway".
My Sig has no HK Audio. It started in the Body Shop on July 20 and has sat there every day since. That's real, truthful and factual. AND it stinks!
"Mr. Novadar, it wouldn't be fair to the customers paying more than you to have to wait longer than you, so we're delaying all MINIs until the h/k systems come in. Thank you for your patience." /s
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fasttr
Member
What? Is this real? Now non-HK Minis will delay the Sig+ and Iconic trim levels as they sit ahead of them in the production queue. This can’t be correct. Build all that you can when you can and keep the backlog down.
Sorry, I forgot to end with the "/s" but I went back and fixed it.
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fasttr
Member
Whew, I thought Mini had lost it…
Novadar
Active Member
Haha. Truth can be stranger than fiction. Haha.
Novadar
Active Member
There seems to be sense at all to the mess now. If, and I mean "If" they are expecting to meet the quoted Production Completion for my Sig -- September 1, there will have to be some movement within the next week. I'm about to blow a brain gasket looking and MyGarage and calling ASK-MINI and hearing the same info, over and over and over.
It's beginning to feel like Groundhog Day. Anybody got a toaster to spare?
joshf2k
Member
Our builds are similar and in the same spot in the queue from what I can tell. I've been living vicariously through your updates, so thank you for putting your brain gasket on the line on my behalf!
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
The poor SE has had a rough beginning. Last year the Oxford plant was shut down for two months due to pandemic lockdown, this year it's intermittent shutdowns due to parts shortages.
Yes, after ordering in early September, 2019, I received my SE a year ago, yesterday. For those who are impatiently waiting: After a year of joyful driving I still believe that of the more than 20 cars I've owned since 1967 my SE is the best and the most fun to drive. It was worth the wait. I'm so glad it came out before I got old!
goaheadbackup
Member
I heard from my local dealer today that the SE will likely not go back into production before October. My plans for a 2021 delivery are now challenged. Apparently, the dealer has 35 orders lined up for production. (The SE is catching on in CT.) I was also told that all options should be available on future builds. I hope that observation is accurate.
While we have high electric rates here, I have a solar array on my house that limits my payments to the utility to the base connection charge (during all but 2 months of the year). Also, Connecticut, as a small state, permits access to many “destinations” within the SE’s round trip range. So, fun can be practical - most of the time.
While we have high electric rates here, I have a solar array on my house that limits my payments to the utility to the base connection charge (during all but 2 months of the year). Also, Connecticut, as a small state, permits access to many “destinations” within the SE’s round trip range. So, fun can be practical - most of the time.