Has anyone had any success tracking their new car on the ship from the factory to the States. I have been trying and get nothing. Dealer says it is on the water?? Puzzled.

i'm so excited! i registered months ago, but for some reason, my account wasn't activated. stephen, i know it's not news to you, but mylocal dealer confirmed the 06's were on the water and would be here this month. seems rotten that you can't get yours a little before the public gets to pick anything they want off the lot. anyway, my wife's 05 sl600 was delivered to us last saturday, and iam deeply in love. only 400 miles on it ( i can't wait for the 1000 mi. breakn period to pass) and already i know it is the finest car we have ever owned.
it's great to be able to respond to posts finally. hope i dont wear out my welcome to quick. stephen when you get your new sl, i would be interested to know your impressions of any differences between the cars. not just the options. thanx

The latest news is the car will be at the dealer on the 27th. I will post pictures and comments about any differences in the new car. Want to check out what you have to look forward too. I did a little run up to 110 mph, check out the video at

0-110 MPH

Congrats...you'll be beating me it looks like. Mine doesn't make it to port before the 25th of June...then has to clear processing, make it to dealer in Fresno (gag), and the get to me....I just don't see it happening before July 1...but the dealer knows it must be to me before July 3...birthday. Can't wait to see yours! You DOG. Months ahead on order, days behind on delivery...MBNA at its finest. I haven't had any luck finding my car's ship on the water (you?), but have been watching the panama canal every morning...has to go through sometime....

Cheers!

Steve,

Make sure your dealer calls Rod down at the VPC in Southern California. He is the gentleman that will determine when you get your car. He can make it as short as 2 days or I have seen them as long at 2 weeks.

If they know your car is "hot" they will go to the port and look for it specifically and then they can get it through the VPC literally in a day. He also has the ability to have it shipped that night and at the dealership in the morning.

This man can work miracles...if he wants to.

Matthew

Calling this morning...Somehow I am going to make Rod my friend.
Steve

thanks for the video steve, but my software on real networks, says it won't support your video.

It will work on Windows Media Player.

If you have the VIN, you can track the vehicle while its on the water by going to the Wallenius Wilhelmsen web site:

http://www.2wglobal.com/www/WEP/index.jsp

Select "cargo tracking" and then "Track By - Auto cargo". You can then enter
the VIN to get the details of the voyage.

Unfortunately, not if it isn't on a W&W vessel, which mine isn't (Prestige Ace), but its off the Boat in So Cal now anyway. It does work for that company though, (tried putting a few newer random VINS fot other models)

Rad, How did you find out which ship your car was on and were you able to track it through that lines website? Thanks

P.S. Can't wait until you and Stephen receive your cars. I can just live vicariousally through you two for now.

Name of ship was available on netstar report from dealer after car was loaded in Bremerhaven. Found ship on lloyd's register, found line owner, Mitsui in this case, but no way to track through them...however, I watched ship traffic at the panama canal to see the ship pass through, and then knew only a few days from there to LA...Dealer notified when it was off the ship...now we wait for release from the VPC...supposed to be fast tracked...and they keep telling me before the end of the month..so only 2 days now!

Did your dealer give you any pricing info on the new car. My dealer says they still don't have it, and according to them the cars won't be released until July. I don't know if that means July 1st or what, but if you look at the MBUSA website they still have 2005 for the SL's while other models already show 2006.

I hope you do get yours by the end of the month. I don't think it is going to happen for me. My dealer is actually less than 5 miles from the VPC, and they can go pick the car up asap once it is released.

They are supposed to call me back tomorrow with an update, I will let you know what I hear.

Rad, Thanks for the info. How do you watch the Panama Canal? How long does it take to get to LA once a ship transits the canal? If and when I order a car it would come to LA too although Lovin said his arrived in Baltimore and then trucked or trained - can't remember which - to the Bay Area.

To track vessels through the panama canal, you can get a public access account at www.aislive.com then once you've signed up, you simply click on central america, then keep clicking down to the smaller boxes arround the canal...you can usually find your vessel in the line waiting to get through on the east side (in this case)..good day through the canal, then 5 or so to LA. Key is to get the ship name from the dealer after car is loaded, then you can check the vessel's planned course through its owner's website first (that way you';ll kow if it makes intermediate stops and its final destination (i.e Baltimore vs Jacksonville, vs LA (or Port Hununeme in Oxnard, as is sometimes the case). Have fun!....gotta watch the maps closely to find your ship though...there's no tracking i've found in the open ocean. If you find a way, let me know!

Good luck!

here is a post that includes a web site for tracking ships in the open ocean.

If you want to track the ship across the Atlantic, plug in the ship's name to get the call sign in the Ship Search at http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml

I tried that one, but it only has a very limited number of ships, of which the Prestige Ace, was not one, unfortunately....but you might get lucky if yours is playing the weather reporting game.