[spn]

Originally Posted by fastjon

What he's talking about is Euro Delivery. He's intimating that if you do the ED then it will take longer to pass customs vs. if you simply ordered a new car from a dealer. It makes sense to me; I drove it and I had the opportunity to stash stuff in it...so, take more time looking through the car for my "stuff."

I have had some experience with this. Last July I was tracking a European delivery Mercedes and I joined the BMW thread of guys who were tracking the same ship as I was (these ships carry about 5000 cars from Germany, both Mercedes and BMW). We found that the Euro delivery cars (both Mercedes and BMW) were taking about three weeks to go through customs. It was incredibly frustrating for the Euro delivery owners. All the cars that were ordered to go directly to the dealerships (with awaiting owners) went through customs within a day, but the Euro deliveries were held up for weeks. There was talk at that time that there were so many Euro delivery cars to process that customs was overwhelmed. I am also thinking maybe because it was summer, and lots of Euro deliveries, that they were just busy because of the time of year. I tracked another Mercedes two years ago arriving in Long Beach on March 31 and the ship docked on Friday and my car went through customs first thing Monday morning. So, I had no problems then, but that was also two years ago.

I have a new Mercedes on order and I am not doing Euro delivery this time. I don't want to take the chance of my car being held up at the dock for three weeks.

[fuzzy123]

Damn its been forever since i've seen my car. Dec 20,2007

[fastjon]

Originally Posted by fuzzy123

Damn its been forever since i've seen my car. Dec 20,2007

Hey, Fuzzy, does your car get dropped off the HL while it is in SD? or does it have to go north in order to come back south? I'm sympathetic to your dilemma, I dropped off on November 30th

[FolsomMike]

I just read on another forums' website that the HL is not expected into port until the 13th (no explanation). Has anyone else heard this?

[spn]

Yes, it is on tonight's calendar for the port of Hueneme on the 13th. I just saw it, too. Let me find it and I will post the link.

[fastjon]

Originally Posted by FolsomMike

I just read on another forums' website that the HL is not expected into port until the 13th (no explanation). Has anyone else heard this?

Yes, that's correct. Someone called Harms and they told him that despite what the port websites indicated...San Diego on the 12th and Hueneme on the 11th, that the 12th was correct for SD and that Heuneme was the next day, the 13th. Makes sense to me and he heard it from the horses' mouth. Hey, we're days away from our cars hitting port and I'm stoked!

[spn]

Here it is: http://www.portofhueneme.org/documen...0208083457.pdf

[fastjon]

Wow, SPN, you're in Utah...when does your dealer say your B'mer is getting there? What did your order? and, did you do the ED?

[spn]

Here's the Hudson Leader coming up the west coast by Baja.

[spn]

Originally Posted by fastjon

Wow, SPN, you're in Utah...when does your dealer say your B'mer is getting there? What did your order? and, did you do the ED?

I have a Mercedes roadster on order; a SL63 AMG. The Mercedes forums don't have tracking threads like BMW, MiniCooper, etc, so I join the BMW threads instead. This will be the third Mercedes I have tracked (two personal cars; one for a friend). It is a lot of fun to track them and it keeps me busy while I wait for my car. I also have had good luck in getting the AIS radar subscription, so I can find the ships on the radar and know where they are. I had a lot of fun tracking a ship along with a bunch of BMW guys last summer. It is addictive. These car-carrying ships typically hold 5000 cars; mostly BMW and Mercedes packed together, since they all come from Bremerhaven. The Mercedes cars are off loaded at the port of Long Beach/LA, then the ship moves up the coast to Port Hueneme. Whether it is a BMW, Mercedes, or MiniCooper, we all are excited to get our cars.

[spn]

Originally Posted by fastjon

Wow, SPN, you're in Utah...when does your dealer say your B'mer is getting there? What did your order? and, did you do the ED?

Oh, and I did euro delivery on my first car. Because of the delays in customs, I opted not to do ED this time, just in case they are still behind in inspecting ED cars.

[spn]

Well, she hasn't moved very far. Her arrow is still green which means she's moving over 5 knots, so she is moving.

[spn]

The Hudson Leader is due into the port of San Diego at 1 pm tomorrow ( Tuesday the 12th) and is set to sail to PH at 5 pm that same day. She should reach PH late tomorrow night and unload on Wednesday.

http://www.sdmis.org/schedule/

[spn]

I think the Hudson Leader is hanging back to dock at SD tomorrow. She hasn't moved very far today. In the amount of time that has passed today, she could have been to PH by now, but she's not in a hurry to go anywhere.

[MontegoE92]

Thanks for the updates! This week is killing me...I am hoping the car will get to AZ by this weekend?

[spn]

She's about to cross into San Diego's approach screen.

[FolsomMike]

I was in Cancun on 2/2 and saw a container ship passing in the night....couldn't help but wonder if it was the HL.

[spn]

Originally Posted by FolsomMike

I was in Cancun on 2/2 and saw a container ship passing in the night....couldn't help but wonder if it was the HL.

Did she look like this? Here's her photo. . .

[fastjon]

Originally Posted by FolsomMike

I was in Cancun on 2/2 and saw a container ship passing in the night....couldn't help but wonder if it was the HL.

Folsom, despite the number of Tequilla shots you had that night, did it look like this? Not really a container-type ship, but through the haze, you may have seen what in your mind you wanted to see - just as I saw it go through the PC - see other photo.

[FolsomMike]

Originally Posted by spn

Did she look like this? Here's her photo. . .

Like I said, it was night.

Just for the heck of it, I don't suppose anyone knows what her position was on that date?

[spn]

Originally Posted by FolsomMike

Like I said, it was night.

Just for the heck of it, I don't suppose anyone knows what her position was on that date?

If she went through the PanCanal on Feb 5 (according to the date on the photo), then she probably arrived on the Atlantic side of the canal (Cristobol Anchorage) on Feb 4. They generally park in the Cristobol Anchorage for a day (to wait their place in line, have canal pilots board to take her through, wait until morning hours to start process, etc), so she would have been around the Caribbean Sea on the 2nd; most likely where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet.

[FolsomMike]

Originally Posted by spn

If she went through the PanCanal on Feb 5 (according to the date on the photo), then she probably arrived on the Atlantic side of the canal (Cristobol Anchorage) on Feb 4. They generally park in the Cristobol Anchorage for a day (to wait their place in line, have canal pilots board to take her through, wait until morning hours to start process, etc), so she would have been around the Caribbean Sea on the 2nd; most likely where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet.

Ok, so close but no cigar.