# Trucking at Oxnard VPC (Port Hueneme)



## jjclyde (Jan 15, 2006)

For those of you who might be addicted to the frustration-inducing activity of tracking your ED car to re-delivery (like I am) I've learned something about who does the trucking of cars from the VPC in Oxnard to destinations in SoCal (and, I think also NoCal) Apologies if this is old news ...

It used to be Waggoners, now it's UnitedRoad. UnitedRoad has "bought out" the BMW activity at Oxnard from Waggoners. I learned this from talking to both companies (while trying to get status on my car's progress from Port Hueneme to dealer). 

Interestingly, BMW's tracking status system has not yet been updated with this change - it still reports for my car that Waggoners is the "released to trucking" company. 

BTW - UnitedRoad's website lets you check for delivery receipts based on VIN - so you can confirm if/when your car has been delivered to dealer. Doesn't seem to provide any visibility prior to delivery though.


----------



## Potrero228 (Feb 23, 2016)

Just curious where you get the "tracking" system information -- my account on MyBMW just shows the car and loan.

Took delivery of a 228i in Munich little over two months ago. After tracking the ship/voyage, it's supposedly being dropped at the dealer tomorrow! 

I called BMWUSA - the automated system just says "in transit." Tried United Road and they have no record of the VIN at Port Hueneme. Is there another website to check status? 

I know, I know...just wait! 

Thanks to all for the terrific information about ED on this forum. Just one data point: I didn't order until about a month before I took delivery in December -- pretty quick turnaround.


----------



## gool (Nov 9, 2015)

*ED Shipment time delays*

I dropped my new BMW 750 Xi on Feb. 11. As of today, (after 14 days) my car is still awaiting a vessel allocation, which means it is still sitting at the Port in Germany. I was told by the BMW delivery advisor that cars are shipped within 2/3 days. It is very frustrating about the lack of information available and the undue delay. What has been other members experience of ED to the East Coast of the US.


----------



## Potrero228 (Feb 23, 2016)

My car sat on the dock for 10 days waiting for a ship! That, after I rushed to get it to Bremerhaven before Christmas in order to avoid the holiday shut-down. Now going on 9 weeks to the West Coast. ED is not the most precise or transparent process. :eeps:


----------



## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

Potrero228 said:


> Now going on 9 weeks to the West Coast. ED is not the most precise or transparent process. :eeps:


You know prior to choosing the European Delivery option that the approximate shipping time to the West Coast is 8-10 weeks (6-8 weeks to the East Coast) because it's spelled out in the FAQ in the ED section of the BMWUSA.com website. You must add to that estimate if you choose to drop off your car in Nice or Paris and add even more time if you drop it off in Italy (not recommended). That's just the approximately shipping time. You must add additional time if your car has damage that must be repaired at the VPC. Even if you didn't look that up on BMW's website, your client advisor could have given you that information in advance. That would have been the only correct answer to that question.

There are too many variables to provide a more precise estimate in advance. Sometimes your car gets loaded in a couple of days and other times it may take a couple of weeks. Sometimes the ship arrives at Port Hueneme and has to wait at anchor because the longshoremen are engaging in a deliberate slowdown as part of their labor contract negotiations. That happened only a few months ago. If your car is headed to L.A. or S.F. you will get it sooner than if it is headed to some inland destination. That's because it may take longer to catch a ride out of the port (an available truck heading that way).

I don't think you can consider a car going to the West Coast as late unless it takes more than 11 weeks, not counting down time for necessary repairs at the VPC. If you know in advance that your car will need repairs then you can expect that there could be a backup waiting for parts or waiting to get into the various operations that go into those repairs. Even if there was absolutely no damage to your car when you dropped it off, there's always the possibility that it sustained damage in transit. If a ship encounters nasty weather, there could be more damage than usual to its cargo.


----------



## Potrero228 (Feb 23, 2016)

Yes, was well aware of all that thanks. I did my homework 
Never said my car is late...just that information isn't easily obtained.
The customs/shipping uncertainty I get, but the vehicle has been at the VPC since Feb 10 -- no indication of any repair work to add delays.

Just notified delivery 3/2. I dropped it off @Bremerhaven December 18. So will be close to 11 weeks.


----------



## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

Potrero228 said:


> Just notified delivery 3/2. I dropped it off @Bremerhaven December 18. So will be close to 11 weeks.


You dropped it off on a Friday and the following week was an abbreviated week before the German Christmas Holidays. I don't know about the ports, but many factories shut down for 9 days between Christmas and New Years - plus longer if you consider weekends may be added onto that. You may have run into bad luck from the beginning just getting out of the port.

After your dealer gets your car, you may be able to find out if the VPC performed any repairs to it, which could have explained the delay there. Good luck!


----------



## ShinySteelRobot (Aug 22, 2005)

FWIW, mine took exactly 10 weeks precisely to the day. Dropped off in Munich Mon 12/14/15 and was ready for PDI at the dealership at BMW of Bellevue (just outside Seattle) on Mon 2/22/16.

BMW's automated phone system still said "in transit" on the day after the vehicle was re-delivered to me. I don't have much faith in their automated tracking system.


----------



## pbjjj (Aug 2, 2015)

Potrero228 said:


> Yes, was well aware of all that thanks. I did my homework
> Never said my car is late...just that information isn't easily obtained.
> The customs/shipping uncertainty I get, but the vehicle has been at the VPC since Feb 10 -- no indication of any repair work to add delays.
> 
> Just notified delivery 3/2. I dropped it off @Bremerhaven December 18. So will be close to 11 weeks.


