[comebackid]

335i ordered on November 4. Finished production and awaiting a vessel on December 12. So now it's December 19 and I call the rep. He tells me he has no further info. Could be stuck there for who knows how long cause of the holidays and vessels get booked up this time of year. Anyone in the same boat as me? Actually not on a boat as me? I live in NJ, but in the NYC metro area. Anyone know how long after it hits port. He's also telling me could be another 3 weeks

[JPIII]

Dude, I just ordered a week ago (Chicago destined), but I got lucky because the delearship had a 335c about to go into production. They changed the options and my car was being assembled in the next two days. My car has completed production and is awaiting shipping. I found this guy who goes by "NATHAN" on here who spells out the whole process from production to delivery. I copied pasted his response to another guy .....CHECK IT ...this guy is thorough!

OUT....JP3

We’ve been talking a lot about this for weeks, so I thought I would summarize all this information for folks that are still waiting on their cars and those that are new to E90POST.

Once you place your order and give your dealer a deposit, they can then put your configuration into the ordering system and it will give you a production number. If they were able to modify an existing order (for example change color etc.), then your car will initially show up with different options, but it will eventually change.

You can take your Production Number and go online to track your vehicle’s status. Keep in mind that this system is usually a week behind. BMW Owner’s Circle (OC) http://www.bmwusa.com/OwnersCircle/ gives you very little information to simplify the waiting process (and no, we don’t like that, we like detail!) and break the order process into 5 stages:

On Order
As soon as your dealer gives you your production number, it shows up in OC as ‘On Order.’ You should also get a Production Week Number when your car will be produced. One thing to note, that when you go online right after you get your production number, the options you selected when you placed your order will not show up. In fact, it will never show up in OC, ever. The other thing, so that you don’t freak out initially, is that sometimes a dealer can modify an incoming order destined for their dealership, which ends up showing as another color under OC. However, this only takes a few days to update. For example, when I placed my order for Sparkling Graphite, it initially showed up as Alpine White with Terra Leather interior.

Scheduled For Production
Approximately three days prior to your car going into production, OC will reach this stage. The 800 automated information number is much more accurate than Owner's Circle (by two days or so), so use it with your production number to figure out what's going on with your car. The number is 1-800-831-1117; say “Vehicle Production Status” and then read out your production number. If your car production is complete, it will say “Your vehicle production is complete.” This whole stage takes a week or less.

Awaiting Transport
Your car gets loaded onto a train and is then driven to Bremerhaven, where it is unloaded and then has to wait for a ship. This is the painful part; you have no idea how many cars are ahead of yours in line to get on a ship, so you have to just keep hoping it doesn’t take too long. Mine took 8 days from production completion to getting on the ship. A ship sails every 3-4 days destined for the United States East Coast. Not sure how different things are for the West Coast.

En Route
As soon as your status changes to “In Transit” on the 800 number, or to “En Route” on the OC, check the shipping company’s website (Schedules) to figure out what ship your car is on. Or just call your dealer; they know exactly what ship your car is on, and the estimated times of when it will arrive and leave the Prep Center. The dealer has a tool that tells you everything, so leverage this to get the name of your ship so you don’t have to guess.

For east coast deliveries, the shipping company’s website (Wallenius Wilhelmsen) is http://www.2wglobal.com/www/WEP/index.jsp. They update their schedule in real-time and changes the color of the ‘stops’ to Red after the ship arrives at different ports, signifying that the ship has docked. My ship took exactly 11 days to get from Bremerhaven to New York City. Sometimes, if your ship reports its status, you can track your ship while it makes its way across the pond. Go to http://www.sailwx.info/ and search by ship name. Keep in mind that my ship never showed up, so its really luck that you may see it.

For west coast deliveries, the shipping company's website (NYK Lines) is http://www2.nykline.com/home/index.html. You can also use http://www.dbh.de/index.php?id=151&L=0
to track the departure of your ship from Bremerhaven to Port Hueneme. Apparently NYK Line doesn't make it easy to find your ship. After that, if you want to know when your ship is planning to dock in San Diego, San Diego Marine Information Systems will give you the arrival schedule for Port Hueneme (west coast delivery) at
http://www.sdmis.org/schedule/.



