[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by its_jacobli

At least your CA is being responsive lol... I don't think it would be the hurricane either since this ship is already up north Everything is delayed these days

Yep, he's been fantastic from the get-go. Incredibly responsive and informative. Definitely going to use him again when we most likely purchase a CPO X5 for my wife later next year.

But yep, these unexpected stops are starting to piss me off.

[Bimmer006]

Can someone help me to understand this better. I have placed an order of my 2021 330i M Sport on 12th of September and as of mid last week (01Oct) the Production was completed and the status was changed to Ready for Transportation (still the same status as of i'm writing this). Upon reading the comments in this forum I understood that, if the VIN number starts with 3M then it means the car is built in Mexico. But as per my dealership (Sales Manager) mentioned that the car is being built in Germany not in Mexico. Am I missing something here?

I'm from the midwest (illinois), & if the car is built in Mexico, then in order to transport that to Chicago it should be by land (either Train or truck), so technically if it's on the road it shouldn't be more than 2 days.

Does anyone in this forum who took the delivery of their 3 series in Chicago and their car was built in Mexico that can answer the following questions.

1) Is your car really Built in Mexico (with VIN starts as 3M).
2) How was it transported to Chicago (by truck or train and any possible route information)
3) How long did it take to delivery the car to the Dealership in Illinois?

[carguy19]

Originally Posted by Bimmer006

Can someone help me to understand this better. I have placed an order of my 2021 330i M Sport on 12th of September and as of mid last week (01Oct) the Production was completed and the status was changed to Ready for Transportation (still the same status as of i'm writing this). Upon reading the comments in this forum I understood that, if the VIN number starts with 3M then it means the car is built in Mexico. But as per my dealership (Sales Manager) mentioned that the car is being built in Germany not in Mexico. Am I missing something here?

I'm from the midwest (illinois), & if the car is built in Mexico, then in order to transport that to Chicago it should be by land (either Train or truck), so technically if it's on the road it shouldn't be more than 2 days.

Does anyone in this forum who took the delivery of their 3 series in Chicago and their car was built in Mexico that can answer the following questions.

1) Is your car really Built in Mexico (with VIN starts as 3M).
2) How was it transported to Chicago (by truck or train and any possible route information)
3) How long did it take to delivery the car to the Dealership in Illinois?

Cars are not transported by rail or truck from Mexico. They are shipped on vehicle carrier boats to the port of entry that's specific to your area. I think IL still comes through port jersey in NJ/NY.

Yes, cars in mexico start with 3M on the vin number.

[its_jacobli]

Originally Posted by Bimmer006

Can someone help me to understand this better. I have placed an order of my 2021 330i M Sport on 12th of September and as of mid last week (01Oct) the Production was completed and the status was changed to Ready for Transportation (still the same status as of i'm writing this). Upon reading the comments in this forum I understood that, if the VIN number starts with 3M then it means the car is built in Mexico. But as per my dealership (Sales Manager) mentioned that the car is being built in Germany not in Mexico. Am I missing something here?

I'm from the midwest (illinois), & if the car is built in Mexico, then in order to transport that to Chicago it should be by land (either Train or truck), so technically if it's on the road it shouldn't be more than 2 days.

Does anyone in this forum who took the delivery of their 3 series in Chicago and their car was built in Mexico that can answer the following questions.

1) Is your car really Built in Mexico (with VIN starts as 3M).
2) How was it transported to Chicago (by truck or train and any possible route information)
3) How long did it take to delivery the car to the Dealership in Illinois?

1) Yes, a Vin that starts with 3M indicates a Mexico build. My sales assistant is even less informed than myself and had no idea where the car is being produced so I had to figure everything out by myself. Initially it was a bit disappointing but it is said that there won't be an German allocation till January 2021, and that is simply not worth the wait.

2) The vehicle is likely to sit at the "Ready for transport" stage for 1-3 weeks depending on the ship schedules before it gets on board heading to New Jersey. At the vehicle distribution center it would spend another two or three days before getting on a truck to transport it to your dealer. Once it's on the truck a BMW Genius would be able to provide you with the exact ETA to your local dealership.

