2 FREE Roundtrip tickets to Europe on SAS, plus more...

[foggy]

The catch? You have to be in the market to buy a new Volvo.

Most people don't know this, but it is a well kept secret. Most european car companies offer an overseas delivery program. In this, you are willing to buy a new car, in this case, a Volvo from Sweden. It is essentially a free vacation to Europe.

Go to http://new.volvocars.com/overseas/ for details.

What they do for you:

- give you 2 round trip tickets.
- access to SAS business lounges in the US
- one night's stay at the Radisson in Goteborg, Sweden
- one SAS executive breakfast
- complimentary tour of the Goteborg factory
- access to the volvo advanced driving academy

Why is this a good deal?

- you buy a Volvo at up to 8 percent off the MSRP
- you get free transportation to Europe
- you can drive you car in and around Europe for free, saving on the high rental car costs in Europe
- drop off your car there, they clean it, deliver it to the US for free straight to your home

Anyway, just something to keep in mind... Similar deals exist for Saab, Porche, Mercedes, BMW. Just have to look for them.

 

[blues008]

Don't they drive on the other side of the road there?

How will you compensate when the car returns to the US?

 

[puppyfriend]

Ah.... What? They only drive on the wrong side of the road on the Islands. On the continent they drive on the right side.

David

 

[blues008]

Doh! My bad, I thought they drove on the other side like the English do.

 

[bonk102]

too bad i dont have the money to buy a new volvo or this might be hot

 

[Rally1]

i read this too, it was in one of those car mags.

they had a chart showing which brand was the best deal this way, i forget the answer

 

[huesmann]

Not too sure about this...are they selling you a Euro-spec car or a US-spec car? I thought there were laws against importing cars that aren't US-spec'ed.

 

[HarryK]

Originally posted by: foggy

- drop off your car there, they clean it, deliver it to the US for free straight to your home.

Are you sure they deliver it for free? What about import taxes? I'll admit that I've never imported a car to the US, but aren't there other fees/costs involved to do something like this?

And huesmann has a good question as well. My guess is that you're getting a Euro-spec car, no?


EDIT: Well, a link or 2 into the Volvo site says "The Volvo Home Shipment Program handles most of the charges. In fact, shipping is free of charge as long as it happens within 36 months of pick-up in Europe." There's a pdf file called the "home shipment brochure" that I might take a look at later, but it does say most of the charges and says that the shipping is free, but I'm not sure that means they pay all the taxes.

Elsewhere they say We'll ship it to you and take care of all the problems that make importing a car difficult, from excise taxes to import duties. but I'm not 100% what that means either.

"taking care" of the "excise taxes to import duties" could mean a number of things. Maybe it means they pay them for you... and maybe it means they consolidate it into 12 easy payments for you. I'll check out the pdf and see what it says.

Sounds like a hot deal though. If I could only combine this with the cheap flight on the Concorde, I'd be set!

 

[wuhoo]

from what i remember, bmw and mercedes also offer this program. i think vw/audi was considering it, as was saab

im not sure if this is still the case, but you can prolly find out for yourself online at their websites. i believe i read the original article at www.carpoint.com, so you might be able to find it there too.

 

[MaxDepth]

Originally posted by: blues008
Don't they drive on the other side of the road there?

How will you compensate when the car returns to the US?

Here is a simple memonic that I remember for which side of the street to drive on. Everywhere Napoleon conquered, you drive on the right side of the street. As to America, if you remember, he was the one who sold the Louisiana Purchase to Thomas Jefferson.

 

[vailr]

Up until about 1956, Swedish highways were configured for left-lane driving. The only countries which currently still drive on the left (steering wheel on the right) are: Japan, Australia, England, Scotland, Wales, Jamaica, Bahamas, and some others. Ireland, New Zealand.

 

[gtd2000]

....Don't forget India, lots of African nations, SE Asian countries.

Of course you really want a trip to Japan to buy a real car - a Nissan Skyline GTR - with the wheel on the correct side (RHD)

However, the Government (US) does not allow you that pleasure without spending something like 25K on making it road legal for use in the USA though

I'm British - people used to come over to the States to buy UK spec cars from the US factories - i.e. Ford Probes etc they were around 30% cheaper here than in the UK.

However, car prices are nowhere near as good here in the US now as they used to be compared to Europe where we were totally screwed

Used "import" prices are scandalous over here nowadays though!!!

 

[dag16b]

I almost did this when I got my BMW last year, but you have to wait a lot longer for the car.
I think it was an extra two or three months, and I was dying to drive my car around here.
Also, BMW gives you free insurance and free passes for all of the toll roads...
they spec it out US style, but put on German plates. I think you had 30 days in Germany before they had to ship it out west.
supposedly a great program...

 

[GetInMyFatBelly]

Does Audi offer this? I would love one of those new RS6 Avant's. Only 130,000 euros there... what a bargain. 450hp all wheel drive wagon. Well, I can dream...

 

[geldrop]

BMW does this also.

