Most people who do ED are anxious about getting their vehicle back and like to track the progress and timing of their vehicle’s journey from Europe to the United States.
There are a variety of variables involved in the transit process and timing of your vehicle delivery back to the US.
For example, I dropped off my car in Amsterdam and it took two weeks for it to get trucked to the port in Bremerhaven and get onto the Toledo vehicle carrier. I initially did not know the name of the vessel my car got onto in order to track it.
Call your dealer to get an update on the status and location of your vehicle.
You can also try calling BMW genius with your production number and they might be able to help you with transit status.
1.844.4GENIUS (443-6487)
There is a VDC phone number 1-800-932-0831 that you can ask for an update.
If you have your VIN, you can go to the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) 2wglobal.com web site to see the status of your car. The tracking can only start once your vehicle gets to Bremerhaven and has been scanned into their system which can take from 2-3 weeks from the day of drop-off. Once scanned, your vehicle will be assigned to a vessel which is based on the VDC destination.
Here are the steps:
1. Go to 2wglobal.com
2. Click on "Track & trace"
3. Where it says “Cargo ID” on the right empty box, enter your Full or last 7 digits of your VIN and click the “Track” button.
Once your vessel has departed Bremerhaven or other port, you can track its progress on the open oceans by using the vessel name to search for it on the following web sites:
Marine Traffic:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/...tery:9/zoom:11
Fleetmon:
https://www.fleetmon.com/
If your vehicle is going to Port Hueneme in Oxnard, California then you can use these additional tracking web sites:
Panama Canal Web Cams:
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html
Port Hueneme Calendar:
http://www.portofhueneme.org/vesselschedule/
Once your vehicle departs the VDC, you can track your vehicle on the following web site:
United Road:
http://www.unitedroad.com/search-by-vin.php
Port processing usually takes 1-2 weeks. That includes US Customs. All you will see is "discharged" as a status. This time can get longer if your vehicle is damaged and needs repairs.
Once it is cleared for trucking, (COFT) your dealer may get a notification.
Vehicle Delivery Center (VDC)
The BMW Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC) is the point of entry for BMW’s, Mini’s, and Rolls Royce’s into the United States. BMW currently has Four VDCs in the United States as follows:
The New Jersey VDC supports eight States.
The Baltimore VDC at the Port of Baltimore process cars destined for the Central and Eastern States.
The Brunswick, Georgia VDC receives cars destined for the Southeastern States.
The Port Hueneme VDC at Oxnard, California receives cars for the West Coast States.
A new VDC is currently under construction at the Port of Galveston, Texas which will serve Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas and is planned to become operational in early 2016.
There are five departments at the VDC, not including administrative and management functions:
Production – processes the car, performs the pre-delivery inspection, inspects for damage, removes shipping labels
Workshop – performs mechanical repairs, campaigns, software updates; installs accessories such as driving lights and power kits
Body Shop – performs body repair, paint, repairs of scratches and scuffs, paintless dent removal; installs body kits
Quality– monitors procedures, reports issues to the factory, ensures quality control throughout the facility
Parts – stocks and distributes replacement parts
Upon entering the VDC, the vehicles are washed and driven into the processing area at the VDC. After its bath, USA-specific supplies such as warranty information are added.
The vehicles are thoroughly inspected for any damage; for European Delivery vehicles, this includes damage that might have occurred when the car was in use in Europe as such repairs are covered by the special European Delivery insurance program. No damage was found but damage could have occurred during use in Europe and during transport. For cars with body damage, the VDC's repairs are virtually indistinguishable from the factory’s repairs.
Various stickers, such as the accessory installation warning sticker that goes on the windshield and the roadside assistance sticker, are placed on the vehicle.
The VDC is especially concerned with safety-related damage or defects such as a chipped windshield or gouges in wheels. All defective parts are immediately disposed of to ensure that such parts do not inadvertently end up on a car in the future.
VDC personnel also check for any factory defects such as "airbag light on." Any campaigns (normal updates) are performed if necessary and the car's paper trail is reviewed.
At this point, the vehicles are placed on what the VDC calls the "pad," which is where cars sit waiting to be trucked to the dealerships.
Redelivery
From the day I dropped off the car in Amsterdam to the day the car arrived at my local dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area was 7 weeks and 3 days. That is actually quite good considering that BMW states 8-10 weeks for West Coast re-deliveries.
The car arrived at my local dealership, BMW Concord. Thanks to Donna and Scott for a great reintroduction experience. Other than the European license plates and vignettes which I had requested to remain, it looked like a new showroom fresh car even with a Monroney sticker. They prepped and detailed the car so that it looked better now than when I picked it up at BMW Welt. They also confirmed that the 1,200 mile M service was done by the VDC.