# On PORGY departing BREMERHAVEN Apr 20



## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

Looks like folks who had Minis on Porgy will be taking delivery of their cars this week: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/1st-gear/209215-were-on-porgy-3.html


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## 11gt535 (Jan 16, 2011)

The tracking for my car on the WW site says "Customs Release" and "Liner Release"... seems hard to believe it would have gotten through customs already?


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

11gt535 said:


> The tracking for my car on the WW site says "Customs Release" and "Liner Release"... seems hard to believe it would have gotten through customs already?


Are there "1s" to the right of the lines in the table?

Also, is yours an ED or regular order? EDs require a US inspector to examine them, but a lot of the "never touched by the customer" cars are pre-cleared when the car is still on the ship.

I did some research on this, and from what I can gather, it seems US Customs actually processes these things pretty quickly as a rule. Even though BMW may say it's "held up in Customs," many people find this to be a convenient excuse.


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## 11gt535 (Jan 16, 2011)

It's got a date and time for each, but no number in the "status quantity". It is an ED we drove around.


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

11gt535 said:


> It's got a date and time for each, but no number in the "status quantity". It is an ED we drove around.


I am hoping to receive my car by the end of next week, May 20 or 21, if I receive it before then it will be a nice surprise, and if I do not receive it by May 23 it will be a sad dissapoinment


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## 335dpok (May 11, 2011)

*Yahooooo!*

My 335d is at the dealer. Going on Friday to collect.... Hope this gives some hope for you all.
PORGY the Great!


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

335dpok said:


> My 335d is at the dealer. Going on Friday to collect.... Hope this gives some hope for you all.
> PORGY the Great!


Really? Damn. I called BMW ED yesterday and they said mine was still in Customs. Was yours an ED?

I suspect the "Customs" excuse is a very convenient one. 

I've also noticed on the MINI forum that dealers on the East Coast have received a few Porgy vehicles...


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## 335dpok (May 11, 2011)

*not an ED*

but I believe it's an excuse.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

I called this morning and was told my car is still in Customs.


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

FastMarkA said:


> I called this morning and was told my car is still in Customs.


what number do you call to ask for status?


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

casper said:


> what number do you call to ask for status?


1-800-932-0831


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

FastMarkA said:


> 1-800-932-0831


I called, nice lady, she says my car has been released to the trucking company for transport, my car will arrive at Brunswick on May 17 and then transferred to another trucking company or another truck to continue on to my dealer, asked me to call her back Tuesday and she will be able to give ETA to my dealer.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

casper said:


> I called, nice lady, she says my car has been released to the trucking company for transport, my car will arrive at Brunswick on May 17 and then transferred to another trucking company or another truck to continue on to my dealer, asked me to call her back Tuesday and she will be able to give ETA to my dealer.


Lucky you! Did the status on your W&W by chance change (to get "1s" in the columns where it was missing before?)


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

FastMarkA said:


> Lucky you! Did the status on your W&W by chance change (to get "1s" in the columns where it was missing before?)


W&W status remains the same, no "1" in customs release or discharge.

What I am understanding here is that my car was released by customs in NJ, is on it's way to the VDC in Brunswick, GA scheduled to enter VDC May 17.
It now depends on how long stays at VDC.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

casper said:


> W&W status remains the same, no "1" in customs release or discharge.
> 
> What I am understanding here is that my car was released by customs in NJ, is on it's way to the VDC in Brunswick, GA scheduled to enter VDC May 17.
> It now depends on how long stays at VDC.


OK, the unchanged W&W is good to hear; mine hasn't been updated since last Thursday when the ship arrived when it got a "1" in Delivered From right away, but no line items about Customs Release.

Maybe the ED cars finally made it through customs yesterday sometime, likely between when you and I called?

I'll give them a call in a bit and hopefully mine is through Customs and onto the VDC @ NJ.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

Allegedly still in customs.

I think it's somewhat suspicious that a customs agent went out to the lot, cleared at least 1 ED car, but not mine.

I hope I'm not getting an extreme inspection.


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## 11gt535 (Jan 16, 2011)

Just called up and my car is with the trucking company and it looks like pickup from the dealer on Tuesday. Fingers crossed! It's going to be a long weekend.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

11gt535 said:


> Just called up and my car is with the trucking company and it looks like pickup from the dealer on Tuesday. Fingers crossed! It's going to be a long weekend.


Was yours a Euro Delivery?


