[pghas]

Originally Posted by SmoothEsq

Take a look through the OP. 'In transit' status covers the period between the factory and arrival at the dealership. It takes time to get transported to the port and then on to a ship. This takes a few weeks.

After it is loaded onto a ship, the Genius will be able to tell you which ship. Right now, there doesn't seem to be a way to figure out for sure which ship it's on without making that call. You can watch the port and try to guess the ship based on where they're going, but that's a crapshoot (the ship my car ended up on went to Sweden before it came here).

Try checking back with the Genius line after some time.

Actually there is a way. Go to the shipping company's website https://www.walleniuswilhelmsen.com, use the schedules section to figure out which ship you car could possibly be on (usually your status in the app changes to in transit a day or two after it actually leaves so use that as a guide). take down those ship numbers (EA444 for example). then go to track & trace, and under the BOL number, Enter A+ship number + 01 for US or 02 for Canada. So for mine it was AEA44401. Then the vin numbers are all listed and you can sort them alphabetically and find yours.

[Stevenzoz]

Originally Posted by Bmwguy11

It's been quite some time since I have been on the site, but now that I'm back to owning multiple BMWs including a 2025 M3 I just bought, I can make updates.

Please let me know what I need to update in the OP guide!

Understandably the Bremerhaven camera link is now broken, I tried searching for a new one to no avail

[roku.g9]

Originally Posted by pghas

Actually there is a way. Go to the shipping company's website https://www.walleniuswilhelmsen.com, use the schedules section to figure out which ship you car could possibly be on (usually your status in the app changes to in transit a day or two after it actually leaves so use that as a guide). take down those ship numbers (EA444 for example). then go to track & trace, and under the BOL number, Enter A+ship number + 01 for US or 02 for Canada. So for mine it was AEA44401. Then the vin numbers are all listed and you can sort them alphabetically and find yours.

They have a west coast bound ship leaving next week, 11/18. If I don’t get on todays NYK ship, I’ll be using this trick! Thanks for sharing

[SmoothEsq]

Also, another thing worth mentioning -
Apparently, the status drops back from "In Transit" to "At the Port" on MyBmw when the car is taken off of the ship at the port of call. This just happened with me today. My guess it that it'll go back to "In Transit" when it's on the way to the dealership.

[SmoothEsq]

Originally Posted by pghas

Actually there is a way. Go to the shipping company's website https://www.walleniuswilhelmsen.com, use the schedules section to figure out which ship you car could possibly be on (usually your status in the app changes to in transit a day or two after it actually leaves so use that as a guide). take down those ship numbers (EA444 for example). then go to track & trace, and under the BOL number, Enter A+ship number + 01 for US or 02 for Canada. So for mine it was AEA44401. Then the vin numbers are all listed and you can sort them alphabetically and find yours.

I mean, there are several different companies that your car could end up shipping through, but I suppose you can do that.

[roku.g9]

Originally Posted by SmoothEsq

I mean, there are several different companies that your car could end up shipping through, but I suppose you can do that.

I haven’t seen folks get on any ship not found on NYK or WW.

[3MQR+6PQ]

Can anyone confirm that port-installed accessories DO NOT show up in the online tracker from BMW?

EDIT: Never mind. I do see it. Thanks all the same.

[engchris]

Just finished the process of ordering, waiting, and receiving my new M3. This was my first BMW, so this thread was extremely helpful in helping me understand the process and the anticipated timescales. I put together a spreadsheet based on the info in the beginning of the thread and tracked my actuals against it. As a first timer there are admittedly some flaws in my logic when I set it up, but I still ended up in my anticipated range. Not sure if this is useful or helpful, but figured I'd share.

A few notes:
My port of entry was Brunswick, GA
Waiting to get assigned a carrier in Bremerhaven is maddening (especially when you see others who haven't waited as long getting assignments)
Getting stuck in QC sucks and you wont know why you're there

All in, it took 59 days from the date I entered "Production Begins (150)" to the date my CA said the car was available for pick up. [ATTACH]undefined[/ATTACH]

[roku.g9]

I've recently gotten my M3 delivered and got a lot of great tips from this community. Below you can see the breakout of my 55 day wait from production start to car delivery.

Few tips/learnings throughout the process:
-If you're unable to get your VIN to populate your car pre production in "my garage", you may have to sign in or out. Or fully switch your email on your myBMW account
-Most painful wait was getting to port and awaiting departure. I feel like this is where drags are likely to happen. After that, the process moved very smoothly
-I did not have any port installed accessories
-Panama Canal and San Diego have great webcams you can catch your ship traveling through if you have a marine traffic app
-DOUBLE CHECK YOUR BUILD SHEET - While I waited for production, I changed my initial build 3 times. Along the way, I accidentally dropped "M Drive Professional" from my build sheet and for some reason didn't catch it. I think I saw "Drive Recorder" on my build sheet and brochure and mistook it for the M Drive Professional. Painful because it's my mistake, and with an XDrive car I now have no control of DSC in any other mode outside AWD. I will be tracking the car, and for $900 it sucks that I missed this and cannot retrofit it.
-Be prepared for the add-ons from the dealership on day of delivery. There was actually some interesting options offered at prices that actually made sense for those of us planning to keep the car for 3+ years. Unfortunately, I was not made aware of these prior to pickup and had I had more time, I likely would have considered them more thoughtfully. In person, in a high pressure finance office was not the ideal place to first be walked through the options.
-Talk down your interest rate to what you know is the lowest rate with BMWFS. My dealership started me at 6.29%, and after shopping around with a few of my banks(no credit unions), the best rate I could get was 5.99. I still went back to my dealer and told them that another dealership was offering 5.29, and that a few of my banks were also beating the 6.29. They immediately came down to 5.29 without any questions or verification.

Lastly, enjoy the painful wait! As painful as it is in the moment, looking back it's all a part of the process and added to the satisfaction and wow factor of finally seeing my spec in person and taking delivery.

California Delivery Outline(Week 44 2024 Build)
Days in production = 5
Days from factory to Bremerhaven = 6
Days waiting for RORO assignment and departure = 13
Transit time from Bremerhaven to Port H. = 29
Transit time from Port H to SF Bay Area = 2