I feel your frustration regarding the lack of information! When BMW asked me for my feedback, I provided my response to BMWNA about the need to improve overall communication.

When I was waiting for my car, I thought I was patient by calling them every 2 days.  I actually spoke to someone to see if they can see where my car is in the process, and by the third time the person either recognized my voice or recognized my phone number because he referred me by my name... hahaha!  I appreciated their patience and understanding!

Hang in there! 3/2 is just around the corner!


----------



## Potrero228 (Feb 23, 2016)

Well, it's getting a little much now, lol. The 3/2 delivery date came and went. Then was supposed to be at the dealer 3/9. Then maybe today...but it wasn't on the truck this morning :/

Apparently VPC fixed a small scratch below the door frame. I was wondering if they would, given reports BMW is not as thorough about fixing "road rash" kinds of damage. Not sure if that caused the delay.

Latest tracking from dealer:

Estimated	Actual
Arrive At VPC: 2/10/16	2/17/16
Process Confirmed: 3/7/16
Ship from VPC: 3/6/16	3/9/16
Dealer Delivery: 3/11/16

Total time - ex Bremerhaven 12/18... so it will be 12 weeks to deliver to the West Coast! 
If it keeps to schedule, lol.


----------



## gool (Nov 9, 2015)

*delivery tracking*

It must be very frustrating not to be kept informed about the progress on one ED delivery, specially when in your case when the vehicle was kept for almost a month at the VPC. I do hope that BMW NA does something about providing a better service to its valued customers. They must do everything to make their customers fully satisfied to build loyalty. I do hope that there will no further delays so that you can start enjoying your investment!
Good Luck!


----------



## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

Potrero228 said:


> Well, it's getting a little much now, lol. The 3/2 delivery date came and went. Then was supposed to be at the dealer 3/9. Then maybe today...but it wasn't on the truck this morning :/
> 
> Apparently VPC fixed a small scratch below the door frame. I was wondering if they would, given reports BMW is not as thorough about fixing "road rash" kinds of damage. Not sure if that caused the delay.
> 
> ...


Yes, your car is taking longer than the *estimated shipping time* to the West Coast of *8 - 10 weeks* but we already know of two reasons why it is taking longer than average: (1) You dropped it off just before the Christmas holidays in Germany and (2) you had a scratch that you say they repaired at the VPC. It may have been backed up waiting for the paint shop work to be done for several days. By the way, if you go back and read what it says on the BMWUSA.com website, it says "estimated shipping time," it doesn't say anything about how long it could take for necessary repairs to be done at the VPC. Obviously you would have to add for that because all they're estimating is the time in transit, not the time waiting for repairs. No one can estimate that in advance.

Those things do happen sometimes and yours is just taking longer than average. I hope you will be pleased with the job they did at the VPC and that your car will look just like it did when you first saw it at the Welt.

Good luck!


----------



## Potrero228 (Feb 23, 2016)

Ninong said:


> Yes, your car is taking longer than the *estimated shipping time* to the West Coast of *8 - 10 weeks* ...
> Good luck!


Yes, again, I was well aware of the BMW guidelines beforehand. My purpose in posting is to provide another data point for those going thru the same "magical" experience. And to vent, lol.

No qualms with the time it's taken -- I just find it hard to understand why BMW can't relay timely information. They repaired the scratch -- awesome! I guess if there is a back-up in the repairs, it's too much to expect the VDC to have that noted somewhere?

And how hard is it to find out which truck it's going to be on from Oxnard to NorCal? The dealer apparently didn't know whether my car was on the truck this morning...until it got there. 

Maybe I ascribe too much to the vaunted German obsession with precision, haha.

With any luck...manana!

Thanks for the good thoughts :thumbup:


----------



## Ninong (May 20, 2014)

I doubt the Germans were in charge of the trucking from Oxnard to Northern California. That was probably American precision.

Maybe they need one of those automatic tags or whatever that sends signals to the mothership every couple of hours, or at least every day, telling it where it is, what it's doing there and when it expects to move on to the next step. They seem to have better insight into what's going on when it is still over there than after it's over here, if you know what I mean.


----------



## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

I just wanted to add our experience on what added more delay to the delivery of my wife's 335is Coupe in 2011. Her car arrived at Port Hueneme the week prior to Independence Day, which was on Monday of the following week. Her car didn't get processed through Customs before they shut down for a 4-day holiday. Yes, they took off Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday! When her car finally made it to the VPC, they had a leak in the overhead sprinkler system, so they shut down for a day while that was repaired. When the VDC finally got to the car, they decided to replace the RF wheel and tire due to the fact that I curbed it in Salzburg. Because the wheels on the 335is were unique and only available on that model at the time, they had to order a new wheel which took over a week. In spite of all of this, the car arrived at our dealer exactly 8 weeks to the day from when we dropped it off at LOGINOUT.

The worst part is that I repeatedly got conflicting information from BMW. One day it's passed Customs, a few days later, it hasn't. Then it's on a truck, oh no, it's not, it's still in the VDC, etc., etc.


----------



## Lionnutz (Jul 24, 2014)

Customs and VPC is a black hole in the ED process.


----------



## dkreidel (Aug 24, 2005)

Lionnutz said:


> Customs and VPC is a black hole in the ED process.


You can add US Dept of Ag to the black hole - actually, when you get stuck in Ag inspection even BMW NA can't find it.


----------

