[DaveA]

I just, today, finalised the order for the 330d M Sport that I described in my earlier posts (Out with the old.. In with the new..)

Have any of you folks on here any tips for tracking the order through the various processes? Is there, for instance, a user system that you can log into to see progress, or is this just dealer access only?

I've no doubt whatsoever that the dealer I have gone with will be keeping me as fully informed as they can, by the way, it's just I normally like to be as "hands on" in these things as possible..

Any thoughts and advice gratefully received..

Thanks

ps - I've been really knocked out with how good the dealer I have ordered the car from has been to deal with. They came up with a cracking deal for me without all the messing about and too-ing and fro-ing that you have to go through with some. It was refreshing, I have to say, and far more to my liking. (Partridge of Hampshire, if you're interested)

[jbtco]

The only way to do it directly that I am aware of is to move to North America and order your car there as BMW UK dont make the facility available. Otherwise a case of asking the dealer when you want info, their system has the tracking information which in other countries you can get online.etc

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by jbtco

The only way to do it directly that I am aware of is to move to North America and order your car there as BMW UK dont make the facility available.

Ah, that must be where I got the idea of being able to track the order yourself.

[zooberoo]

jbtco is correct. The best I could manage is the following: Start by asking your dealer for your VIN. They will provide the last seven digits which can be plugged into here:-

http://www.bmwarchiv.de/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

Of course, this won't show anything until your car is built but the numbers are sequential so you can work backwards until you find the car they are working on. Then, simply check it each day as it gets closer to your VIN. If nothing else, you can have a nosey at everyone else's builds (they will most likely all be 330ds in your VIN sequence).

Once your car has been built. It will take approx 9 days for it to arrive at the port of exit in Bremerhaven. You can see a webcam here:-

http://www.blg.de/en/blg-logistics/s...am-automobile/

To figure out which ship is which take a look at the map here:-

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

Enter Bremerhaven in the "Go to Port..." box and wait for it to autofill with BREMERHAVEN DE before you select it and press enter. Then, zoom in a bit and head north. You are looking for Stadtbremisches Uberseehafengebiet Bremerhaven which is just south of the Am Nordhafen road. This matches the webcam above and you'll be able to see the railway on the right which is in the foreground of the webcam.

Pestering your dealer will allow you to confirm that your car is actually at the port of exit. This avoids staring at a load of random ships. There will most likely be only one transporter destined for the UK so do your research and you can then track it using "Go To Vessel" in the marinetraffic site above. My 335d was on "Morning Concert", a vessel with a capacity of 6500 cars! These things are massive, you can watch a video of a similar ship here:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ojqfYlvGw

My ship stopped off in Belgium before arriving in Southampton within a couple of days of leaving Bremerhaven. I tracked it all the way and called my dealer to confirm that it was now at the "port of entry".

From Southampton, my car headed off to BMW UK HQ at Thorne and arrived with the dealer a few days later. From arriving in Southampton to me collecting the car was just over a week. From production to collection was 18 days.

Although pretty feeble and vague compared to the information available to customers in the states, this at least kept me occupied whilst I waited.

Hope this helps.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by zooberoo

Although pretty feeble and vague compared to the information available to customers in the states, this at least kept me occupied whilst I waited.

Hope this helps.

I does, thanks, and will more than keep my "gear head" side occupied..!!!

[zooberoo]

Originally Posted by DaveA

I does, thanks, and will more than keep my "gear head" side occupied..!!!

If you are a gearhead, the following video is also a good watch when you are suffering from F30 withdrawal (unless you have already seen it!):-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=libw1rV2McY

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by zooberoo

If you are a gearhead, the following video is also a good watch when you are suffering from F30 withdrawal (unless you have already seen it!):-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=libw1rV2McY

Well, there certainly wasn't any work done here for the last 15 minutes or so..!!

[PurpleTT]

Originally Posted by zooberoo

jbtco is correct. The best I could manage is the following: Start by asking your dealer for your VIN. They will provide the last seven digits which can be plugged into here:-

http://www.bmwarchiv.de/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

Of course, this won't show anything until your car is built but the numbers are sequential so you can work backwards until you find the car they are working on. Then, simply check it each day as it gets closer to your VIN. If nothing else, you can have a nosey at everyone else's builds (they will most likely all be 330ds in your VIN sequence).

Just been talking to my dealer who said my car is into production THIS week (I was anticipating next week). Got my VIN and it's not on the system

So I deducted a dozen cars from my my VIN and saw a car that had been put into production on 30th (last Wednesday).

