Been following the "Bremerhaven to NY" thread for a bit just for kicks, so thought I would start a thread for those of us who are on the west coast waiting for our cars to ship.
My 328i M Sport started "production" on September 16th and finished production on September 24th. According to the 800 number, the car is on its way to the "port of exit" today September 26th.
According to the WW website, their ships to Port Hueneme leave Bremerhaven every two weeks. The next ship (Tortugas) leaves on October 5th arriving at Port Hueneme on October 30th. After that ship, the next ship (Elektra) leaves on October 19th arriving at Port Hueneme on November 13th.
From what I have read, BMW does use carriers other than WW.
My car just went to 182 AG Load No. -- Released to Carrier today at Regensburg. I'm hoping to catch Elektra, which departs next Saturday. Is anyone expecting to be loaded on her too?
2 days after the Rigel Leader departed Bremerhaven the 800 number still says my car is at the port waiting for a ship. I think we have another 24 hours to find out if we made the ship.
If not, I will be looking to the Elektra in a few days. If I'm not on that ship, I'm guessing my enthusiasm will begin to decline.
Since 9/26. Not the longest time but I am approaching the longest time (23 days) that I have read on the forum. I just called the 800 and spoke to a CS Rep and they told me to check back with them every 2 weeks or so. Huh?
If I didn't make the Rigel and don't make the Elektra, I will have the record!
I noticed on the WW ships that there is a "Booked" status that is usually 6 to 8 days before the cars are loaded. That would lead me to believe that the shipping company knows which cars are going on which ship a week before they leave port. If that is true, the cars getting on the Elektra have already been "Booked" on the ship.
In regard to the Elektra, our fates are probably already decided.
I wonder how they assign spots on the ships. My car arrived at the port of exit after some of yours yet somehow made it on to the Tortugas. I noticed that the trip was booked in February 2013..maybe BMW allocates a certain number of shipping spots for certain types of cars? Maybe since the GT is a new model, they assigned more spots to it? I have no idea and someone probably has the real answer....
Dealer just sent me a pic. Finally, the wait is over. Traded in my car on June 20th. That is a long time ago. Now just need to find someone to shuttle me 80 miles to the rural dealer on Wednesday...............
I just got an email from the LoginOut people in Munich who I dropped with on 10/9/13. My car is booked on the Elektra to leave on 10/19/13 to be in Port Hueneme on November 13, 2013. Couldn't be more excited.
I thought I would check with my SA today on the status of my car and he got back to me that I'm on the Rigel Leader with the estimated arrival to Port Hueneme on 11/6.
Production date: 9/27/2013 Arrival at Bremerhaven: 10/01/2013
Congrats to all who made it onto the last two ships.
I will contact him and ask again about the status of my car.
Calbbs- What does the 800 number say about your car? Maybe we'll pass each other one day around the Bay Area. What color is your car? Mine is a Glacier Silver M Sport 328.
I tried it this morning and just now tried it again and it still says that it is at the port. MyBMW still shows it as waiting at the port also. But I called my SA and he said he would check and a couple of hours later he sent me an email with a screen shot of the Vehicle Inquiry: Status screen showing that I was on the Rigel Leader.
I have a Mineral Grey M Sport 328xi Sport Wagon. I wanted the Glacier Silver but they didn't offer that on the Sport Wagon. I envy your Glacier Grey, nice color.
I sure hope your SA was wrong and you are on the Rigel Leader.
Seeing how the WW line books it cargo 4-6 days before departure, someone somewhere already knows if our cars are going to be on the Elektra. I'm guessing that unless something appears terribly wrong (car at port for 4+ weeks) they just direct you to the 800 number.
Clearly there is someone at Bremerhaven that knows where every car is. These are $50K pieces of cargo. They are being controlled very closely.
Salesman told me today its at the dock waiting for a ship and that he hopes it gets on the next ship. In my world "hope" is not a strategy but I'm not going to complain. My salesman has been very good to me so far and I'm guessing at this point there is very little he can do other than hope. If my car is sitting on the dock after 4 weeks, I'm guessing he will do what it takes to find out what is going on.
One forum member had his car at the dock for 23 days before it shipped. Missing several ships before it finally made it on one. That was the longest wait I've seen on the forums. Im at 18 days and counting. If I make the Elektra, I will fall 1 day short of the the record.
In regard to tracking the ships, there is a roundabout way which is a pain in the ass but it does work. (I found this on a Bimmerfest forum). Go to this site:
Click on the "Show Ship Names" on the left panel and type in the name of the ship in the search window. As you type in the name, a popup will list the ships. Click on the ship you want.
You will get a blank blue screen. Scroll up about an inch so you can see the entire blue page. DO NO CLCK ON SATELLITE in the upper right corner. Leave it on Map.
Zoom all the way in and place your cursor in the center of the blue screen. Without moving your cursor, note (write down) the bottom line coordinates displayed in the bottom of the blue screen. It will read something like 37.XXXX, -040.XXXXX.
These are the coordinates of the ship. If you go to google maps, you can enter those coordinates and it will show you where the ship is.
Marinetraffic.com charges for the ability to track ships in the open waters. However, the code on their website apparently only omits the image/icon of the ship when you do the upaid search. So you are actually looking at the ship's location, you just cant see it. By zooming in, you can essentially zoom into the exact location of the ship.
Marinetraffic.com charges for the ability to track ships in the open waters. However, the code on their website apparently only omits the image/icon of the ship when you do the upaid search. So you are actually looking at the ship's location, you just cant see it. By zooming in, you can essentially zoom into the exact location of the ship.
Thanks for the info. You are not nuts. I am sitting in a NY hotel room watching the full Mighty Ships Faust documentary on youtube because it is a ship SIMILAR to the one carrying my car to the U.S. So I get it....
Thanks to JT01's link, I know that Sagittarius Leader just went through the Panama Canal today. Anyone else waiting on that one? Supposed to arrive in CA on the 25th I believe.
Looks like we won't be able to see the glorious details of Elektra being loaded. She is berthed quite a bit south of the BLG webcam. Not sure if this is temporary as the "normal" loading docks are full with other cargo ships.
The Tortugas was docked for about a week at the dock just east of where the Elektra is currently docked. The Tortugas eventually went to the Auto Export area to load.
Can you post the Bill of Lading or Booking number? That should let the rest of us dump out the full VIN list.
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