At Preparation Center
Depending on how much time has lapsed between your ship docking and your car getting off the ship, it may take a while to show up at the Vehicle Preparation Center. A lot of wait times in this area is due to the number of cars ahead of yours, and the time it takes to actually wash off all the foreign soil of every vehicle that comes off the ship. Generally, this takes about 7-14 days.

At your BMW Center
Once your car reaches your dealer, they have to PDI your vehicle, which basically means remove shipping blocks, remove the plastic on the inside, check the vehicle from top to bottom, add any dealer installed options (CD Changer, Tint, Aluminum Pedals etc.) and finally, call you up to come pick up your new baby.


If you have any doubts or questions, remember, your dealer has a system that can tell you exactly where your car is, so always defer to your dealer for more information. Hope this helps. Please send me a message if I missed something and i’ll keep editing it to include changes.

Thanks,

Nathan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[comebackid]

I saw that Nathan waited 8 days until he finally got on a boat. So far I have waited 8 days, and the recording on the phone says awaiting a vessel BUT there is no shipping info available at this time. So I called the rep. Usually a live rep has more info. He tells me even he has no info, and that this time of year is hectic cause vessels are carrying other stuff. I might even have to wait 1-3 weeks.

[kodiak]

Originally Posted by comebackid

I saw that Nathan waited 8 days until he finally got on a boat. So far I have waited 8 days, and the recording on the phone says awaiting a vessel BUT there is no shipping info available at this time. So I called the rep. Usually a live rep has more info. He tells me even he has no info, and that this time of year is hectic cause vessels are carrying other stuff. I might even have to wait 1-3 weeks.

i can feel your pain. in looking at the shipping schedule there are quite a few Wallenius Wilhelmsen (WWL) ships over the next week to take yours to the east coast. good luck!

unfortunately, for my west coast delivery, if my baby doesn't make it on the Centaurus Leader on friday the next scheduled NYK-Line ship doesn't appear to be leaving until next year (1/3/07). ouch!

David

[Paul0521]

Originally Posted by comebackid

I saw that Nathan waited 8 days until he finally got on a boat. So far I have waited 8 days, and the recording on the phone says awaiting a vessel BUT there is no shipping info available at this time. So I called the rep. Usually a live rep has more info. He tells me even he has no info, and that this time of year is hectic cause vessels are carrying other stuff. I might even have to wait 1-3 weeks.

I got on the Trinidad a week ago -

The the rep at BMWNA the BMWNA 800 number did not have current information - the ship that I'm on left Bremerhaven last Wednesday, but there was no indication that I was on that ship until my status changed to 'in-transit' on Thursday. Another person on my ship did not have their status change until Friday. During that interim period the status continues to say - waiting for transit - no shipping info available. So, perhaps you are further along then you might think.

One of the live reps at the 800 told me that they have no visibility into schedules once your car hits the port. He said that he thought that the dealers could track better from Bremerhaven on out, but that he wasn't sure if they could see what boat you were actually slotted for.

It took me 6 days from "Production Complete" until I got on a boat.

Good luck - hope that you get to sea soon.

Paul

[comebackid]

Originally Posted by Paul0521

I got on the Trinidad a week ago -

The the rep at BMWNA the BMWNA 800 number did not have current information - the ship that I'm on left Bremerhaven last Wednesday, but there was no indication that I was on that ship until my status changed to 'in-transit' on Thursday. Another person on my ship did not have their status change until Friday. During that interim period the status continues to say - waiting for transit - no shipping info available. So, perhaps you are further along then you might think.

One of the live reps at the 800 told me that they have no visibility into schedules once your car hits the port. He said that he thought that the dealers could track better from Bremerhaven on out, but that he wasn't sure if they could see what boat you were actually slotted for.

It took me 6 days from "Production Complete" until I got on a boat.

Good luck - hope that you get to sea soon.

Paul

Good to hear Paul. So far I'm on my 10th day, and the recording tells me I'm still at the port awaiting a vessel with no shipping info.

[Paul0521]

Originally Posted by comebackid

Good to hear Paul. So far I'm on my 10th day, and the recording tells me I'm still at the port awaiting a vessel with no shipping info.

