BMWUSA ordering is a bit different than other countries. It depends on whether the dealer modified an existing 'dealer spec' order, or entered an entirely new one. If it's an entirely new one, he may have used up his current allocations and can't actually even put the order in until a future allocation opens up. A 'sold' order does bump up its priority over a dealer spec one, though. Now, that normally isn't an issue, as they're able to (now) build them pretty fast, so there isn't a volume constraint like there was when they first came out. But, some places only order once a month.
FWIW, at least in the USA, a dealer can modify an existing order almost up until the day before it starts production.
Not sure if Scotland is the same as England WRT ordering an i3, but for the most part, the dealers do not stock i3's...they're built to order, and the system is setup to input those orders as needed, which may help. The delivery time is shorter, too, even though it might be on the same ship that continues on to the USA.
