F14Scott
Well-Known Member
Viva la difference!
This is good gouge. I don't mind running my cars through the occasional automatic car wash, and the long antenna is too fragile for that.
Concur!
Delivery Stories
F14Scott
Well-Known Member
Mine shows Galveston (GLSPOA), which is about 30 minutes from my dealer in Clear Lake, Texas.
My car was supposed to be put on a boat then wander around the Atlantic, visiting Halifax, NS, NYC, and finally disembark in Baltimore. So even if by some miracle my MINI escaped the port parking lot and slipped onto a boat today, it would be sometime next month before the company realized it had to start looking for a truck to carry it on the next leg of its tour.
Last week, I ask my dealer why my car was stuck in a parking lot at the UK port. Today's "answer" was not satisfactory:
> So I found out from my Regional Sales Mgr that yours is not the only
> vehicle sitting at the port. We are trying to get answers to why and I
> am hoping to hear something in the next few days.
To which I replied:
> If you can get your regional sales manager to send me the email addresses
> of all those other sad people whose MINI Cooper SEs are sitting, week-after-week,
> neglected, at the port, waiting for their boat ride, I'll set up a grief support group.
> Sharing makes the suffering less painful.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
Mine is chili red, and I really wanted the yellow blade (mirror covers not so much, but easily replaceable) so it was too bad I was denied the yellow accents. I'm disappointed to find I could have deleted the black-leather upholstery; I agree the satellite grey upholstery is nice. On the other hand, red and black complement each other well. And I like the power/electric wheels, so that's what I'm getting.
Red MINIs with a black top have always looked great to me. MINI's design group was overruled when marketing added the MINI Cooper S hood scoop to the SE, so I wonder who decided which colors couldn't be ordered with the Energetic Yellow grill blade and mirror caps? Why not offer an optional black grille blade if yellow doesn't work for them?
After my recently sold red gen-1 Honda Insight (hence, insightman), my wife decided we're getting gray, er grey, this time. I'm glad she didn't latch onto Midnight Black or Enigmatic Black (which is really a dark, dark purplish blue) because really dark colors look dirty 10 minutes after you wash them, even if you don't go anywhere. Our Moonlit Forest Pearl Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid looks black until the sun shines on it and shows it's really green. Always dirty.
For the MINI Cooper SE in the US, the Satellite Grey leather upholstery is standard for the top Iconic trim level, with black upholstery being a $500 option. However, I've seen that black leather upholstery appears to be the standard on the top trim levels in other countries. I don't know if Satellite Grey upholstery is an option in other countries, but I doubt it would take $500-equivalent off the price. I wonder why only the US gets the Satellite Grey leather upholstery and why the stitching is different for the two colors of leather seats? Marketing, I guess.
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F14Scott
Well-Known Member
Reminds me of a joke:
An elderly gentleman passes away, and his wife of 50 years goes to the funeral home to make arrangements. She says to the mortician, "Albert always looked so nice in a suit. Even though I don't have much money, I'd like him buried in a beautiful, Italian, double breasted suit."
The mortician assures her he would make it so, and she should come back the next day to check on the results. When she arrives and sees her husband, she cries, "Oh, no! That's not right, at all. Albert always wore blue suits, and that suit is grey. He just doesn't look himself in a grey suit."
The mortician, a consummate professional, said, "Not to worry, Ma'am. Give me fifteen minutes." True to his word, fifteen minutes later, he calls her back in and proudly shows her his work.
"Oh, that is perfect. What a beautiful blue suit! Albert looks so handsome. I hope the change wasn't too expensive."
"Not at all," said the mortician. "This morning, as luck would have it, another gentleman's body arrived wearing that exact blue suit. So, I switched the heads."
An elderly gentleman passes away, and his wife of 50 years goes to the funeral home to make arrangements. She says to the mortician, "Albert always looked so nice in a suit. Even though I don't have much money, I'd like him buried in a beautiful, Italian, double breasted suit."
The mortician assures her he would make it so, and she should come back the next day to check on the results. When she arrives and sees her husband, she cries, "Oh, no! That's not right, at all. Albert always wore blue suits, and that suit is grey. He just doesn't look himself in a grey suit."
The mortician, a consummate professional, said, "Not to worry, Ma'am. Give me fifteen minutes." True to his word, fifteen minutes later, he calls her back in and proudly shows her his work.
"Oh, that is perfect. What a beautiful blue suit! Albert looks so handsome. I hope the change wasn't too expensive."
"Not at all," said the mortician. "This morning, as luck would have it, another gentleman's body arrived wearing that exact blue suit. So, I switched the heads."
Oliver Bloice
New Member
I’ve had some good news from the dealership - my vehicle is loaded on the transporter, ready to make its way from the Oxford plant to my dealership in Kent. It should arrive Mon/Tues, and I have a scheduled collection for July 25th!! I will share pics once collected.
