Ok, so right now I am in my car driving home from work. I know, I know, I shouldn't text and drive at the same time... Anyway, tomorrow my MINI sets sail for New York. Awesome!

It could not come at a better time. My car. "Goldie" is on here last leg, and in need of a labotomy (her ECU is dead). Luckily, the person I am selling her to offered to pay for the repair. Yay!

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

Here is a recap of my MINI experience so far:

I ordered my 2006 MINI Cooper S on December 19, 2005 from MINI of Sterling in Sterling, Virginia.

• The ordering process was fairly painless. I simply walked in, sat down with my Motoring Advisor (read: salesman), Jeff Wannall, and filled out a spec sheet. Once I signed off on it, he placed the production order.
• Jeff said that my car would be built the fourth week of January, and be ready for me to take home the third week of February. I was so excited!
• The waiting process has actually gone by quite quickly. Jeff gave me a MINI of Sterling license plate and frame, along with some stickers to hold me over while I waited for my first-ever, new car.
• A few days after Jeff put in the order, he was able to send me a production number so I could track the build progress of my new ride through the MINI Owner’s Lounge.
  Basically, I checked about every other day to see the status of the build. :)
  
• For the first five weeks the MINI site said that my car was "On Order"
  
  
  
  ...then, just a week ago, the status changed to "Scheduled for Production". I was ecstatic!
• Three days ago I called the 1-866-ASK-MINI number to see the build status. I was told the day previous that my car was in the Machine Shop. The automated voice said my car was in the Paint Shop. Yippee!!
• On the following day (26th of January), I called again and the little voice said G8RMNI was awaiting transport!! Yay!!!
• So at this very moment, G8RMNI is sitting on the edge of a dock in South Hampton, drinking a pint and hanging out with his brothers as he waits for his cruise ship to arrive.

I have been using North American Motoring (a great online forum) to obtain info about the whole ordering process and how to track my car once it is loaded on a ship. I recommend using this website to see what ship your car is on.

My car will board the Boheme on February 1st, and then begin a nine day voyage across the pond. On the 10th he will arrive in NYC. From there, he'll visit a vehicle processing center to make sure he doesn't have the measles, and given a clean bill of health. From there, G8RMNI will be loaded on an enclosed trailer and shipped to my dealer. The dealer will then wash and wax him, fill him with some goodies, and tie a bow on him. I can't wait!!!