Than added a digit and saw another, and so on. All dated 30th.

Got to within six of my number and it reported not on system, so I guess they get put up on Wednesdays i.e. tomorrow

What a fun system and helpful to see the spec and it even does a couple of pics of ext/int colour choice. All the ones I looked at were RHD I noticed. All were also 335d's. MG & EBII most popular, with only one black! Which is good!

So thank you for the link, I can report it works brilliantly!

[zooberoo]

Originally Posted by PurpleTT

Just been talking to my dealer who said my car is into production THIS week (I was anticipating next week). Got my VIN and it's not on the system

So I deducted a dozen cars from my my VIN and saw a car that had been put into production on 30th (last Wednesday).

Than added a digit and saw another, and so on. All dated 30th.

Got to within six of my number and it reported not on system, so I guess they get put up on Wednesdays i.e. tomorrow

What a fun system and helpful to see the spec and it even does a couple of pics of ext/int colour choice. All the ones I looked at were RHD I noticed. All were also 335d's. MG & EBII most popular, with only one black! Which is good!

So thank you for the link, I can report it works brilliantly!

They update at odd times I think - best to keep checking. Sometimes there's nothing, other times a whole load of builds appear.

A TB 335d with Cashmere should be easy to spot. I'll keep an eye out!

Has the link updated to today's builds for you? The time to Bremerhaven is normally clockwork so once you know your build date it should be easy to predict the date it will arrive at port. Then, when it will arrive in Southampton etc...

[PurpleTT]

Originally Posted by zooberoo

Has the link updated to today's builds for you?

Nope I'm still getting "Kein Datensatz zu Fxxxxxx vorhanden!"

The last one it shows details for is an EBII with a list of extras as long as your arm.

Setting the alarm for the morning to try again

Sorry about the ridiculous emoticon; unnecessary.

[steddyman]

Keep us up to date Dave when you find your car has gone into production. I ordered my 330D M-Sport yesterday and my dealer has said the current estimate is end of December, so he expects that date to move forward once a manufacturing slot is booked.

He has said he will email me once a week with the process, but given yours was booked a few days before mine it should be a pretty good indicator. He also said they don't get the VIN number from BMW until after it completes production but he wasn't 100% sure on that.

I also had an excellent experiences with Lloyds BMW of Colne and would highly recommend then. Gave me a top discount without any hard selling or persuasion required. They even ordered me a 320d and allowed me to change it after it went into production, knowing they would have an extra car to sell. That was due for delivery on the 9th of December and was ordered the same day as your 330d, so it looks like the 330's take a little longer.

[scoobeesnac]

Well good news - my car is currently at status 9620, "at sea" - wonder which boat it is on

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by steddyman

Keep us up to date Dave when you find your car has gone into production. I ordered my 330D M-Sport yesterday and my dealer has said the current estimate is end of December, so he expects that date to move forward once a manufacturing slot is booked.

Will do..

You might actually find that yours comes a bit quicker than mine as I've been told that mine might take a little longer than average as it has some "individual" items ticked (Tanzanite Blue paint and the Piano Black inside trim). When it was confirmed on the system it came up with week 2/2014.

Having said that, I know my dealer is hopeful that might come forward.. so let's wait and see.. fingers crossed..

Originally Posted by steddyman

He has said he will email me once a week with the process, but given yours was booked a few days before mine it should be a pretty good indicator. He also said they don't get the VIN number from BMW until after it completes production but he wasn't 100% sure on that.

Originally Posted by steddyman

I also had an excellent experiences with Lloyds BMW of Colne and would highly recommend then. Gave me a top discount without any hard selling or persuasion required.

Sounds like you had a good experience there. There should be a sticky thread in the forums for folks to post good experiences.. How about that, Mods?

I am based in the North West and had two of the dealers around here (naming no names, but not Lloyds) approach things from the "how much do you want to pay per month" angle.. which, OK, I get that they are trying to make money, but I didn't like this because it's never as easy to see how much they are offering to sell the car to you for and how much p/ex they are offering etc etc.. Also, you have to make doubly sure that you are then comparing like with like.. annual mileages, terms (35 or 36 months for 3 years?) etc..

I had one come out with the "what would it take for you to sign this afternoon" line.. very retro..!!! "as little as physically possible" was the response I had in mind..!! I suggested to them that I would still want to ruminate overnight and they said that would not be possible..!! They then offered me a their "best" deal, which I turned down.

(Un)Surprisingly, they rang the next day to suggest they might be able to offer a better deal.. err.. so, that wasn't really your best deal, then..??

