How long was the wait between completion date and "ONVESL" date?
05-31-2005, 10:10 PM
#1
Banned
Thread Starter
How long was the wait between completion date and "ONVESL" date?
Just trying to get an idea of what other waiters here have experienced.
I stopped by the dealership today to see if my car had been put on a boat yet. Nyet! There was another customer's car that was completed on 4/15 and was just put on a vessel on 5/24. My car was completed on 5/18 and didn't get placed on that outgoing ship because apparently the "holding" inventory is larger than the capacity of the vessel. That other car sat in holding inventory for 39 DAYS! I'll assume they're using the FIFO system of managing inventory (first-in-first-out) for loading completed cars onto ships. Clearly shipping is not able to keep up with current production output.
I'm thinking out loud here but I'm wondering how many vessels are in this apparently small fleet of ships? If it takes approximately 6 wks for a full roundtrip out to San Diego, via the Panama Canal, and back to port; and a fully loaded ship leaves once every two weeks (assuming that's true, sure would like to know) then there are only at most 3 vessels in this small fleet servicing PCNA. But that one car had to sit for almost 6 wks before being put on a vessel! Could it be that they only have 2 vessels to work with? The two unknowns, of course, are the capacity of the vessels and the current daily production output. But it makes you wonder if they could not manage this a little better by eliminating that bottle neck and adding an additional vessel to the fleet as warranted by the output demand.
At any rate, I would like to know what the rest of you experienced in terms of how many days between the completion date and the ONVESL date. Thanks in advance for your inputs.
I stopped by the dealership today to see if my car had been put on a boat yet. Nyet! There was another customer's car that was completed on 4/15 and was just put on a vessel on 5/24. My car was completed on 5/18 and didn't get placed on that outgoing ship because apparently the "holding" inventory is larger than the capacity of the vessel. That other car sat in holding inventory for 39 DAYS! I'll assume they're using the FIFO system of managing inventory (first-in-first-out) for loading completed cars onto ships. Clearly shipping is not able to keep up with current production output.
I'm thinking out loud here but I'm wondering how many vessels are in this apparently small fleet of ships? If it takes approximately 6 wks for a full roundtrip out to San Diego, via the Panama Canal, and back to port; and a fully loaded ship leaves once every two weeks (assuming that's true, sure would like to know) then there are only at most 3 vessels in this small fleet servicing PCNA. But that one car had to sit for almost 6 wks before being put on a vessel! Could it be that they only have 2 vessels to work with? The two unknowns, of course, are the capacity of the vessels and the current daily production output. But it makes you wonder if they could not manage this a little better by eliminating that bottle neck and adding an additional vessel to the fleet as warranted by the output demand.
At any rate, I would like to know what the rest of you experienced in terms of how many days between the completion date and the ONVESL date. Thanks in advance for your inputs.
Last edited by OCBen; 06-01-2005 at 01:37 AM. Reason: Corrected the nomenclature for "on vessel".
05-31-2005, 10:52 PM
#2
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I had no idea what you wrote was true. For some reason I thought all Porsches were brought into the US either through Baltimore or Brunswick. Going through the Panama Canal for west coast dealerships makes sense but it's also understandable that fewer cargo ships from Stuttgart would be going that way...My car was finished with production about 4/18 and arrived into Brunswick about 5/10. Dealership in Jacksonville received it on 5/19. Be patient...you'll be driving iand enjoying it before too long.
06-01-2005, 12:53 AM
#6
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Thread Starter
Well I really didn't mean to imply that I am anxious for the car to get here. What I'm really concerned with is how the cars that are sitting there waiting for a vessel are being stored. Are they being kept indoors and protected from the elements, or are they sitting outside exposed to the harsh marine environment as wind gusts carrying salt spray buffet the cars at night, and the sun during the day bakes the salt residue dry on the pristine no more finish.
If they're sitting outside, I'd just as soon have them loaded on a ship right away. If they're being protected from the elements inside a warehouse, then I'm okay with that and can wait a month or more before my car gets shipped out. We're in the process of selling our house and buying another one. I'd rather have the car arrive in July than in June for that reason, otherwise, yeah, I'd want it right now!
There were at least two posters here who had been to the factory on a tour. I wonder if they recall seeing cars sitting outside waiting for shipment or if the cars were being stored inside. Hmmm, guess I can search for that thread and contact them via PM.
The same boat that drops off on the east coast continues on through the Panama Canal to get to the west coast and then drops off at San Diego and heads back the same way, unless for some ungodly reason it has to go around Cape Horn.
If they're sitting outside, I'd just as soon have them loaded on a ship right away. If they're being protected from the elements inside a warehouse, then I'm okay with that and can wait a month or more before my car gets shipped out. We're in the process of selling our house and buying another one. I'd rather have the car arrive in July than in June for that reason, otherwise, yeah, I'd want it right now!
There were at least two posters here who had been to the factory on a tour. I wonder if they recall seeing cars sitting outside waiting for shipment or if the cars were being stored inside. Hmmm, guess I can search for that thread and contact them via PM.
The same boat that drops off on the east coast continues on through the Panama Canal to get to the west coast and then drops off at San Diego and heads back the same way, unless for some ungodly reason it has to go around Cape Horn.
06-01-2005, 01:02 AM
#7
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Thread Starter
I have two more data points from my sales rep:
Completion Date: 4/01 -- On Vessel: 4/19 -- 18 days
Completion Date: 4/15 -- On Vessel: 5/02 -- 17 days
Completion Date: 4/01 -- On Vessel: 4/19 -- 18 days
Completion Date: 4/15 -- On Vessel: 5/02 -- 17 days
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06-01-2005, 01:13 AM
#8
Not to make you feel bad, my 997S was finished on Sept 22, 2004 and was ONVESL on September 25th. It arrived in San Diego about October 20th and I picked it up at the dealer in SoCal on October 28th. The Porsches share space on VW Transport ships with VWs and Audis. It depends on space & vessel schedules. Timing is everything.
06-01-2005, 01:33 AM
#9
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Thread Starter
Wow! ... Yeah, you're right, timing is everything.... But luck has everything to do with that!
Only two days after birth before being loaded into the behemoth stork! Your baby must be special indeed!
Only two days after birth before being loaded into the behemoth stork! Your baby must be special indeed!
06-01-2005, 09:41 AM
#10
Rennlist Member
They store the cars with the "wart" inside under protection in a hermetically sealed area kept at a constant 72F/75% relitive humidity. All others are stored on deck and used as wind/wave breaks. 
06-01-2005, 10:37 AM
#12
Banned
Thread Starter
Hey MJones and graham_mitchell, you guys still doing the Factory Tour this month? If it's not too much trouble, could you possibly ask the tour guide where they keep the cars that are completed and awaiting shipping? If there's a huge lot of new cars outside....well, I guess that might be where they're kept. Hey, you might even see mine there collecting dust and spider webs, along with all the other forgotten non-wart cars, according to Gary R.!
997C2S and tnunnery , you guys who've been through the tour, did you happen to see where the completed cars are kept? (See, I did my little search after all.)
997C2S and tnunnery , you guys who've been through the tour, did you happen to see where the completed cars are kept? (See, I did my little search after all.)
06-01-2005, 11:36 AM
#15
Banned
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by MJones
After assembly the cars are put on a train for a trip north to the Port of Bremen and wait to be loaded upon a ship...
Originally Posted by Gary R.
Hehe.. you KNOW i'm only "funnin" with ya, I wish you the best with your new car!