Just noticed that you are in NJ - where are you located, and who did you buy from? I'm in Hillsborough, and bought my car from Flemington BMW.

[comebackid]

Originally Posted by Paul0521

Just noticed that you are in NJ - where are you located, and who did you buy from? I'm in Hillsborough, and bought my car from Flemington BMW.

I'm from West New York (NYC metro area). I got mine from Difeo BMW in Tenafly, NJ.

[Kuli]

Originally Posted by comebackid

335i ordered on November 4. Finished production and awaiting a vessel on December 12. So now it's December 19 and I call the rep. He tells me he has no further info. Could be stuck there for who knows how long cause of the holidays and vessels get booked up this time of year. Anyone in the same boat as me? Actually not on a boat as me? I live in NJ, but in the NYC metro area. Anyone know how long after it hits port. He's also telling me could be another 3 weeks

My car completed production on 12th and was at port on (around) 15th of December. I managed to get on Freedom that left on 18th. OC didn't reflect this until today and the 800-number still says waiting at port.

I had already found on Tuesday that my car was loaded on the ship and on its way from this link (use your complete VIN number):

http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTrac...trackType=Auto

(this is only valid for cars shipped to East coast)

I hope this helps...

[comebackid]

Originally Posted by Kuli

My car completed production on 12th and was at port on (around) 15th of December. I managed to get on Freedom that left on 18th. OC didn't reflect this until today and the 800-number still says waiting at port.

I had already found on Tuesday that my car was loaded on the ship and on its way from this link (use your complete VIN number):

http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTrac...trackType=Auto

(this is only valid for cars shipped to East coast)

I hope this helps...

Kuli,

You are my hero. My dealer called me back on Friday, December 22 and told me the car is in transit.

So I went on the link you attached and I am on Madame Butterfly due to arrive on New Years eve!

[Red335i]

Look do not worry I bet your car is on a ship right now! I had the same problem the 800# and the oc said I was waiting at the port of exit but the whole time I was on a ship go to the shipping website wallenius and type in your vin# it will tell you what ship you are on I know you pain but when you get your baby you will be pleased! LOL

red 335i
ordered 10-02
produced 11-15
shipped 11-20
took delivery 12-12

[comebackid]

Originally Posted by Red335i

Look do not worry I bet your car is on a ship right now! I had the same problem the 800# and the oc said I was waiting at the port of exit but the whole time I was on a ship go to the shipping website wallenius and type in your vin# it will tell you what ship you are on I know you pain but when you get your baby you will be pleased! LOL

red 335i
ordered 10-02
produced 11-15
shipped 11-20
took delivery 12-12

I'm on the Madame Butterfly arriving New Years eve.:rocks:

I noticed you have a red 335i. I ordered crimson red for my 335i too. Never owned a Bimmer before and never had a red car before. Looked good in the pics, but I have never seen one in person. I'm hoping it's not to orangey. What do you think of the red?

[Red335i]

I love this car and the color people are stopping me all the time telling how awsome the car is. And no it does not have a orange look to it like everyone says. Just one thing tint the windows as I did and it will really show the cars beauty! lol

[TravelingDude88]

I'm supposedly on Freedom, but when I punch in my VIN it comes up with Madame Butterfly. Does the cargo ship go by two names? Mine is an ED Redelivery and I got the ship information from E.H. Harms when I dropped off my car in Munich.

Originally Posted by Kuli

My car completed production on 12th and was at port on (around) 15th of December. I managed to get on Freedom that left on 18th. OC didn't reflect this until today and the 800-number still says waiting at port.

I had already found on Tuesday that my car was loaded on the ship and on its way from this link (use your complete VIN number):

http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTrac...trackType=Auto

(this is only valid for cars shipped to East coast)

I hope this helps...

[E90T]

My dealer told me my car is done, I have the following numbers, for Canadian delivery

Production # is 7608155

Serial # is WBAVB73597PA89682

How do I track the car through shipping online? I know most of the American suff is covered and I should search, but if you don't mind, maybe a quick blurb on how to get started would be awesome!

Thanks guys!

Here is the response I got back from my dealer

"You can’t. AG assigns it a vessel and I can get you an ETA into Halifax. You can register with CN.ca and track it on rail, but nothing more. Again, rail won’t be until February"