Keeping my fingers crossed for folks still waiting, particularly @insightman - I feel we have shared similar levels of anticipation and frustration - I’m sure there are many others out there!
Thank you all for the discussions which have kept my excitement levels up the past months
P.S. I heard through the grapevine that there was a 24hr delivery hold on all Mini Electric models on Friday, July 17th due to one of the charging cables not displaying the correct safety labelling. The hold has been lifted and replacement cables will be supplied to all customers via dealerships in due course.
Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Keeping my fingers crossed for folks still waiting, particularly @insightman - I feel we have shared similar levels of anticipation and frustration - I’m sure there are many others out there!
Thank you all for the discussions which have kept my excitement levels up the past months
P.S. I heard through the grapevine that there was a 24hr delivery hold on all Mini Electric models on Friday, July 17th due to one of the charging cables not displaying the correct safety labelling. The hold has been lifted and replacement cables will be supplied to all customers via dealerships in due course.
Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Hi fellow mini EV owner wanna be's waiting in this interminable queue. I placed my order the first of March and have had no information on the status of the order/delivery. My dealer confirmed today that they have had no deliveries thus far. He also wanted to confirm my interior color choice. What does that mean?!?! My order hasn't even been placed? So frustrated...
idrw
Member
When did you put down the $500 preorder?
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Norbu72
Active Member
Hello all. I just found this forum today and boy am I sad now. I paid my $500 and turned in my order on July 1. I had gotten no indication at all about the potential delays from my dealer. There was some vague hinting and something about Covid but otherwise it was an excited “we’ll let you know as soon as you’re in production.”
From reading your stories, sounds like that may not happen for months. Clearly there’s not much we can do about the pandemic but a little more honesty about the wait would have been appreciated from the dealership.
One positive I’ve gleaned from the thread is that I evidently have some advantage being in Portland, OR for my order. Some of you have hinted that there are more shipments going to Oregon and California.
I don’t want to whine too much since I just got in the queue but I’ll be following your posts as those ahead of me start to get results. I like to hear of others experiences.
Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
From reading your stories, sounds like that may not happen for months. Clearly there’s not much we can do about the pandemic but a little more honesty about the wait would have been appreciated from the dealership.
One positive I’ve gleaned from the thread is that I evidently have some advantage being in Portland, OR for my order. Some of you have hinted that there are more shipments going to Oregon and California.
I don’t want to whine too much since I just got in the queue but I’ll be following your posts as those ahead of me start to get results. I like to hear of others experiences.
Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
idrw
Member
Getting the VIN in a month after ordering is quick IMHO, based on estimated timelines I got from dealerships and what MINI has on their website (early 2021 delivery).
Wondering if the ordering process is sequential based on the preorder date or if states/dealerships that haven't exhausted their allotment gets priority.
KeninFL
Member
Dealer told me when I spec'ed the car which was a few days after the preorder that the vin would take about a month. That happened. The sales rep couldn't be as specific about the length of time after getting the vin it would take until the car was actually going into production. The news that it would be end of July/beginning of Aug was a little surprising and of course it might take longer than that depending on many factors at the factory level. Any update I get from my dealer I'll be glad to pass on here.
idrw
Member
That is great news considering the many months other people had to wait. I follow a page on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/electricMINI/) where people report getting into production within 2-3 weeks after getting the vin and remaining in production for a few weeks which sounds about right with your estimate. It takes time to cross the atlantic though after production, but hopefully that will be quick too..
KeninFL
Member
I just read your post. Your dealer's asking you about your "interior color choice" months after you had ordered the car raises an alarm for me. Ask your dealer to get a "Vehicle Inquiry Report." It will list all the specifics about the car you ordered. My dealer sent me the one for my car weeks before I even had a VIN.
I have no inside info but really I think you should check into what is going on with your order. Good luck.
KeninFL
Member
Thanks for the facebook link. Lots of variables, but a Sept delivery doesn't seem far fetched. I'm not in a hurry (partly because I haven't decided about having to pay MSRP but that's another story altogether).
MichaelC
Well-Known Member
Wow! I placed my deposit on June 2 and specified options at my dealer June 5, and have not received a VIN or any other notification yet.
They estimated a 3-month wait (I think for delivery), but with COVID-related production disruptions, I was prepared for additional months.
I'm in Kansas, which is not a ZEV state. My dealership said that they had 1 other SE order before I placed mine, so I wonder if regional order volume is a factor in build priority.
idrw
Member
You should probably call the dealer. You would need to have an enthusiastic sales rep to get info without asking and they are few and far between.
MichaelC
Well-Known Member
Will do. I didn't want to come across as desperate or impatient, so didn't know how long to wait before following up. But touching base after 6 weeks seems about right...