Time from order until production begins?

Hi,

I ordered my car on 12/26/12 and bmwusa.com still only shows "Order Documented" as of 1/14/13. Is this long of a wait usual? How long did yours take?

Thanks.

You have to get that information from your dealer. They know the moment you sign the paperwork when your car will go into production.

Each dealership is allocated an amount of 328i, 335i, and XDrives each month, and they know the production dates for each. Your dealer should have provided you with an allocation number and a production date at the time you did your deal a month ago.

Call him, ask him for that information. What has happened to me in the past is that I wasn't given an allocation number and my shady dealer gave my car to someone else who was more persistent and ordered a more optioned and expensive version of my 328i. So I was pushed back two weeks simply because I didn't know the game.

This happened to my friend a few months ago in SoCal, so I told him to call other dealers in the area, see who had newer allocation numbers and move the deal. He did. And saved some money in the process too.

BJ

Originally Posted by kkapdolee

Hi,

I ordered my car on 12/26/12 and bmwusa.com still only shows "Order Documented" as of 1/14/13. Is this long of a wait usual? How long did yours take?

Thanks.

when you ordered means almost nothing; your production allocation is what matters. if your dealer doesnt have a production allocation thats going into production soon, then the car can sit in the order bank for quite a while. i suspect that your car doesnt have a production week assigned to it yet.

ask your dealer for the production week. also, a south africa build adds another month to delivery time versus a germany build

alot of dealers will sell a production allocation that they dont have to take a buyer out of the market.

my dealer got me a germany prod allocation that flipped from scheduled for production to in production the next day-- the car was at the dealer about 5 weeks later.

Hmm... you guys got me thinking now. My CA did mention something about them having to buy the allocation from another dealership when he was placing my order but I did not realize the whole process was this complicated. I am in the same boat as the OP - my order was placed on 12/28/12 and so far I am seeing the same thing when I log in to bmwusa.com - the car hasn't entered production yet :-|

Thank you for your replies.

I did email my dealer last Friday as well as yesterday but haven't gotten a response yet. He's been a really good dealer for me and good at responding to emails promptly but doesn't answer phone calls that well. I think he's just super busy. He did tell me before that mine is a Germany built and the expected delivery date is early March though. With that knowledge, can you make a estimate as to when it will enter production?

Thanks.

I just checked my order on BMWUSA.com. I recall the site being pretty much useless, so I really didn't bother until today (and not actually until I saw this thread).

My order still says Order Documented too, but I just ordered on Friday, so I don't think it's a real big issue (at least not yet).

But the big problem for me is that the vehicle description says Estoril Blue. WTF!

kkapdolee, is your vehicle description right on BMWUSA.COM?

Originally Posted by krash

I just checked my order on BMWUSA.com. I recall the site being pretty much useless, so I really didn't bother until today (and actually until I saw this thread).

My order still says Order Documented too, but I just ordered on Friday, so I don't think it's a real big issue (at least not yet).

But the big problem for me is that the vehicle description says Estoril Blue. WTF!

kkapdolee, is your vehicle description right on BMWUSA.COM?

Yeah mine says its Alpine White! and I ordered Estoril Blue..

I just assumed it was because the production hasn't began yet and they would update the image once production starts. My dealer sent me the order sheet and everything on there is correct. It's probably just the website.. I hope..

Originally Posted by kkapdolee

Yeah mine says its Alpine White! and I ordered Estoril Blue..

I just assumed it was because the production hasn't began yet and they would update the image once production starts. My dealer sent me the order sheet and everything on there is correct. It's probably just the website.. I hope..

Either that, or maybe I'm getting your car?

Why would it randomly display Alpine White for you and Estoril Blue for me???? Hopefully the problem is with the website and not our orders.

Ditto on needing to get a production week from the dealer. I have seen them go into production a few days after ordering (like my last purchase), or it can take months. As far as the incorrect color showing up, it is fairly common. The likely explanation is that the dealer had an allocation order with those color choices. This far out they can change it at at any time, and the system takes a while to reflect the changes. If your order build sheet is right, you should get the right car.

Originally Posted by Lance Alot

Ditto on needing to get a production week from the dealer. I have seen them go into production a few days after ordering (like my last purchase), or it can take months. As far as the incorrect color showing up, it is fairly common. The likely explanation is that the dealer had an allocation order with those color choices. This far out they can change it at at any time, and the system takes a while to reflect the changes. If your order build sheet is right, you should get the right car.

I did see an order build sheet from my dealer but how do I know it's the "official" one or just one that dealer put together on his computer using excel or something?

I saw my order sheet with all the negotiated prices when the dealer first ordered the car but then when I asked him to port install a Sport grille later on, he sent me a new sheet with that additional order but with different pricing this time. The base price of the 3 series went up this year about $380. When I asked about the price increase, dealer said I will be price protected with the one I negotiated in the first place. But this makes me think the order sheet he was showing me wasn't set in stone official?

