The 1st batch of 24 West Coast M5 has arrived at San Diego today on board Orion Diamond.

The ship is schedule to be in Port Hueme by 6:00PM tonight.


Here is the link to live webcam. Orion Diamond on 24th ave termial

 

I've ordered several cars in my day, and I don't know which is better/worse...getting a call one day from the dealer saying your car just arrived...or tracking the car every inch of the way and torturing yourself in the process. I remember a few years ago folks ordering Porsches complained that they couldn't track their car's production & shipping status online...be careful what you ask for...

 

I know. It is so sad that i am sitting infront of my laptop watching a barely visible webcam, and i am excited and happy more than i can imagine.

I have ordered several BMW previously. I never had urge to track it until this one. This is courtesy of the wife in forcing me to get rid all of my BMW and have been stuck with E55 which I didn't like since the day i picked it up. I am so happy that I am going back into a BMW.

It is also funny that my E55 has been gone almost 3 days (wife decide that the E55 needs to mate with fire hydrant) and I haven't even had any desire to check the progress of repair.

 

WOW!!
I cant wait to see mine this dec!!so long :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:
i bet the wait is like christmas morning

 

Right now, there is a holdup due to CARB paperwork certification. Hopefully this will be resolved Monday. My car's sitting at the VPC, prepped and ready for the carrier as soon as signoff happens. With luck it will be at the dealer Tuesday...

 

Wolverine, you're keeping the 545i too?

 

Nope, one of my friends is buying it. I'm selling it to him for the trade-in price, and we're doing it through the dealer so I'll save the taxes. He's getting a heck of a deal (I did make him pay $$$'s for the wheels though...).

 

I was at VDC tour today.

I can tell you that there is no CARB hold. The M5 is not being released simply due to coordinated release. I spoke to several employee at VDC. There is no CARB issue (none of the them acknoledge that there was a CARB paperwork issue). They stated that they can't discuss why the M5 is being held back, but only state that they will process it as soon as possible (when allowed).

The 1st batch of US cars arrived on Orion Diamond and is at Port Hueneme dock (sadly i was not able to find my car, and couple friend tried to peek of the wall, but no avail).

I believe the whole CARB issue is simply a smoke screen for a coordindate release. The 1st bach of west coast car is only 24 cars. The next batch is arriving on the 21th. I would be suprised that the car is released this week. Simply put, there are only 24 cars for 80 dealers that the Oxnard VDC deal with. With CA and us west coast being over 50% of M5 market, I believe BMW simply do not want to have no car for those dealers. Unless the 2nd batch of 128 cars arrives on 10/21, I don't think we will see any of the M5 delivered.

 

I'm having trouble believing the coordinated release thing. What motivation would BMW have to piss-off their best customers by screwing with them? What is the benefit of a 'coordinated release'?? Who is hurt by delivering the cars to the dealers and the customers who ordered them first???

I just can't believe the BMW executives sat in a conference room and said:

"Let's ship our cars to the States, and then hold them for a few weeks, and not tell anyone why we're doing it. Then, when the customers don't get their cars, they'll either think we're not telling them the truth, or that we've screwed up and can't get the cars released. Sounds like a good plan - let's do it."

If they wanted a coordinated release, why wouldn't they just say so? No big deal. And what would the benefit of a coordinated release be? Remember, BMW doesn't get paid until they deliver the car to the dealer, and right now BMW is losing money. Why would they intentionally delay receipt of millions of dollars to the company? How does BMW benefit from this?

If they really wanted a coordinated release they could hold the cars at port in Bremmerhaven, and ship them so they all arrived in the US at the same time. To have their best customers cars sitting at the VPC for several weeks just cannot be good for anybody. No, I don't think this is planned.

 

I think Wolverine may have it right. This may be a "coordinated" delay but it probably has nothing to do with marketing.

My 550 just had a 3 week, all-expenses paid vacation at the South Carolina VPC before being released. My dealer finally found out all 550s were held for a new update (it was not made clear what is was for).

So maybe the M5s have a similar "update" issue at this point.