3) I live in central Illinois and to give you a reference my M340i went into "Ready for transport" stage on 9.1, it's still currently floating on the sea and the ETA to New Jersey port has just been delayed to 10.14, which means that it is likely for time to take delivery at the end of this month, if not early November it is a bit frustrating at this point because the process literally gets delayed at every checkpoint and the ship is now docked at Baltimore for unknown reasons. When I placed my order in early July I was promised to take delivery late August. Guess that didn't work out too well since it's October already and I still have no idea how long till I could get behind the wheel.

[Bimmer006]

Originally Posted by carguy19

Cars are not transported by rail or truck from Mexico. They are shipped on vehicle carrier boats to the port of entry that's specific to your area. I think IL still comes through port jersey in NJ/NY.

Yes, cars in mexico start with 3M on the vin number.

Thank you for your confirmation. It's just weird that from Mexico Plant to central illinois on the road is quicker and cost effective than shipping to NJ and then taking the road is more complex (both time and money). I guess that is how they wanted to track the import and export for US. Thank you again.

[Bimmer006]

Originally Posted by its_jacobli

1) Yes, a Vin that starts with 3M indicates a Mexico build. My sales assistant is even less informed than myself and had no idea where the car is being produced so I had to figure everything out by myself. Initially it was a bit disappointing but it is said that there won't be an German allocation till January 2021, and that is simply not worth the wait.

2) The vehicle is likely to sit at the "Ready for transport" stage for 1-3 weeks depending on the ship schedules before it gets on board heading to New Jersey. At the vehicle distribution center it would spend another two or three days before getting on a truck to transport it to your dealer. Once it's on the truck a BMW Genius would be able to provide you with the exact ETA to your local dealership.

3) I live in central Illinois and to give you a reference my M340i went into "Ready for transport" stage on 9.1, it's still currently floating on the sea and the ETA to New Jersey port has just been delayed to 10.14, which means that it is likely for time to take delivery at the end of this month, if not early November it is a bit frustrating at this point because the process literally gets delayed at every checkpoint and the ship is now docked at Baltimore for unknown reasons. When I placed my order in early July I was promised to take delivery late August. Guess that didn't work out too well since it's October already and I still have no idea how long till I could get behind the wheel.

Thank you for the detailed Info. Hope you will get your car soon! I just cant imagine how long its going to be for my car. I wish it's that easy to just fly to Mexico from Central Illinois and then get the car right from the Plant They should have made this little easier for the places which are in the central united states.

[mf44]

Originally Posted by Bimmer006

Thank you for your confirmation. It's just weird that from Mexico Plant to central illinois on the road is quicker and cost effective than shipping to NJ and then taking the road is more complex (both time and money). I guess that is how they wanted to track the import and export for US. Thank you again.

The issue is that the car needs to travel through a BMW VPC (Vehicle Processing Center) before heading on to the dealer. This is for import/customs reasons, regulatory reasons (the Monroney sticker is generated at the VPC), and for practical reasons (the VPCs have body shops to repair any damage that may occur in transit). For all those reasons, it cannot be sent straight to you. And...the VPCs are all at ports. This is because many cars still do come from Germany or elsewhere.

[Bimmer006]

Originally Posted by mf44

The issue is that the car needs to travel through a BMW VPC (Vehicle Processing Center) before heading on to the dealer. This is for import/customs reasons, regulatory reasons (the Monroney sticker is generated at the VPC), and for practical reasons (the VPCs have body shops to repair any damage that may occur in transit). For all those reasons, it cannot be sent straight to you. And...the VPCs are all at ports. This is because many cars still do come from Germany or elsewhere.

Makes sense, thanks for explaining I guess now it's my time to wait patiently for my car to be shipped and being delivered. Hopefully in a month or so i'll have my Car.

[Bimmer006]

Originally Posted by emaraszek

Order received: 9/8/2020
Scheduled for production: 9/8/2020
Production begins: 9/24/2020
Exterior body assembly begins: ?
In the paint booth: 10/5/2020


At this point I have low confidence in taking delivery by the end of November as I was originally told - especially after seeing how long transport has taken for others in this thread.