Any idea?

I got lucky. It was minus one days for me. I put my order in on the 30th of October. Production started five days later.

Krash, mine says Alpine White and I ordered Jet Black so I wouldn't worry about it - I spoke to my CA about it as soon as I saw it and he assured me the order is correct and the website will update that later.

BJ - thanks for the number. Calling now!

Originally Posted by DavidM1975

Krash, mine says Alpine White and I ordered Jet Black so I wouldn't worry about it - I spoke to my CA about it as soon as I saw it and he assured me the order is correct and the website will update that later.

BJ - thanks for the number. Calling now!

Great, thanks. I just talked to my CA too. He said the same thing. It's all good.

Holy crap! The phone system says my vehicle is in production with the estimated completion date of Jan23! Whoa!

Originally Posted by davidm1975

holy crap! The phone system says my vehicle is in production with the estimated completion date of jan23! Whoa!

awesome!

Originally Posted by DavidM1975

Holy crap! The phone system says my vehicle is in production with the estimated completion date of Jan23! Whoa!

Sweet!

The next bit of important information comes from your dealer. You need two things: the complete VIN and the name of the vessel that the car was put on (once shipped). Only the dealer can give you this information. Both the BMW website and the phone number stop giving you detail once it is in the status of "production complete awaiting shipment". Once you hear that you are in that status, you hound your dealer daily until he gives you the vessel name.

BJ

Originally Posted by boltjaM3s

... you hound your dealer daily until he gives you the vessel name.

Haha! Will certainly do that! Thanks again for all the tips!

Make sure you get the VIR, vehicle information report from your dealer. He can make a pdf of it and send it over. This and the production number will ensure you have the correct car built to your specs. A number of members on this forum and received cars with incorrect spec, such as auto instead of manual. It is very important you check the actual VIR before production begins. This will save you weeks if the wrong car is delivered and you have to do the whole process over.

This is what I can now see on bmwusa.com when I go to tracking. All info seems correct, do you think I should still get the VIR and window sticker from my CA? KK I hope your tracking screen will look like this soon too - it looks like you should expect to see this Tuesday/Wednesday next week. The website seems to have a day or two delay vs the phone system. One thing that makes me wonder is why it says Performance Summer Tires and All Season Tires below that. Am I getting two sets of tires?

Originally Posted by DavidM1975

This is what I can now see on bmwusa.com when I go to tracking. All info seems correct, do you think I should still get the VIR and window sticker from my CA? KK I hope your tracking screen will look like this soon too - it looks like you should expect to see this Tuesday/Wednesday next week. The website seems to have a day or two delay vs the phone system. One thing that makes me wonder is why it says Performance Summer Tires and All Season Tires below that. Am I getting two sets of tires?

Congrats on getting this far, you're on your way.

Disregard everything on that tracking screen, close your browser for three weeks, add the BMW phone number to your Favorites, and keep hitting 'redial' every day at 5PM.

You need the VIR to confirm every option properly, so get it just for peace of mind. The VIR is "God". The BMW tracking site is "awful".

BJ

Originally Posted by DavidM1975

This is what I can now see on bmwusa.com when I go to tracking. All info seems correct, do you think I should still get the VIR and window sticker from my CA? KK I hope your tracking screen will look like this soon too - it looks like you should expect to see this Tuesday/Wednesday next week. The website seems to have a day or two delay vs the phone system. One thing that makes me wonder is why it says Performance Summer Tires and All Season Tires below that. Am I getting two sets of tires?

David,

I'm glad it worked out for you well. I hope I can join you in the production line soon.
Let me know when yours finishes production. I'm curious to know how long it takes.

You should probably get the VIR for peace of mind as others have said here.

Originally Posted by DavidM1975

This is what I can now see on bmwusa.com when I go to tracking. All info seems correct, do you think I should still get the VIR and window sticker from my CA? KK I hope your tracking screen will look like this soon too - it looks like you should expect to see this Tuesday/Wednesday next week. The website seems to have a day or two delay vs the phone system. One thing that makes me wonder is why it says Performance Summer Tires and All Season Tires below that. Am I getting two sets of tires?

Cool.

Mine is still in a Order Documented status. Where is your's being built? Mine is slotted for South Africa.

Originally Posted by krash

Cool.

Mine is still in a Order Documented status. Where is your's being built? Mine is slotted for South Africa.

Have you called your dealer recently and inquired as to whether another car fitting your spec might be available from Germany? You can shave a few weeks waiting time right off the top if that's the case.

BJ

Originally Posted by boltjaM3s

Have you called your dealer recently and inquired as to whether another car fitting your spec might be available from Germany? You can shave a few weeks waiting time right off the top if that's the case.

BJ

When we closed the deal the other night, they said they only had 1 slot for the 335 and it was South Africa.

I am going to call back tonight to get an update.