Another gave me a price and then, after I got prices elsewhere, ended up offering me a monthly figure that was (eventually, as the numbers came down in a couple of stages) a whopping £140/month less than the first one they gave me (would have cost me £5000 over 3 years).

Neither of these approaches give me confidence I am dealing with the right business for me. I had done my homework, I knew broadly what sorts of numbers I was playing with (I ended up within 2% of my most hopeful estimates) and, really, I just don't have the time or inclination for that sort of messing about.

I had an introduction to the dealer I eventually went with through a business acquaintance. It was refreshing to have the "no nonsense" approach. They got the deal because of that.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by PurpleTT

Unnecessary… But hugely impressive..

[zooberoo]

Originally Posted by scoobeesnac

Well good news - my car is currently at status 9620, "at sea" - wonder which boat it is on

I'm not 100% but take a look at PLEIADES SPIRIT.

[alibonyad]

I ordered my 335D at the start of October, I got an estimated delivery date of middle of December. I've spoken to my dealer once since then and he told me the build date was now the middle of December! He said it could come forward but I've not heard anything since and this was a few weeks ago now. Surely by all your estimated delivery dates then mine should be well in front? I feel like a pain for keep ringing up to check up on my order. I'm the most impatient person in the world and would like to know more or get some reassurance from someone!

Also if the build date isn't until middle of December then the chances of it being delivered this year are surely quite small? Ridiculous when I ordered the first week of October!

[scoobeesnac]

Originally Posted by zooberoo

I'm not 100% but take a look at PLEIADES SPIRIT.

Oooo cool, thanks - yeah could be. I think it's possible it'll be with the dealer by the end of the week then!

[steddyman]

Thanks Dave. Sounds like your experience wasn't as positive as mine. I have just built a really good relationship with one of the sales guys, helping him with his IT problems, so he always looks after me.

It sounds like the Individual options will add a couple of weeks to the build. They will no doubt have at least twice as many build slots for 320D's as they do for 330D's. And they will likely have at least twice as many build slots for 330D's as they do for 335D's. Also, the 320D has been out the longest followed by the 330D then the 335D only came out recently, so there will be pent up demand for the bigger engined cars.

Fingers crossed all our cars arrive in time for Christmas. If they don't the kids will be lost on a theme to buy me presents

[alibonyad]

This is not reassuring news! Why can't they just throw my order to the front of the 335 production list!?

Nothing I can do except wait, I suppose. When would be a good time to start pestering the dealer to get a more firm date? I ordered start of October and got told middle of December for build date. So how soon before then should I be able to get a firm date?

[SimonB]

Originally Posted by alibonyad

This is not reassuring news! Why can't they just throw my order to the front of the 335 production list!?

Nothing I can do except wait, I suppose. When would be a good time to start pestering the dealer to get a more firm date? I ordered start of October and got told middle of December for build date. So how soon before then should I be able to get a firm date?

Patience, grasshopper

I placed an order with my dealer at the beginning of July and my 335i is still 3 weeks away! Admittedly, we did agree to wait until August to order from BMW so that I would get MY14 build, but what with strike in SA fir 3 weeks, longer shipping times for us, my ship bypassing Fremantle and going to Melbourne etc, consider yourself lucky! Ha! The wait doesn't get easier, I tell ya

But, as I keep getting told, "It'll be worth it".

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by alibonyad

I ordered my 335D at the start of October, I got an estimated delivery date of middle of December. I've spoken to my dealer once since then and he told me the build date was now the middle of December!

Also if the build date isn't until middle of December then the chances of it being delivered this year are surely quite small? Ridiculous when I ordered the first week of October!

My estimate from order to build is about 10/11 weeks, for a 330d, which isn't all that different to yours.

I waited 10/11 months (order to delivery) for the car before the one I have now, and I didn't even know it's build slot until about 3 months before it came...!!! The winter tyre set I ordered for it came about 2 months before the car did.. and I had to pay for them when they arrived..!!

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by steddyman

Thanks Dave. Sounds like your experience wasn't as positive as mine. I have just built a really good relationship with one of the sales guys, helping him with his IT problems, so he always looks after me.

Mine was definitely a positive experience once I found a dealer who spoke my language, as they say.

But dealing with the others was an experience that I could have done without, especially the rather old fashioned "what would it take to get you to sign up today" test drive to signing in 2 hours type of approach..

Originally Posted by steddyman

Fingers crossed all our cars arrive in time for Christmas.

+1