Shipment times

[peter24a]

Like many of you I am eagerly waiting for my car to be built. My local dealer seems to think that shipment times are much shorter than what the official Volvo literature states (40-50 days). He claims that the actual shipping time once on the ship is 2 1/2 weeks to California (Port Hueneme). Add on a week for customs clearance and shipment to my dealer (only 40 miles from the port) and he is quoting 3 1/2 weeks plus a few days waiting to get on the ship in Sweden. Further he says that the ships leave once or twice a week so my car should not be sitting waiting for the ship for long. Does anyone have any actual experience with shipment times?

[rkestner]

peter,

my experience is with osd, but i think the same shipping procedure, ship, customs clearance, etc. are used.  i believe the volvo factory/vcna dates are conservative estimates.  they are estimating on the high side so that you will be happy when it gets there 'early'.  your dealer should be able to interface with vcna/customs agents to determine the exact dates the car leaves sweden, arrives your port, clears customs, is shipped overland, and arrives at your dealer.  during our osd shipment, the customs agent was able to report the exact location of the hauler on his way across the country from ga/fl to tx/nm.  hope this is helpful.

[peter24a]

Thanks for your response.  My order too is for OSD.  How long did it take you to get your car once you dropped it off?

[rkestner]

pete,

have you been to my www.virtualtourist.com, member homepage=RichardBlaine story about osd?  it should have pretty good details about the delivery thing.  i want to remember turning in for shipment around 4-5 october and finally picking up the car in tx around 15 november.  my times are LONG, however.  we made the mistake of having a po box address on customs documents and missing calls from the customs clearance agent for almost a week.  seems that they arrange to have trucks ready when the ship comes in, cars are cleared and moved within days, unless you have a po box address and don't get back to them for a week.  then, it adds a couple of weeks to the cross country (no pun intended) shipment, because you have to wait for a truckload to be made up.

hope this is helpful

rich kestner

[peter24a]

Rich:

Finally found your website.  I really had a hard time getting there.  Once there I had a hard time finding your page.  If you know how to do it you should post a link here so others can easilly find what is the MOST comprehensive information on the subject of OSD.  You have answered virtually every question ever asked on this board in your write-up.  Good work!  

Peter

[bavioder]

You should get documents from custom broker, EPA form, Shipping document and Customs forms when the car is close to port.  It also gives you a cargo tracking number for your car if Volvo is using the same shipper.  Check out 2wglobal.com for schedules of their ships.

[stevel0923]

Here's the timeline for the shipment of my car that was delivered earlier this month.

11/15/02 - $2K deposit to order car
12/05/02 - Final payment made to dealership
12/27/02 - Car is shipped from Sweden
01/25/03 - Car arrives in port in Los Angeles
02/01/03 - Car is delivered to local dealership in Los Angeles
02/03/03 - Pick up car following prep and wash. Paid local sales tax and license registration. OSD buyers get special keychain.

http://www.xc70.com/pics/albums/userpics/normal_66197827703_0_ALB.jpg


http://www.xc70.com/pics/albums/userpics/normal_74769827703_0_ALB.jpg

[purush]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (bavioder @ Feb. 19 2003,11:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">You should get documents from custom broker, EPA form, Shipping document and Customs forms when the car is close to port. It also gives you a cargo tracking number for your car if Volvo is using the same shipper. Check out 2wglobal.com for schedules of their ships.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Thanks bavioder. &nbsp; 2wglobal does have the information we need. &nbsp;I talked to my local dealer who says that he can track the car three days after it has been dropped off for its return trip. &nbsp;

Purush

[hordtheviking]

Wow, many thanks to bavioder as that link to the shipping company is very cool&#33; &nbsp;Looking at that, I&#39;d be very surprised if getting a car to Virginia took 50 days as boats seem to leave every 4 days or so and shipping time to Baltimore is 15 days. &nbsp;That would mean that it would take a month to get the car from Baltimore to central Virginia which is a 3 hour drive.

[bavioder]

When you turn in your car, you will get a document with the estimated delivery date and the ship name. &nbsp;It is on the marine insurance doc but it wouldn&#39;t hurt to check with FDC as to which shipping company they are using. &nbsp;Also, EH Harms, your custom broker will send you a bunch of documents before it arrives at the port with a cargo tracking number. &nbsp;Also, storms in the atlantic mess with the schedule, my car was supposed to arrive the 15th but didn&#39;t get in to Newark until the 18th due to the Blizzard we had on the East coast. &nbsp;Hope for clear sailing...

[purush]

bavioder
&nbsp;
&nbsp;I have a question for you. &nbsp; I was able to use the VIN of my car, as cargo ID, &nbsp;to track the car on 2wglobal.com. &nbsp;It has been discharged from the ship. &nbsp;Now the question is -- &quot;can I track the rest of its journey, on land, to my dealer on 2wglobal.com?&quot; &nbsp; Is there any other website or person that I turn to?

thanks
sincerely
Purush

[bavioder]

Not that I know. &nbsp;From my experience, it took around five days to be shipped to my dealer. &nbsp;You can call your customs broker to see its status and the estimated delivery but nothing online that I know of.