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## 11gt535 (Jan 16, 2011)

Yes, Euro delivery dropped off Amsterdam on April 8. Looks like it will be around 40 days total. They never gave customs as a reason for holding for me.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

I called W&W, and they said my car was released from Customs, even though the website only has the DISCHARGED and DELIVERED FROM lines (there is no mention of CUSTOMS or LINER RELEASE).

Armed with this information, I called BMW ED and was told there is the Customs Release and the Agriculture Release. It was suggested the car passed Customs, but not Agriculture?

I am more than concerned for two reasons:

1) My tracking status never contained the CUSTOMS and LINER RELEASE lines on W&W for me;
2) Two ED cars that traveled on Porgy are now on a truck while mine sits in Customs. Not good.

I suspect I will need to micro-manage this process.


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

FastMarkA said:


> I called W&W, and they said my car was released from Customs, even though the website only has the DISCHARGED and DELIVERED FROM lines (there is no mention of CUSTOMS or LINER RELEASE).
> 
> Armed with this information, I called BMW ED and was told there is the Customs Release and the Agriculture Release. It was suggested the car passed Customs, but not Agriculture?
> 
> ...


Well, my car was released to trucking company because VDC is Brunswick, yours will be processed in the VDC in NJ, that is why is not released to trucking co, I think your car must be at VDC in NJ and when released to trucking co will be to transport it to your dealer.


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

Still in transit to VDC in Brunswick, due to arrive today.

So Far I have these time frames:
1-Drop Off LoginOut April 8

2-Departed on PORGY Apr 20 (12 days from drop off to sailing)

3-Arrived NY May 6 (16 days from sailing to port in US)

4-In Transit from port to dealer (10 days and counting)

If the car does not have any damage it will be released from VDC quickly and transported to dealer, there is still a chance I can have drop off to pick up of 6 weeks (42 days)
which is the average time. 

On my ED 1 my total time was about 35 days, (time from drop off in Paris to loaded on ship was aprox 5 days.)

On my 2nd ED, I did worse, drop off to saling was good (3 days), but it was held at VDC due to some rear bumper damage, total time was aprox 50 days.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

My car was still in customs as of last Friday afternoon. Knowing that a regular order that rode on the Porgy had arrived to a dealer on Wednesday, and an ED'er had already cleared customs and was on a truck to the VDC, I nicely escalated things yesterday.

Amazingly, I received notification this morning that my car "just cleared." 

It's good news regardless of what really happened. 

So now, VDC and a truck ride. Maybe the end of the week?

FWIW, no status changes on W&W or the BMW tracker.


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## 11gt535 (Jan 16, 2011)

My car is delivered and free from BMW's grasp! It actually arrived at the dealer early (Saturday) but today was a much better day to pick it up schedule-wise. So 40 days door to door with drop off in Amsterdam on April 8 and pickup at the dealer on May 17. It didn't have many extra miles on it but it must have sat idling for awhile somewhere as my quarter tank was down to an eighth. The nav system thought it was in the Netherlands for a moment... but it does indeed have the US loaded. My toll stickers were removed along with the plates, thought I got the plates back.

At least in my case BMW's ED phone line always had dates and their information agreed with what was on the W&W site (Thanks Sabrina!). If it was in customs in Brunswick after W&W marked it released it couldn't have been for very long.

Good luck to all of the rest of Porgy's cargo!


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

11gt535 said:


> My car is delivered and free from BMW's grasp! It actually arrived at the dealer early (Saturday) but today was a much better day to pick it up schedule-wise. So 40 days door to door with drop off in Amsterdam on April 8 and pickup at the dealer on May 17. It didn't have many extra miles on it but it must have sat idling for awhile somewhere as my quarter tank was down to an eighth. The nav system thought it was in the Netherlands for a moment... but it does indeed have the US loaded. My toll stickers were removed along with the plates, thought I got the plates back.
> 
> At least in my case BMW's ED phone line always had dates and their information agreed with what was on the W&W site (Thanks Sabrina!). If it was in customs in Brunswick after W&W marked it released it couldn't have been for very long.
> 
> Good luck to all of the rest of Porgy's cargo!


