for those who might have read the few threads i wrote regarding my awful experience with the military sales program, i finally received some good news today.

my receiving dealer (vern eide BMW in sioux falls, SD), finally got me in touch with someone at BMW NA who has made my car a top priority for shipment from the VPC in new jersey, and i should receive my vehicle sometime in the middle of next week.

for those unfamiliar with my story - the cliff's notes are as follows:

may 24, 07 - place order for 328xi through military sales program via Alfardan Auto Sales, Doha, Qatar

july 6th - vehicle is produced, delivered to port in bremerhaven, and ready to ship - dealer never told me this until i asked several weeks later, wondering what the status of my car was. since military sales requires full payment before shipment from Germany, the car sits at port

august 16th - vehicle finally boards the Faust for its journey to port of new jersey - partly due to my bank's failure to make a quick wire-transfer payment, but mostly due to the failure of my dealership to notify me that the car was ready to ship

august 31st - car arrives at port

sept 10th - car is listed as "at vehicle prep center" - dealer in SD says delivery should occur in a week or so

sept 11-oct 14 - car sits at VPC, for no conceivable reason. dealer claims no knowledge of release date or delivery date, and claims they don't have anyone they can call to get info. BMW NA says they have no information and that it could take 6-8 weeks from orginal ship date. 8 weeks pass on oct 11th. remember, car is PAID IN FULL, and i have now made two car payments on a car i do not have in my posession.

oct 15th - dealer in SD finally gets me a number for an employee in the distribution office. that employee makes a personal request for the vehicle to ship ASAP and actually schedules the shipment, and tells me that although they don't know what happened to delay delivery, that i should receive my car sometime next week.


i've said it before so i'll say it again - if you're looking at military sales program, be ready for a huge headache. most stateside dealers are not knowledgable about the program, and since the sales associate will not be making any money off the sale, they will not be too motivated to help you when your car ends up in limbo.

How terrific you'll soon be seeing and driving that car! You have surely had more than your share of fun trying to get it delivered to you. Enjoy it when it comes and you'll find that the agravation will melt away the minute you get behind the wheel and hit the start button!! Good luck and let us know you've actually gotten your ride!!

How much $ did you actually save on that program?

How much $ did you actually save on that program?

~$5K

That's really too bad. We've delivered a couple military sales cars and it's been a painless process.

Hope I don't run into those problems but I will make sure I pay for the car before shipment (make payments before I physically have the car) and I'm planning to pick my car up at the NJ port to save having it shipped to a dealership (extra $$).

Thanks for the tip.

Pretty typical for a car to be in the port for 3 weeks or so. I didn't do Mil Car Sales when I was in Italy for just the reasons you stated and figured I would do ED when I finally found a car I wanted (335 convertible).
Hopefully you will be enjoying your ride at Ellsworth...

Hope I don't run into those problems but I will make sure I pay for the car before shipment (make payments before I physically have the car) and I'm planning to pick my car up at the NJ port to save having it shipped to a dealership (extra $$).

Thanks for the tip.

i should have asked about that, although from the way they explained it i wouldn't have been able to pick it up at port since the dealership has to do some final mechanical checks and detailing.

just stay on top of your sales rep. mine was pretty bad about getting back to me (it was all done via email but it would take 3 or 4 days for her to get back to me sometimes).

the biggest problem i had was not being told information about the status - i couldn't log into the owners' circle since i had no VIN. just badger your sales rep and it might go smoother.

Pretty typical for a car to be in the port for 3 weeks or so. I didn't do Mil Car Sales when I was in Italy for just the reasons you stated and figured I would do ED when I finally found a car I wanted (335 convertible).
Hopefully you will be enjoying your ride at Ellsworth...


3 weeks wouldn't have been an issue. it was 6 going on 7 weeks and i'm pretty sure the only reason things have started to happen was because i kept harassing my sales rep.