I have ordered my car on 9/12, went into Production on 9/15 and everything completed within 2 weeks and since 10/1 my car status is Ready for Transportation. As per my dealership Sales Manager he was estimating to have it delivered either by end of October or early November. I'm still hoping this will happen.

Even if they ship my car by end of this week or next week, it should take around 15 days to NJ port and then an additional week to the dealership. So crossing fingers by 1st week of Nov i will have mine.

[jafar5]

Order Received: 7/27
Scheduled For Production: 7/27-7/31
Production Begins: 7/31
Exterior Body Assembly Begins: 7/31-8/10
In Paint Booth: 7/31-8/10
Entering Assembly Line: 8/12
Assembly In Progress: 8/12-8/13
Quality Check: 8/13
Final Assembly: 8/14
Ready For Transport: 8/15
Awaiting Carrier Assignment: 9/3
Dispatched From Factory: 9/3
At The Port: 9/3
In Transit: 9/3
At The Dealership: 9/22
Vehicle Delivered: 10/4

My 2021 M340i xDrive got delivered on Sunday. I worked with Dan/Next Level Auto Brokers and have nothing but good to say about the whole experience. I need to take some better pictures now that I just had the tint done yesterday, but here are a few:

[Casone238]

Originally Posted by jafar5

Order Received: 7/27
Scheduled For Production: 7/27-7/31
Production Begins: 7/31
Exterior Body Assembly Begins: 7/31-8/10
In Paint Booth: 7/31-8/10
Entering Assembly Line: 8/12
Assembly In Progress: 8/12-8/13
Quality Check: 8/13
Final Assembly: 8/14
Ready For Transport: 8/15
Awaiting Carrier Assignment: 9/3
Dispatched From Factory: 9/3
At The Port: 9/3
In Transit: 9/3
At The Dealership: 9/22
Vehicle Delivered: 10/4

My 2021 M340i xDrive got delivered on Sunday. I worked with Dan/Next Level Auto Brokers and have nothing but good to say about the whole experience. I need to take some better pictures now that I just had the tint done yesterday, but here are a few:

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I worked with Dan also when I picked up my car on the 3rd the dealership confused my car with yours lol that's if your was delivered to Springfield bmw

[jafar5]

Originally Posted by Casone238

I worked with Dan also when I picked up my car on the 3rd the dealership confused my car with yours lol that's if your was delivered to Springfield bmw

Oh really!? Haha, yeah mine came from Springfield BMW.

[Casone238]

Originally Posted by jafar5

Oh really!? Haha, yeah mine came from Springfield BMW.

Yours arrived like a week before mine I'm assuming that's because of the extra time mine spent at the VPC for the MPE, I'm sure you heard this a lot but great build on the car!

[its_jacobli]

The status for my car changed to "at the port" so I assume that the vehicle is being offloaded? It's weird that Golovis Solomon is docked at Dundalk so I wonder if this is just due to the vehicle tracking system not being up to date since the ship was expected to arrive at NJ yesterday and the reality is that my car is still on the sea

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by its_jacobli

The status for my car changed to "at the port" so I assume that the vehicle is being offloaded? It's weird that Golovis Solomon is docked at Dundalk so I wonder if this is just due to the vehicle tracking system not being up to date since the ship was expected to arrive at NJ yesterday and the reality is that my car is still on the sea

That is odd. Mine is still "In transit". And per marinetraffic.com, the GLOVIS SOLOMIN is still moored at Dundalk, as you alluded to.

My CA is using yet another delay on my behalf with his BMW rep to hopefully get me another discount. I have an OL code from the Ultimate Driving Experience event I attended recently that usually only works for in-stock cars. But his rep asked him to get the OL code from me to see what he can do in terms of getting me more money off the car.

[mf44]

For those of us on the RCC Europe, it appears we will most likely be delayed because of the hurricane. It has left Freeport and it's next destination is Everglades, just south of Miami. However, it's sailing in the opposite direction, most likely to move south and avoid the hurricane.

