5 replies to this topic

[bheart]

Hi, We have just ordered a 'new' mini cooper d with the chilli pack and a few other options and I'm wondering if, like many other manufacturer's who provide the necessary info for their customers to be able to track the build progress of the newly ordered car, does MINI allow customers to be able to track their new mini order? If so, what information do we need to be able to do this and who do we get this information from? We completed the order forms last Sunday and the salesman emailed us this afternoon to inform us that he expected our car to be delivered by the end of April or possibly as quick as three weeks. Are MINI's built that fast from ordering to delivery? (Apologies for there being NO separate paragraphs but, for some reason, when I press the return key, the cursor will not drop down to the next line)? by the way, our salesperson told us that the build progress of the MINI cannot be tracked by customers? Regards, bheart

[rally515]

there are a few sites aimed more so at the new mini which you might prefer bheart but welcome to TMF

[scott_65_cooper_s]

I work at the factory in Oxford where your new mini will be built. I'm not saying it's impossible, but to my knowledge, there's no way of tracking by customers. Unlike many Japanese manufacturers, I can tell you that each mini is built to order and this is why so many options are available, building circa 900 cars per day these orders can be processed through the built process very quickly.

[bheart]

I work at the factory in Oxford where your new mini will be built. I'm not saying it's impossible, but to my knowledge, there's no way of tracking by customers. Unlike many Japanese manufacturers, I can tell you that each mini is built to order and this is why so many options are available, building circa 900 cars per day these orders can be processed through the built process very quickly.

Hi, thanks for your quick response. Over 900 cars each day? That's very good to know. So the salesperson who completed the order last Sunday was right to say by the end of April or earlier? I ask this question in particular because I read about customers who quite rightly think that their new car will be built specially for them and then found out later that it was actually around three months old and had been sitting in a compound up until they bought it. I'll check back later. Thanks again, bheart

[Noah]

On almost all mass-produced cars it is not possible nor feasible to track the build of your ordered cars. It's the type of stuff more individual companies focus on, probably on an even smaller scale than the likes of Aston Martin and Rolls Royce.

I think, Caterham and Noble both offer to send pictures of your car through its build process though.

Edit -

Some of them will sit in a compound, things like the packs can be added by dealers, so base models are built and the packs added by the dealers. They tend to do this for common cars ie; Red Mini Coopers, and then add the options on at the dealer, purely because there are so many different combinations.

That info is correct for BMW Sytner, as they explained that to me at an apprenticeship interview a while ago.

Edited by Noah, 27 March 2013 - 09:23 PM.

[bheart]

On almost all mass-produced cars it is not possible nor feasible to track the build of your ordered cars. It's the type of stuff more individual companies focus on, probably on an even smaller scale than the likes of Aston Martin and Rolls Royce.

I think, Caterham and Noble both offer to send pictures of your car through its build process though.

Edit -

Some of them will sit in a compound, things like the packs can be added by dealers, so base models are built and the packs added by the dealers. They tend to do this for common cars ie; Red Mini Coopers, and then add the options on at the dealer, purely because there are so many different combinations.

That info is correct for BMW Sytner, as they explained that to me at an apprenticeship interview a while ago.

Thanks for your reply. With regard to adding packs at the dealership after the car has been built, I'm not sure I'd be happy with that happening with our new MINI Cooper D. How can you add options like all of those contained within the Chilli Pack, like auto headlamps and windscreen wipers etc, Then there are other options like the heated front screens, folding mirrors, parking sensors and panoramic sunroofs. If you ask me, I think that attempting to fit those type of options on a brand new car at the dealership is just asking for problems and I would be 100% against that happening on any car that I was buying. Regards

Edited by bheart, 30 March 2013 - 06:04 PM.