[F30Toad]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

I can't get free ais for the east coast or gulf, can anyone else?

Never mind, it's working now.

[MrRipfrog]

OK... My car HAS to be on this ship!! When I contacted my rep, she told me there was no name for the boat that she knew of but it was definitely arriving on December 12th. And Long Beach is very very close to me... She said I should be able to pick up the car by December 17th.

So Go Hual Africa!! :rocks:

Nice posts E90Toad & Wistarf... Good stuff

[F30Toad]

Good to have you aboard!

Almost went with that color combo for my sedan, coupes really look great in that color.

Wish I was on the coast, watching you guys posting pics while my car sits on a truck is going to be tough.

[MrRipfrog]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

Good to have you aboard!

Almost went with that color combo for my sedan, coupes really look great in that color.

Wish I was on the coast, watching you guys posting pics while my car sits on a truck is going to be tough.

Hang in there! We all know the feeling of the wait game. I've been playing since October 11th and ready to get this baby. This forum has really helped with all the info & pics. I feel as if I know the car like I already have it. And coming from a G35, definitely a step up. (comparison review to follow)

Wonder how long it will take them to truck it out to CO? What is your est. pickup date? You can't go wrong with Monaco Blue. I would have loved to get the MT, however LA traffic and all the work I do "in route", had to go for the ease...

[wistarf]

I can't get AIS near the canal either.

The trip to Long Beach is scheduled to take about 16-17 more days, so I would guess it's a 10-11 day slog across the Atlantic and a 5-6 day trip up the west coast.

[F30Toad]

Originally Posted by MrRipfrog

Hang in there! We all know the feeling of the wait game. I've been playing since October 11th and ready to get this baby. This forum has really helped with all the info & pics. I feel as if I know the car like I already have it. And coming from a G35, definitely a step up. (comparison review to follow)

Wonder how long it will take them to truck it out to CO? What is your est. pickup date? You can't go wrong with Monaco Blue. I would have loved to get the MT, however LA traffic and all the work I do "in route", had to go for the ease...

As others have said, this forum is a curse and a blessing.

I haven't asked my CA when he expects it, guess that should be the next thing I bug him about. Originally he said last week of Dec, 1st week of Jan, but I think the production was quicker than he expected. If the ship gets in by the 15th, I would really hope they can get it here by Xmas. Guess I'm being kind of greedy since I ordered on Nov 8th.

My last car was a 98 M3/4, sold it last Nov thinking I would have a new E90 in a few months. Put that on hold once I heard rumor of a turbo version knowing I would regret not waiting, although the wait has been very hard. My 2nd car was a Ranger pickup which I have been driving for a year now. I have been aching to get back to a stick and a car both. Don't commute, so stick is not a problem for me.

[wistarf]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

As others have said, this forum is a curse and a blessing.

I haven't asked my CA when he expects it, guess that should be the next thing I bug him about. Originally he said last week of Dec, 1st week of Jan, but I think the production was quicker than he expected. If the ship gets in by the 15th, I would really hope they can get it here by Xmas. Guess I'm being kind of greedy since I ordered on Nov 8th.

My last car was a 98 M3/4, sold it last Nov thinking I would have a new E90 in a few months. Put that on hold once I heard rumor of a turbo version knowing I would regret not waiting, although the wait has been very hard. My 2nd car was a Ranger pickup which I have been driving for a year now. I have been aching to get back to a stick and a car both. Don't commute, so stick is not a problem for me.

I took my first test drive of a BMW 3 series on Dec 31 2005. It was my first drive in ANY BMW. After several more test drives over the course of 2006 I finally settled on a 330 sedan - but the timing of the purchase wasn't right for me until Sept, at which time I had the opportunity to drive the 335 coupe. I had the priviledge of taking four extended solo test drives in 335's with both transmissions, which ultimately made my choice of transmission easy.

A month and a half ago I used the info in these forums to project that I'd have the car by Dec 20 if all went well. Amazingly, that estimate still appears to be pretty close, although perhaps a few days too optimistic unless the VPC is really on the ball. Either way, I'll be getting my car almost exactly 1 year from the date of my first test drive. It wasn't exactly an impulse buy.

[F30Toad]

I've never even driven an auto, just not wanting that right now. Going to get an OEM short shift knob to make it even more fun.

[badbaz]

Just found out I'm on this ship - dealer reported I would have this car after xmas - would like it before but I guess it depends on VPC, hope all goes well....

335i sedan
Monica Blue
Sports
Premium
Navi
Sirius
Aluminium trim with Black Leather

[F30Toad]

I would think that would be a very slow turn around considering it is due no later than the 15th at Port Huemene. If your car is after Xmas, mine has no chance.

