Tracking Production With A VIN#???
 

So my dealer called me yesterday and said he has the VIN# for my car, and that the scheduled delivery date is November 18th. No pricing yet on 2012's.

I'm thinking this means my car is "for sure" in the build world, and it might even be built. Figuring it's going to take at least 2 weeks on the boat, a week in customs, and a week or 2 to get via truck and Nissan hubs to my dealer, that makes it about right.

Friends have told me about other companies that allow you to actually track you cars progress if you have the VIN#. Does Nissan have such a thing? Is there a website or a phone # I can call?

Thanks for any input you may might have.

Cheers ---- Bonzo

I'M EXCITED!!!!!

I dunno about tracking - Nissan ain't Mini where they tell you the name of the guy that installed each bolt on your car and you get to pick the color of zip ties they use.

Interesting on what you're hearing for a delivery date. I've had mine on order for about 6 weeks and my dealer is telling me that production starts end of Nov. and I'm looking at a delivery of end of January / first of February (which was originally Feb / March.)

Which also goes to show you that dealers don't know what they're talking about!

When did you place your order? I have a confirmation number but no VIN number yet. It does say on there that production date is 10/11 and eta is 12/11 for me. Although my dealer said, he expected the eta to be moved up. And I haven't heard of Nissan offering a way to track the progress of the car.

It will be interesting to see which of us gets their first! I really don't want mine until next year (about March would be nice) becasue I have a feeling it will be in the garage due to snow a lot of the time.

My actual order was placed at the end of August, direct though the little known Nissan "backdoor network" at Nissan North America Distribution. I got written order confirmation on August 30th. NNAD told us then that 2012 model production was to start in September, and that my estimated delivery would be sometime in November or early December.

The question with Nissan is, when is the VIN# assigned? When I went through this with Pontiac years ago, an actual VIN# meant that the car was "in the production chain." But I know of other companies that assign the VIN# only after the car is actually built, as in a car for actual sale.

But this sort of jives with what you have. I have a VIN# now, which I'm thinking maybe means my car is built. This also explains why my delivery is scheduled ahead of yours by a few weeks. If my assumptions are correct, my car is 2 - 3 weeks ahead of yours in the schedule. But as I know from previous experiences, this means nothing for ACTUAL delivery.

My dealer, similar to yours, also told me that with a VIN# in hand, he expected the car sooner than the date given. We'll see. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for each other.

:tup:

Nissan North America Distribution told us in August that 2012 production started in September.

That much is true!!!! At least usually.

If you have an in at NNA Distribution they will be able to track the VIN as it leaves the factory but I don't believe we were able to track it in the factory when I worked for NNA.

There isn't a way that I know of for a normal consumer to check the status of their car otherwise without a dealer contact, Nissan is not that advanced yet..

Thanks for the info. I'll try to get my dealer to do a weekly check on it.

Car Update
 

So I swung by my dealer on Saturday and got the official paperwork. Car was built on September 25th, and is scheduled for delivery the week of 11/18. The other paperwork, a dot matrix report print out, has the code on where the car is, and INT means sea transit, so it's on the boat. My dealer says that in the last 3 months every car they have gotten has actually arrived 1 - 2 weeks earlier than the scheduled date.

AWESOME, it's on it's way.

:happydance:

For thread relevance, the VIN# is in the low 500's. So as of September 25, they have built about 500 2012 Z's.

Now I'm wondering how many they actually build a day. I know with high production vehicles like pickup trucks, GM builds more than 1 truck every minute (something like 70-80 trucks an hour). I'm assuming the Z has a much lower rate, but I wonder what it is? Is it super low like 20 per day or is it like 100 per day?

That's great news, congratulations! Post pics when you get it and thanks for the update

Yeah, thanks. If the same holds true, your dealer should be getting your VIN# this week or early next. With mine being built on September 25th and a scheduled delivery of November 18, it's running about 2 months for delivery. This makes your early December date right on. Just in time for some snow donuts!!!!! :icon17:

Favor - when you get your VIN# and build date info, could you post them here. I'm not looking for your exact VIN#, just a "thereabouts." I'm trying to figure out how fast they build these things. With my build date of 9/25 and a VIN# in the low 500's, and your build date of 10/11 (16 days later), we should be able to due some quick math by the VIN# change.

Thanks ---- Bonzo

^^^In your sig, it says "Delivery 8/24/2012" XD, hope its not that far in the future!

2012 must have been on your mind :P

Yes, thanks, I will fix that!!! :o

damn, you've been here since October 2009 and just ordered a 2012, good for you man! you're a patient man.