Good for you! Where are you located?
Regarding gas, at dropoff I asked how much gas was needed in the car, they told me about 1/8, the girl at LoginOut said they remove gas from the tank and leave only enough to load and unload cars.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

11gt535 said:


> My car is delivered and free from BMW's grasp! It actually arrived at the dealer early (Saturday) but today was a much better day to pick it up schedule-wise. So 40 days door to door with drop off in Amsterdam on April 8 and pickup at the dealer on May 17. It didn't have many extra miles on it but it must have sat idling for awhile somewhere as my quarter tank was down to an eighth. The nav system thought it was in the Netherlands for a moment... but it does indeed have the US loaded. My toll stickers were removed along with the plates, thought I got the plates back.
> 
> At least in my case BMW's ED phone line always had dates and their information agreed with what was on the W&W site (Thanks Sabrina!). If it was in customs in Brunswick after W&W marked it released it couldn't have been for very long.
> 
> Good luck to all of the rest of Porgy's cargo!


Congrats! You win.

I dropped off at Bremerhaven on April 11. Tick-tock-tick-tock... 

The shipping company sucks out the fuel. Less weight and not as much to explode.


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## 11gt535 (Jan 16, 2011)

Makes sense on the fuel. I'm in Florida. 

Garage remote programmed... it's starting to feel like it's really my car. It was a little jarring at first to see it again.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

FastMarkA said:


> My car was still in customs as of last Friday afternoon. Knowing that a regular order that rode on the Porgy had arrived to a dealer on Wednesday, and an ED'er had already cleared customs and was on a truck to the VDC, I nicely escalated things yesterday.
> 
> Amazingly, I received notification this morning that my car "just cleared."
> 
> ...


I think i'm going through something similar now. My car arrived in NJ on the Fidelio on May 12 and the last status was "Delivered from" on May 13. THere are no "customs release" or "liner release" lines in the status history and BMW says that it is in customs (last contacted them on monday) How long was your car in that black hole for? Did any additional statuses ever appear on the W&W tracking site? I want to be smart about how much i bug the ED department; don't want to unnecessaril cry wolf. Unfortuantley, no one else here appears to have been on my ship


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

bmw325 said:


> I think i'm going through something similar now. My car arrived in NJ on the Fidelio on May 12 and the last status was "Delivered from" on May 13. THere are no "customs release" or "liner release" lines in the status history and BMW says that it is in customs (last contacted them on monday) How long was your car in that black hole for? Did any additional statuses ever appear on the W&W tracking site? I want to be smart about how much i bug the ED department; don't want to unnecessaril cry wolf. Unfortuantley, no one else here appears to have been on my ship


First, they are holding something for which you're paying a decent chunk of change. You can call as much as you want. 

(Admittedly I rationed my calls too, but at the end of the day, I questioned why I'm such a nice guy.)

Anyway, here's a break down of my experience:

May 5 - Ship arrives NYC at 5:00am
May 6 - These two statuses appear on the W&W site mid-morning:

DELIVERED FROM NEW YORK, NY 06-05-2011 08:00:00 1
DISCHARGED NEW YORK, NY 05-05-2011 17:00:00 1

May 10 - I call BMW ED; car is still in customs
May 12 - I call BMW ED; car is still in customs; I call W&W and am told the car had been released

May 13 - I email BLG to see if they know anything as they're the agent and other ED vehicles on the Porgy had been released (upthread; casper and 11gt535)
May 16 - Bright and early I get an email back from BLG early saying they have nothing to do with the US side, BUT (and this is huge), the lady in Germany forwards my email to about five people at BMW USA ED asking if they know anything
May 17 - I get an email from BMW USA ED saying the car had just cleared that morning and that it'd be expedited as much as possible
May 18 - I get an email this morning saying my vehicle is on a truck to the dealer

Now, I've done quite a bit of IBB scouring, and it seems that the whole customs thing might be a little fabrication on BMW's part.

For me, what made no sense at all, was that other ED vehicles cleared customs but mine didn't, and there was no mention of an "intense inspection."

I'm pretty much convinced that had I not escalated things a bit, it'd be another week before my car arrived. But who really knows, the good part is my car will be here soon.

As of today, my W&W status is the same as it had been since 6 May, and according to MyBMW, my car is only "Finished with Production" when, in fact, it's been "In Transit" and "At Preparation Center." 

It seems to me if BMW really wants to beef up the ED program given the huge investment they've made in the Welt, they could throw a few dollars to some programmers to overhaul their website so our vehicles show options properly as well as their whereabouts during the shipping process.


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## 11gt535 (Jan 16, 2011)

Having ordered and waited for delivery of 3 BMW's, the only thing I've learned is that a watched pot never boils. The best one was the first delivery where I didn't even think about it until I got a phone call from the dealership one day. This one was the most painful and I knew where it was every day of the journey... that could be why.

But... the MyBMW tracking site is really, really bad and has to cause more panic than good by nearly always not showing the right options.


