[spn]

Originally Posted by Motorsport

That's fantastic, if its true then it would be really great!
By the way, if customs boarded the ship and cleared MB vehicles is it possible they cleared BMWs too?

That is what I am wondering, too. They may have just cleared the whole ship when it docked in SD because it officially entered the US. The BMW 1-800 is kind of squirrely, but you could give it a call just for the heck of it and see if there is any change in status for your car. It sounds like the MB system is a little more detailed, though, because I don't think the BMW system says anything about clearing customs, whereas the MB system does. (On the other hand, you guys have a far superior trucking customer support system). The other thing I am thinking is that my model car has its big US launch date this Thursday, May 1, and MB might have requested that all of these models get pushed through quickly and to the dealers by Thursday. I know there are three of my models on board Hojin just for my dealership. The '09 SLs have been shipping for several weeks now, and then holding in the VPCs to be shipped just in time for launch day on Thursday.

[spn]

Hojin is on the move to PH!

[spn]

Originally Posted by Motorsport

That's fantastic, if its true then it would be really great!
By the way, if customs boarded the ship and cleared MB vehicles is it possible they cleared BMWs too?

I have a buddy who also has/had a MB SL63 AMG onboard Hojin. The status for his car this afternoon also shows it has cleared customs and has moved on to the VPC. So, that makes three cars I know of that have cleared customs from Hojin on a Saturday(!). I really think they cleared all the cars yesterday while the ship was in San Diego. I am sure they will be ready for trucking on Tuesday, if not Monday afternoon.

I called my dealership to see how many of their cars are down at the VPC awaiting shipment and they said they have nine cars for their dealership that will be ready to truck Tuesday (three come into port tomorrow on Camellia Ace and will be processed Monday). And, they usually share a truck with another MB dealer the next city over, so there should be plenty of cars to fill the truck and get moving. How many cars fit on one of those car-carrier trucks?? Hmmm.

[Saigon]

so all the bimmers are off the ship now? :-d

[spn]

Originally Posted by Saigon

so all the bimmers are off the ship now? :-d

Hojin is just leaving LA and will reach PH late tonight. My guess is that it will go something like this. They will unload the bimmers in the night and probably into tomorrow morning. The cars will go through customs Monday morning and the VPC on Monday into Tuesday. Then they will catch their trucks Wednesday. LA people will probably get them Wednesday/Thursday/Friday, depending on which part of SoCal. It takes awhile for them to get to San Diego.

[spn]

Here is an update.

[spn]

Hojin should reach PH in the next couple of hours.

[swamp2]

Originally Posted by spn

Thanks swamp2! Those pictures are SO COOL! She is such a huge ship. To see her in that perspective is really amazing. And, it is fun to see where she was really docked because we watched the dock web cam all day just wondering exactly where she was. We saw the dock parking lot filling with cars and we knew she was very close to the camera, but we never saw in her in view of the camera. Awesome pics! Thanks!

She's docked in LA right now. I just checked radar. I will post her radar screenshot in a minute.

I did not mention that but your observations are absolutely correct and worth mentioning. From the moment I saw her from the freeway my thoughts were exactly that - wow what a freaking big ship. And such a boxy vessel as well. Congrats on the fast customs job and to being all that sooner to delivery. Just as an aside why so much time on e90post? Are the MB forums good?

[spn]

Originally Posted by swamp2

Just as an aside why so much time on e90post? Are the MB forums good?

They don't have any dedicated threads on the MB forums and nobody seems to be interested in tracking their cars, either. I think it is mostly an older crowd and they aren't interested. I have found it addicting and I have really enjoyed this forum a lot.

I track a lot of cars for friends, my dealership's clients, etc. I have a friend whose car just departed Bremerhaven on the Pacific Breeze, so I will be watching that one now.

[spn]

By the way, Camellia Ace is parked in SD where Hojin was parked the other day, except CA is in view of the camera. Look at this!



http://www.sdmis.org/view/24thcam.phtml

[dodell66]

So guys...is it safe to say that Hojin made it to PH last night and that quite possibly as I am typing this very message my car is being offloaded?

[spn]

Originally Posted by dodell66

So guys...is it safe to say that Hojin made it to PH last night and that quite possibly as I am typing this very message my car is being offloaded?

Yes. Did you see the web cam link above of Camellia Ace being offloaded? It is probably the same for Hojin right now. Take a look at the web cam of CA in San Diego.

http://www.sdmis.org/view/24thcam.phtml

[dodell66]

Originally Posted by spn

Yes. Did you see the web cam link above of Camellia Ace being offloaded? It is probably the same for Hojin right now. Take a look at the web cam of CA in San Diego.

http://www.sdmis.org/view/24thcam.phtml

You gotta love the Internet!