[cc009]

Originally Posted by mf44

For those of us on the RCC Europe, it appears we will most likely be delayed because of the hurricane. It has left Freeport and it's next destination is Everglades, just south of Miami. However, it's sailing in the opposite direction, most likely to move south and avoid the hurricane.

Yeah I noticed that as well. Florida isn’t supposed to get hit so not sure why not go in that direction as would avoid it but I have zero knowledge of how that stuff works lol. But yeah it shows ETA of the 11th to make it to that port. So taking into the account the hurricane will hit tomorrow, it sounds about right for it to get back on track and arrive there on the 11th. So maybe like a day or two delay. I didn’t think it would make 2 stops in Texas then Florida too but oh well. Hopefully this will be the only delay.

[mf44]

Originally Posted by cc009

Yeah I noticed that as well. Florida isn’t supposed to get hit so not sure why not go in that direction as would avoid it but I have zero knowledge of how that stuff works lol. But yeah it shows ETA of the 11th to make it to that port. So taking into the account the hurricane will hit tomorrow, it sounds about right for it to get back on track and arrive there on the 11th. So maybe like a day or two delay. I didn’t think it would make 2 stops in Texas then Florida too but oh well. Hopefully this will be the only delay.

It was supposed to be in Brunswick on the 11th, according to another poster, so it's already behind schedule. And who knows how long it's going to be in port in FL for. I think the estimate of the 18th for NJ arrival is not going to hold.

BTW, my guess is that they are heading south so they can cut across the gulf behind the hurricane. If they went straight to FL from their current location they'd need to sail right through the hurricane's patch.

[H433x0n]

Originally Posted by mf44

It was supposed to be in Brunswick on the 11th, according to another poster, so it's already behind schedule. And who knows how long it's going to be in port in FL for. I think the estimate of the 18th for NJ arrival is not going to hold.

BTW, my guess is that they are heading south so they can cut across the gulf behind the hurricane. If they went straight to FL from their current location they'd need to sail right through the hurricane's patch.

Yes, was supposed to be at Brunswick on the 11th so definitely behind schedule. Also - the port stop in Texas didn’t seem to go as planned since they were stuck at anchor off port for quite a while waiting for a spot to open up.

I’m going to call a bmwgenius this afternoon and ask for an updated ETA. I’ll post here what I find out.

[Bimmer006]

It looks like really the online tracking in BMW Garage is not the latest. My car status was in Ready for Transportation since mid of last week, upon reviewing this forum I did give a call to BMW Genius Hotline and the representative told me that my Car is At the Port and waiting for the Ship. Also, he mentioned that most likely within a week it should be floating on the ship and he asked me to give a call back next week to get the details of the Ship. Excited and can't wait for my new car.

Note: Also, another point to confirm everyone regarding where the car is being built. As mentioned by our friends in the forum, if you see 3M in the beginning of the VIN and also 7th digit as 'J' everything valid to prove that the vehicle is made in Mexico. The customer rep also confirmed that mine is built and coming from Mexico.

[its_jacobli]

Originally Posted by eforty6_m3

That is odd. Mine is still "In transit". And per marinetraffic.com, the GLOVIS SOLOMIN is still moored at Dundalk, as you alluded to.

My CA is using yet another delay on my behalf with his BMW rep to hopefully get me another discount. I have an OL code from the Ultimate Driving Experience event I attended recently that usually only works for in-stock cars. But his rep asked him to get the OL code from me to see what he can do in terms of getting me more money off the car.

I called the hotline and confirmed that my vehicle was actually offloaded at Baltimore and is being processed at the vehicle distribution center. The truck is scheduled to set off on Saturday and my car should be at the dealer by Tuesday. But who knows, I've learnt not to trust any of the ETAs If your status is still showing "in transit" maybe it's going to NJ? Overall the tracking site has been very weird and not up to date.

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by its_jacobli

I called the hotline and confirmed that my vehicle was actually offloaded at Baltimore and is being processed at the vehicle distribution center. The truck is scheduled to set off on Saturday and my car should be at the dealer by Tuesday. But who knows, I've learnt not to trust any of the ETAs

Hmmm, really?! Maybe I'll give them a call tomorrow and see if I get the same response.