lensjack

My carrier should dock next week in Long Beach. Just wondering how long others have waited for their P1 to clear VPC. I’m guessing it varies with carrier offload volume, but maybe averages three to five days?

I expect my dealer who’s right there in Long Beach will quickly get a good handle on it. But it’s always interesting to hear what other MB buyers have experienced.

The ship left Bremerhaven Dec. 12, anchored of Jacksonville just before Christmas, offloaded at Brunswick, is due to stop at Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, Jan. 6, then travel on to Long Beach.

(I’m posting this question in both the sedan and coupe forums because it’s not style-specific, and the sedan forum in more active.)

rbrylaw

My car was offloaded at the VPC in Brunswick, GA on a Thursday and was delivered to my dealer in Tampa, FL on the next Monday. It was a pretty fast turnaround. If there had been any transport damage, it would have slowed things a bit as they'd have needed to fix anything, but that's not too common.

ua549

Timing really depends on what needs to be done at the VPC such as recall mods, accessory installation, etc.

lensjack

Thanks, Double-R. I should have asked you to pick it up in Brunswick and drive it over to L.A. It would doubtless have arrived sparkling. :-)

rbrylaw

Indeed it would have! LOL

Courthaven

Mine came into the VPC on a Tuesday, left on a truck on Thursday and somehow took until Monday to get to the dealership 20 miles away from the VPC.

CaptainE

lensjack

Yes, it's Bayonne, NJ.

Were you able to oder a Head Up display? It wasn't available in my build cycle.

CaptainE

rbrylaw

I remember tracking mine, until it was out at sea and couldn't be tracked until it was close to the East Coast. When you say Long Beach, do you mean Long Beach, CA? You've got quite a wait if that's the case. I believe it has to travel through the Panama Canal to get to the West Coast. And it likely will make stops in NJ and Brunswick, GA, before heading through the canal. The wait is the worst part of this.

lensjack

Good timing! I almost wish I'd waited. Almost. Love the HUD in my wife's Lexus. I found it baffling that MB would run out of them for a whole build cycle. Maybe the Japanese car makers just do electronics better. There's a thread (in the coupe forum, I think) about problems with seats not sliding back on exit. Geez, that feature has worked flawlessly in Lexus cars for many years. Thankfully, when it comes to ride quality, MB rules. For my taste, anyway.

Have fun tracking your delivery. My ship is arriving at Lazaro Cardenas as I type. The original schedule called for arrival in Long Beach, CA, Jan. 9th. I probably won't know until tomorrow if they'll make that date. I'm ready.

CaptainE

lensjack

Agree, not a necessity. Especially with the electronic instrument cluster.

I ordered Oct. 3, 2018. You?

ua549

I've had HUDs for many years in cars and aircraft. Today I wouldm't buy a car without an HUD. The instrument scan with HUD is superior to looking down at the instrument pane and taking one's eyes off the roadl.

lensjack

Definitely preferable. In the end I opted to buy rather than wait, partly because nobody could say for sure when it would become available. I'm hoping MB will have their inventory act together next time around.

stephos

same here @lensjack - wish I had it but wasn't prepared to wait on a "maybe"

CaptainE

denjermen

lensjack

Thanks, denjermen. AFAIK, almost all Customs employees are considered essential, and are working at ports of entry. We'll learn more on Thursday after the carrier offloads. Fingers crossed!

CaptainE

Still waiting.
Mine got to the vpc April 1.

rbrylaw

21 days at the VPC? That seems excessively long. Has you dealer inquired?

CaptainE

They say they have, but no dates given.
Very annoying considering that I dropped the car off in Frankfurt Dec 10.

madtrader

I didn’t get great communication on the transportation part of my build. My dealer said they were seeing nonsensical status on a number of customer orders. For instance a car status listing as being on the boat across the Atlantic only to change days later to sitting on the dock in a Germany waiting for ship assignment. My car was scheduled for build in the first decade of February. I picked it up March 28. If I remember correctly, my salesman said it arrived the preceding Saturday (March 23). My dealer has their cars come through the Baltimore VPC and then trucked to the middle of the country (this dealer is in Nebraska). All told, not too bad, but it felt like forever. With that timeline, I’m guessing the car was in the VPC a couple weeks tops.

petee1997

And repair transit body damage. When the car is held up an overly long period, check it carefully.

ua549

Best practices - examine the exterior with a UV spotlight prior to accepting delivery. The UV light will show any anomalies in the paint.