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## bmw325 (Dec 19, 2001)

Thanks! What is the contact info for the shipping agent you mentioned? I emailed loginout but haven't heard back.

I'm not sure what to make of the whole customs thing either. It's totally plausible that some cars take longer than others but it's troubling that there's a discrepancy between what w&w reports and what BMW tells you. Otoh I don't see why there would be a conspiracy. If the car got damaged and they have to repair it theyve been upfront in disclosing that to other people. Not sure why else it would just be lying around. Perhaps it's the mysterious USDA inspection?



FastMarkA said:


> First, they are holding something for which you're paying a decent chunk of change. You can call as much as you want.
> 
> (Admittedly I rationed my calls too, but at the end of the day, I questioned why I'm such a nice guy.)
> 
> ...


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

Finally. Sabrina toldme this morning my car has been released from VDC and is scheduled to arrive at my dealer this Friday May 20.

I called my CA and he sees no status on his system, I wonder how long it will take from the moment the truck arrives at the dealer until I can pick it up, does anyone know exactly what happens at the dealer? The car has already been checked at VDC.


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

casper said:


> Finally. Sabrina toldme this morning my car has been released from VDC and is scheduled to arrive at my dealer this Friday May 20.
> 
> I called my CA and he sees no status on his system, I wonder how long it will take from the moment the truck arrives at the dealer until I can pick it up, does anyone know exactly what happens at the dealer? The car has already been checked at VDC.


I get different info every time I call, today I am told my car has not arrived into Brunswick yet, it cleared customs May 12 and was released to trucking company, 8 days later and not in brunswick yet. No one knows where my car is and there is no ETA to dealer. Not good.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

casper said:


> I get different info every time I call, today I am told my car has not arrived into Brunswick yet, it cleared customs May 12 and was released to trucking company, 8 days later and not in brunswick yet. No one knows where my car is and there is no ETA to dealer. Not good.


That is not good news.

I have a meeting this morning and will be headed to the dealer afterwards to get mine. It arrived late yesterday.

Hopefully better news comes across your desk later today!


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## casper (May 23, 2004)

Finally, Sabrina from ED sales told me today taht my car was delivered to my dealer Monday May 23. I called my CA and he was not aware, but he made a call and located my car, they do have it.
Now they need to obtain the navigation code and load it into the car and maybe some other stuff, I will pick it up tomorrow.


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

casper said:


> I called my CA and he was not aware, but he made a call and located my car, they do have it.


Sounds like a not-so-good salesperson to me! :thumbdwn:


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## asifali14 (Jan 30, 2011)

FastMarkA said:


> Sounds like a not-so-good salesperson to me! :thumbdwn:


Hey guys, saw this post via google and thought i would ask you guys for advice. I have an ED m3 im dying to get a hold of an been tracking it. Can you guys decipher this and let me know where you guys think it stands? It has a 1 next to "delivered" but no 1 on the line for "liner release"..Let me know your thoughts.

Status Status Location Date 
(DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM:SS) Status Quantity

LINER RELEASE PORT HUENEME, CA 25-05-2011 13:44:18 
DELIVERED FROM PORT HUENEME, CA 25-05-2011 13:00:00 1 
CUSTOMS RELEASE PORT HUENEME, CA 25-05-2011 00:00:00 
DISCHARGED PORT HUENEME, CA 19-05-2011 23:00:00 1 
LOADED ON VESSEL BREMERHAVEN 22-04-2011 08:34:56 1 
RECEIVED AT TERMINAL BREMERHAVEN 20-04-2011 15:55:17 1 
BOOKED BREMERHAVEN 13-04-2011 15:42:20 1


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## FastMarkA (Apr 21, 2008)

asifali14 said:


> Hey guys, saw this post via google and thought i would ask you guys for advice. I have an ED m3 im dying to get a hold of an been tracking it. Can you guys decipher this and let me know where you guys think it stands? It has a 1 next to "delivered" but no 1 on the line for "liner release"..Let me know your thoughts.
> 
> Status Status Location Date
> (DD-MM-YYYY HH:MM:SS) Status Quantity
> ...


My guess is that you're sitting in customs. As we've seen, W&W gives all kinds of different status updates on their site, but it really takes a good 3-7 days before BMW accepts responsibility for the vehicle. Whether or not they actually have the vehicle or not is the big question mark.

The rule of thumb is to plan on 2 weeks once the boat docks.


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## asifali14 (Jan 30, 2011)

Thanks for the reply. So you think its still in customs even though it shows "customs release"?

Btw, the new 5 series is SICK!


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