I've been looking at this car since the first time I saw it in the Spring of 2009. I showed it to a friend of mine and the bastard (lovingly speaking) had the means so he bought one in the Fall of 2009. That's when I joined the forum, to help him out with a few things. I've been mostly a lurker ever since gathering information etc. This year I finally got the means (cash) thing in order to afford it (got the last of 3 other cars paid off), so I went looking in May and finally test drove one. Then I found out about the tsunami issues and struggled trying to order the exact one I wanted all summer. Finally in August I got the call, and I've been planning my mods ever since.

Yes, for a new car it's been quite a wait. But I think it will be worth it.

Now if I could only get my childhood dream car, a 1985 Lamborghini Countach S Quattrovalvolle (white, red leather seats, silver wheels and the wing on back), then all would be perfect in my car world. :tup:

Cheers --- Bonzo

2012s have already hit the ground in some places, so hopefully you can be one of us soon :)

Yes, I'm looking forward to it. :yum:

My dealer says that all the recent waves of post tsunami cars they have gotten have arrived 1-2 weeks ahead of the scheduled date. He thinks Nissan is pushing their advertising campaign thing with "having more cars than Honda & Toyota available" by trying to speed up the delivery process. I guess we'll see, and I'll be sure to report it here for others who have cars coming also.

For now I'm still practicing.....:eekdance:

vroom vroom lol

NNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

I just passed you for the lead!!!! :icon17:

no you didnt ! trac off lol

Yes I did, in my mind. ;)

Until you actually get to sleep with Angelina Jolie, you've got to use your mind. The only difference here is that I've got a chance with my car, even if it's just going up and down the highway. :eek:

I wonder why we ordered at approximately the same time, yet it looks like you'll get yours 3 months ahead of me? Slip them some extra cash? :)

I'm guessing it has something to do with dealer allocation (as in mine didn't have any right away!).

Yes, the allocation thing is a whole big story unto itself. Luckily my dealer used the Nissan Distribution "back door method" and got to order one for me. Otherwise I'd still be waiting because no dealer yet has gotten back with me saying they got a standard actual Nissan allocation. I know my dealer has not for sure.

Are you SURE your dealer has ACTUALLY ordered it yet? Some dealers go through all this B.S. with lies just have you hooked until they get an actual allocation.

From what I can tell, not all dealers even know about ordering it direct, so you might want to ask that too.

Update & More Tracking Info
 

I have some more information on all this, and an update about my car.

First the car, I'm through customs and am not in what they call land transit!!!! Wheeehoo!!! So my car is probably either on a train or on a truck and on it's way East. Shaky shaky boom boom!!!!! :happydance:

Now, here's some info so you can persuade your dealer to help you along the journey. I'm not sure how often dealers either can get or can print it, but I'd guess at least once a week. It's a dot matrix print out that allows them to track the specific cars on their way to the dealership. My guess it's something they can print whenever they want just to see updates.

Contained on that sheet is some coded information regarding all the cars they are getting. It's got the model #, the VIN#, the color, the trim, the dealer order#, the estimated delivery date, and codes for the ship status. Here is a list of the codes that will help you track your car along the way.

INP = In Process
PBY = In Pre Bay
INT = Sea Transit
POE = Port of Entry
LIT = Land Transit
SHP = Shipped / Billed

Translated AS To What I Think It Means
INP = In Process = Order taken / car being built
PBY = In Pre Bay = Built and ready to be shipped
INT = Sea Transit = On the boat in the Pacific
POE = Port of Entry = In California
LIT = Land Transit = On a train or truck on it's way
SHP = Shipped / Billed = Delivered to dealer / final destination

As of 10/11 my car was INT, or on the boat. As of today, my dealer just e-mailed me and my car is LIT, or on a train or truck. This is awesome, because it means I'm through customs and all that garbage. He said he expected the car before the 11/18 scheduled date, so we'll see if he's right.

But oh yeah, it looks like I've just got a few more weeks to go!!!! :excited:

Got to keep practicing!!! :eekdance:

2012 vin's
 

I don't know if I will help your research but here is a list of what supposed to be a Z 370 2012 vin numbers :

JN1AZ4EH1CM560075
JN1AZ4EH2CM560151
JN1AZ4EH3CM560076
JN1AZ4EH4CM560149
JN1AZ4EH5CM560001
JN1AZ4EH5CM560175
JN1AZ4EH5CM560273
JN1AZ4EH6CM560041
JN1AZ4EH6CM560282
JN1AZ4EH6CM560363
JN1AZ4EH6CM564784
JN1AZ4EH7CM560193
JN1AZ4EHXCM560026
JN1AZ4EHXCM560270
JN1AZ4EHXCM560530

Myself, I'm waiting also for white-sport-pack-mt that is scheduled to arrive at the end of December, hopefully it will be 2012 production .