Very few Mini Cooper car dealerships keep any Minis in stock. Most Minis are manufactured for the customer with custom options. This wait can prove to be difficult, but to help alleviate some of the anticipation, Mini has a website where the customer can track the steps that a car takes from time of order to the day the Mini is complete.

Write down the production number the salesperson gives you when you order your Mini Cooper at the dealership.

Call 1-866-ASK-MINI the next day to inquire about which week your car will be produced. They will give you a week number.

Log on to Mini's website. Navigate to the Delivery, Shipping and Order Tracking forum and chat with other people who are having their cars manufactured in the same production week as you.

  • Very few Mini Cooper car dealerships keep any Minis in stock.
  • Navigate to the Delivery, Shipping and Order Tracking forum and chat with other people who are having their cars manufactured in the same production week as you.

Check the owner's lounge for your car's status at the beginning of your production week. Follow your car through six steps available on the website: on order, scheduled for production, awaiting transport, en route, at distribution centre, at your Mini dealer and review order detail.

Call 1-800-ASK-MINI for more detailed information on exactly what stage of production your car is in during production week. You can speak with a representative who can tell you exactly what they are doing with your car at that moment.

Purchase insurance. Locate your car's vehicle identification number (VIN) from the MINI's website and give this to your insurance company, which will underwrite a new policy.

  • Check the owner's lounge for your car's status at the beginning of your production week.
  • Locate your car's vehicle identification number (VIN) from the MINI's website and give this to your insurance company, which will underwrite a new policy.

Track your car's trip across the ocean. Log on to the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics website. Click on "Auto Cargo" and enter your VIN number in the box labelled "Cargo ID." If you don't see it there, wait a day or two. It takes a couple days for the car to get from the factory to the port. Note the ship, voyage and booking numbers.

Use the sailwx.info site to track the voyage of the ship your car is on. Navigate to "Ship Tracker" menu, then "Find Ship by Name or Call Sign" and enter the ship's name to watch the ship's progress.

TIP

Your sales representative should also be able to track production stages as an alternative to calling the phone number.