voran

So for the last 2 months, I've been patiently waiting for my 2004 525 (really wanted the 530 - but my wife vetoed the higher payments) - it was either the 530 or my HDTV later on this year... :-(

Anyway... been lurking on this site and bimmerforum soaking in every piece of info I can find about the e60's... And I figured I'd say Hi... and ask a stupid question:

My car's arrived at South Carolina - well the ship has anyway... WW Liberty - is there any way to check on the status once it's at the port. How do you know it's "in the VPC" or on it's way to the dealer etc.... Tracking the ship daily kept me going - now that I'm blind to the progress I'm going crazy.... I think a trip to the dealer to sit in one of the 545's is in order

kscarrol

My car came in through Charleston also, and I found both the Owner's Circle website and the 800 # to have quite a delay. Even after I knew the ship had unloaded at Charleston, the website said in transit and the 800# said awaiting transport. Anyway, your salesperson should be able to give you the most update status reports at this point, just don't call them every 30 minutes.

Don't know where you are, but my car took right at one week after unloading to make it to my dealer here in New Orleans. Of course that can vary depending on any backlog at the VPC and when your car clears and gets loaded on the truck.

But you're close! It's almost here!

Flowerfred

On the other hand, investing in a girl could not be your best option. Imagine this:

Over 30 years you'll spend half a million dollars on your wife. And what do you end up with?

An old woman!

bimmerj

Once it is at the vpc, it's difficult to track it. The dealers do not have a way of seeing what is going on at the vpc, other than calling them. They tend to frown on that a bit. A few people on the board have mentioned that it is normally 1 week from the time it enters the vpc (ship discharge) to get to the dealer. This is also what me dealer told me - so unless there is anything wrong with the vehicle, or it is a german holiday, one week from the entry to the vpc is a good rule of thumb.

Congrats on the new 525 purchase. You will enjoy the car (and the hdtv).

DrT

Voran,

Can't tell you how many people have been in your position ! It's a bitch of a wait. I spent 6 months last year trying to figure out how to get out my my company lease vehicle. I configured "my car" on line twice a week for six months. When I went to the dealer I knew my spec by heart, the cost, the lot. In fact I knew more about the hidden technology and quirks of this vehicle than the dealer did. Then I had 7 painful weeks to wait. I stared at a picture of an orient blue with beige leather for 5 minutes every morning. I rang the dealer once a week just on the off chance my car had jumped the queue. In the end it came 10 days early. I had a long wait because I specc'ed my car up too much. I also used this forum to wait it out. I thought I was a real sad case until Doctor Diesel came along (sorry John, only kidding).

I too went for a 525 (but manual) - mainly because I wanted all the trimmings. Interested to know what you think of the steptronic box off the 2.5 litre engine - I never test drove one. The manual 6 on the 2.5i is so much better than the 5 speed I had on my 325 Touring. Well impressed.

Anyway, welcome to the board. Hang on in there!

Regards

DrT

Doctor Diesel

As the boards' resident sad case I can only share your anguish...hang on in there, the fruition is so much worth the wait.

by the way I reckon I must be the record poster on the board..nearly 400 in less than 8 weeks....Now how sad is that??

Seriously, I've gone from being a seriously unknowing BMW E60 owner to my dealers worst nightmare....mainly as a result of information and advice from my friends on this board.


DD

sj3

Voran: Welcome to the foray! This was the toughest period for me. I knew the car was about 45 minutes away from me at NJ's VPC! Would it be held up for 6 weeks or so waiting for s/w like one group in March? Would it be one of the first off the boat, prepped, and on the truck? Nobody knows! Assuming that you've been 'unloaded' off of your boat, as one of the other posters indicated, the dealer is now your up-to-date source of info. Their computers get an update every night. My advice would be to call him/her each morning looking for that oh-so-great "released for transport" status. After that, the dealer knows nothing at all until it shows up there. The company's name, I think, trucking your baby is Bavarian Auto Transport. Maybe they've got an 800 number but I know for sure they don't like hearing from people who aren't dealers! They can tell you where the truck is that has your car, based on the VIN, if you're charming enough to get them to tell you. HTH.

Sam

voran

Should have let y'all know to call me Nick... instead of voran - anyways...

Thanks for all the remarks - I agree it's a b**ch of a wait... and then you marry one ;-) just kidding, I love my wife (u never know she might read this board one day)....

I'm in South Florida and I've been told by my dealer and many others that it'll probably be here by next Friday (assuming nothing goes wrong) - but not knowing where it is, is excruciating... and the lack of visibility into the VPC and all hurts.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all BMW's had onboard cam's that transmitted a "drivers eye" view of where they are at any time so you can see exactly what happens to my sweet car as it makes her way to me. Imagine logging into Owners Circle and seeing what you would see if you were in the drivers seat!!!! I'm dreaming I know but maybe my 20th BMW will have that...

Yeah, I'm a bit concerned with the 525 auto - but since my wife's gonna drive it as well (if not more) I had to compromise... and I really want the HDTV (trying to decide between waiting for the DLP's or LCD's etc.)

Flowerfed, you know that's pretty funny about the 1/2 mill on the old woman - but then my wife's a great cook - and trying to get someone to take primary resonsibility of the house and the food (I can't boil water...) would cost quite a bit too you know - so given all that plus the generous tax deduction it came pretty close. BMW 530 or my wife - the tax deduction on the wife was much more generous so I settled for the 525

Dr. D - your posts have been most entertaining - I've whiled away a lot of time reading them... and agree between this one, bimmerforums and (to a much lesser extend) RF - I've learnt a LOT!!! Can't wait to do an ED though, wanted to do it for this car BUT recently had a baby and didn't want to take the 3 month old with us - seriously thought about just going and coming back to take advantage of the 7% discount - but then with summer holidays and all... ehhh!!! Maybe next time...

Oh well - thanks again all - and I'll post my pics and share my experience soon I hope...

(Hugging my knees, rocking back and forth at work saying "Anyday now, Anyday now" - hmm... maybe they'll give me leave for a nervous breakdown??!!! Definitely getting a lot of funny looks)

C ya
Nick

sj3

Nick: Re: the various forums... This place is by far the best for e60 info. None of the other forums are even close to this one for the e60. Bimmerfest is great for general bmw and has a great dealer forum on it; the people on it are an extremely helpful group. Bimmerfest is also great for advice on mods. RF is a complete and total joke at this point. There is very very little real information on it. What I can't figure out is why the few great people keep posting there...Jonathan Spiro, Joe540, Rem, Gizmo... Rudy tried for awhile but gave up for obvious reasons. I just don't know why anyone with any sense posts there. One very crazy group, most of whom are complete morons, imo.

Now, this is completely off topic. Re: your hdtv. To maximize picture quality per dollar spent, go for a traditional rear projection HDTV with 9-inch mirrors. The typical 7-inch mirror can not get the resolution needed for display 1080p, not here yet, but it will be. If you've got the room in your living room, you can't beat the quality, reliability, and lower price. Pioneer makes several really good models (I don't work for them!).

Sam

kscarrol

You gotta love this board, not only great info and advice about the E60, but very useful info for home entertainment as well! I won't be too far behind Nick on the HDTV purchase, so thanks for the tip.