Nice exterior color choice btw.

[MrRipfrog]

Originally Posted by badbaz

Just found out I'm on this ship - dealer reported I would have this car after xmas - would like it before but I guess it depends on VPC, hope all goes well....

335i sedan
Monica Blue
Sports
Premium
Navi
Sirius
Aluminium trim with Black Leather

Welcome and nice setup... But I don't know why you would get the car after X-mas? I am in LA as well and was told December 17th.
Which dealer did you go through?

[kcd]

Originally Posted by E90Toad

Sorry to hear that, waiting is the worst part of this whole thing. You definitely should have no problem making it on the Sag.

I have been looking at that webcam too. Never did see the Hual due to other boats in the way. Looked like the Sag was visible way in the background earlier today based on where AIS showed it docked.

It looks like sometime yesterday the Sag moved to the closer side of the auto terminal where it sat for most of the day until it finally left port this afternoon (California time). I had a cron job running grabbing snapshots so I'm sure I've got a decent picture of it in there somewhere.

How long does it usually take after a boat leaves port before the 800 number will actually say your car is in transit? I called a few ours after the Sag had left and it said my car was still awaiting a shipping vessel. :-/

[F30Toad]

Originally Posted by kcd

It looks like sometime yesterday the Sag moved to the closer side of the auto terminal where it sat for most of the day until it finally left port this afternoon (California time). I had a cron job running grabbing snapshots so I'm sure I've got a decent picture of it in there somewhere.

How long does it usually take after a boat leaves port before the 800 number will actually say your car is in transit? I called a few ours after the Sag had left and it said my car was still awaiting a shipping vessel. :-/

2-3 days seems to be the concensus I think.

[badbaz]

I went through Bob Smith - I will call my dealer again today - see if he can't promise me a sooner time - I read some of the forums and they estimate 4-10 days to do VPC and get the car to the dealer - does this sound right? I really want me car before XMAS......

[wistarf]

Originally Posted by badbaz

I read some of the forums and they estimate 4-10 days to do VPC and get the car to the dealer - does this sound right? I really want me car before XMAS......

That's about right. I just read through the Bellona thread, and the dealer deliveries ranged from 4 to 12 days after being unloaded at port - for Priority 1 cars anyway. It seems that some of the ED cars were getting held up a bit longer.

Let's see, that means...

Fri Dec 15 - Hual Africa arrives Port Hueneme
Sat Dec 16 - Ship unloads
Wed Dec 20 - First cars delivered
Thurs Dec 28 - Last cars delivered

I'll be glad if I can get mine by the 23rd, but with my luck I'll be one of the last to get it. Anyone else picking theirs up at Irvine BMW?

[MrRipfrog]

Originally Posted by badbaz

I went through Bob Smith - I will call my dealer again today - see if he can't promise me a sooner time - I read some of the forums and they estimate 4-10 days to do VPC and get the car to the dealer - does this sound right? I really want me car before XMAS......

I would definitely call the dealer and see what’s up. The ship docks in Long Beach on December 12th. I was told pickup by the 17th (5 days). I purchased through Beverly Hills BMW and Calabasas is not that far away...

[F30Toad]

From what I've heard the ship will not get to Port Huemene until the 15th like wistarf said. Do BMW's get off loaded in Long Beach at all? That will probably be the 14th.

That time frame of the 28th is bad. I was really hoping for delivery by the 23rd so I could show it off to our family on Christmas eve. Still crossing my finger though.

[Dominican335]

As long as I have my car before Christmas Eve I'll be happy. I did a European Delivery through Savage BMW in Ontario, so I've already put about 575 miles on my car.

[wistarf]

Unfortunately, they don't unload them at Long Beach. The VPC is only a couple of miles from Port Hueneme so it would take longer to truck them to the VPC than the extra day on the ship.

Does anybody know if the car carriers will deliver to dealers on Saturdays and Sundays and whether the dealers will do the dealer prep on Saturdays and Sundays? If not, then I won't be as hopeful for a Christmas eve delivery.

[wistarf]

bump

[MrRipfrog]

How are all my Haul Africa people doing?!?! Another week down and a couple/few to go.

Anyone have any updates on the ship as it makes it way over here?

Must........ Get.......... Car............

[F30Toad]

I can't get AIS for Panama canal to work. It must not be a part of the free network. I do have a link for the Panama canal web cams at http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html, but it would be a matter of luck to catch the ship on one of those three considering I have no exact time frame that it will be there. The next best bet is to catch it December 12-14 when it gets to California from what I can tell. I will be checking then.