Now, if I can just get the same luck with Customs that the MB folks did.

[spn]

Originally Posted by dodell66

You gotta love the Internet!

Now, if I can just get the same luck with Customs that the MB folks did.

Even if customs didn't clear all the cars in SD, it is a very fast process and will be done very quickly tomorrow morning, then on to the VPC just after that. Then to trucking probably late Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. It is a little tough to predict especially since Hojin is in PH now, Camellia Ace arrives in PH tonight and Don Juan was in PH on Friday. That is three ships in a row and a back up of cars for VPC on Monday.

[dodell66]

Originally Posted by spn

Even if customs didn't clear all the cars in SD, it is a very fast process and will be done very quickly tomorrow morning, then on to the VPC just after that. Then to trucking probably late Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. It is a little tough to predict especially since Hojin is in PH now, Camellia Ace arrives in PH tonight and Don Juan was in PH on Friday. That is three ships in a row and a back up of cars for VPC on Monday.

AND (unfortunately) I picked-up a scratch on the driver's side rear quarter panel while in Switzerland. That will have to be fixed at the VPC. My best guess for delivery to Portland is the 8th or 9th of May (if I'm lucky).

[spn]

Originally Posted by dodell66

AND (unfortunately) I picked-up a scratch on the driver's side rear quarter panel while in Switzerland. That will have to be fixed at the VPC. My best guess for delivery to Portland is the 8th or 9th of May (if I'm lucky).

Ohhhh, noooo! Is your car a European Delivery??? Ahhhh, I think your car might be delayed a bit. Check some of the more recent threads, but ED cars take awhile to get through customs because they have been "delivered" already; driven, items stored in them, etc. I know around this past Feb/Mar time period, they were taking an extra nine days awaiting customs inpsections. Last summer when I was tracking an ED car for one of my dealership's clients, they were taking three weeks to get through customs at both the port of LA (for MBs) and port Hueneme. Both ports, three weeks. I think they were backlogged from summertime EDs. You might have an extra week or two wait right now. Dig around the threads and see if you can find anyone who has had a ED lately and what their wait has been.

[burrbrown]

Originally Posted by Motorsport

I guess all that's left is to extend a BIG THANKS to spn and Appropriate for the time and effort spent in tracking the Hojin. I hope that come tommorow morning all the cars are swiftly transported to their respective dealerships. I expect to see pictures of that 09 SL63 AMG! I will definitely post pictures as soon as I can on the M3 photos forum.

+1

Thanks to spn and Appropriate for all the awesome tracking info! (and anyone else I forgot to mention)

Soon we'll all be our cars!

[JO3]

I just got an email from my SA saying that my car will arrive at my BMW center on May 1st. My center is here in LA, just 72 miles from PH.

Is 4 days a long time to wait? Should I be worried that my car needed work/repair at the VPC?

[spn]

Originally Posted by JO3

I just got an email from my SA saying that my car will arrive at my BMW center on May 1st. My center is here in LA, just 72 miles from PH.

Is 4 days a long time to wait? Should I be worried that my car needed work/repair at the VPC?

I wouldn't be worried. That's within a normal amount of time. The one variable I wrote about earlier is how much backlog they have because Don Juan came in on Friday and Hojin on Saturday. They have a lot of cars to process. Let's wait and see what others come up for timing on the deliveries of their cars.

[spn]

Originally Posted by Motorsport

My CA just said friday morning so it's consistent with what you've been told.

They are running a little late for the LA area, but I think it is because of all the ships that went into PH. I have a buddy in SF who had a Mercedes on Hojin (so it went into the port of LA) and his car arrived at his dealership in San Francisco today. So, his car moved through very quickly, in just three days, from the port of LA to San Fran.

[spn]

Oh, and my Mercedes is hung up in LA because they are waiting to fill the truck it is on. It was ready to be trucked yesterday. They have one more empty spot on the truck to fill before it will head to SLC. I am looking at Thursday for delivery of my car.

[spn]

Originally Posted by Motorsport

I guess all that's left is to extend a BIG THANKS to spn and Appropriate for the time and effort spent in tracking the Hojin. I hope that come tommorow morning all the cars are swiftly transported to their respective dealerships. I expect to see pictures of that 09 SL63 AMG! I will definitely post pictures as soon as I can on the M3 photos forum.

Thanks for the posts Motorsport and Burrbrown. It was a lot of fun to do and is really therapy for all of us.

I have one more ship to bring in, Pacific Breeze. I have a buddy who has a car onboard. It is still out in the Atlantic. So, I will be around for a few more weeks. It will give me some wind-down time to break this addiction. Hojin, Camellia Ace, and Don Juan provided a lot of excitement all at once.