Although ithink you have to pay some kind of import tax to bring it back in the country i think that applies to everything volvo bmw or german made toilet

 

[DerProfi]

I did a Munich pickup on a 2002 330i last November. To correct a few misconceptions:

1. You're getting a 100% US-spec car with full US Warranty
2. You do not pay anything extra to ship it back.
3. You do not pay additional import duties, taxes, etc.
4. It takes approximately 1 month for the car to be transported from Germany to your local dealer (assuming east coast).

As far as savings, I got my car for $1425 over Euro Delivery invoice price, which works out to almost $3000 better than the best deal I could negotiate locally on a US Delivery car and it's even less than dealer cost. Here's my brain dump from the trip.

Best of all, I'm going back next week to pick up a 530i with a relative. It's an addictive experience!

 

[FlasHBurN]

Anyone know if Nissan has a simliar offer? I didnt see anything on their site, love to go and pickup a 350z though!

 

[gtd2000]

The main consideration that you need to investigate is the warranty issue.

Imported cars are often handled by an "Agent" as opposed to the "Manufacturer" of the vehicle (e.g. in the UK, Suzuki's used to be solely imported "officially" by a company called "Heron" - they supply the warranty etc) - make sure that your car is backed by the full US dealership warranty - even although you sourced the "US spec" vehicle outside of the USA.

 

[DerProfi]

gtd2000, trust the person who's actually done this I'm a cheapskate and I would never knowingly screw myself out of the generous BMW warranty that even includes all expendables like brake pads and wipers <g> You are not buying an "imported" car in the sense that you're thinking. Pretend that your neighbor is buying a new Bimmer in the US to pick up at your local dealer. Here's what happens:

1. they order and pay for the the car
2. car is produced at the factory in Germany
3. car is transported to port (Bremerhaven, I think) and sent via ship to the BMW Vehicle Processing Center in New Jersey
4. car arrives at VPC for prep and is loaded into a trailer for delivery to your local dealer
5. car is picked up at dealer by smiling neighbor

When you purchase the exact same car via European Delivery, you're just inserting an extra step in that process--call it "2B". In step 2B, you intercept your car after production, drive it around for up to a month, and then drop it back off for transportation to port. Nothing else changes. Your neighbor doesn't pay import duties, and neither do you--they are already built into the base price of the car. The dealer treats your two cars exactly the same for warranty and service purposes.

There is no savings to the manufacturer by doing this. In fact, it costs them a little more to sell you a car this way since they're paying for your European insurance, registration, plates, etc. They are making the investment in order to leave you with a memorable experience in the hopes that they'll sell you on their brand and turn you into a repeat customer. All I can say is, "Mission accomplished, BMW!"

Some other European Delivery customers I've spoken with have reasoned that by inserting step 2B in there, the car technically becomes a "used" car rather than a "new" one as far as US import tariffs go. After all, the car has already been "used" by you before it leaves Germany and arrives in New Jersey. So theoretically, the manufacturer pays out less to Uncle Sam for bringing the car into the US, which helps them offset the added costs of letting you drive like a madman on the Autobahn. No one has ever confirmed this theory, however...

 

[gtd2000]

From my year of living here and now having a better understanding of the "American Way"- I'm sure Uncle Sam will not want to let go of his Dollars

I see exactly what you mean - this is basically a "dealer option" to send you back to the factory and pick up your new car. It's not like short circuiting the dealer out of the deal.......and his subsequent cut in the profits!

Now the real deal will be going to the factory in Europe independantly

Of course, economies of scale/warranty/paperwork may not make this such an attractive deal.

 

[MTVsucks]

i always thought porche did something like this. but could be wrong.

 

[mesach]

Originally posted by: gtd 2000
Of course you really want a trip to Japan to buy a real car - a Nissan Skyline GTR - with the wheel on the correct side (RHD)

However, the Government (US) does not allow you that pleasure without spending something like 25K on making it road legal for use in the USA though

What you fail to mention is that the skyline can be had for around 10k if you get a used one... 15k if you want the gtr r34 v-spec...

and then you have shipping costs.

I bought one in japan, had it shipped, and got it converted. And I did it for ALOT less than the "Official" importer (MotoRex) here in the states sells them for... ALMOST 90K!!! They curently only have one in stock, BRAND new 120 miles, i dont know about you... but i dont have $95,000 layin around. I live about 5 miles from them so I get to see the new stock when it comes in...

BTW 275hp my ASS, this thing HAULS! WORTH EVERY PENNY!

 

[Optical]

Can someone tell me what is the catch here? So, aren't they loosing more money doing this and taking the business away from their local dealers? Sounds too good. I also heard Porsche does this.

 

[CoOliOgUy17]

Sounds like a plan i love my volvos.. got 3 of em, volvo for life baby

 

[DerProfi]

Optical, the dealer isn't being cut out of the deal because you are still shopping at, purchasing from, and taking delivery at your local dealer. They still make their same profit, but you get a break on the price because the manufacturer is charging the dealer less for the car. If you re-read what I wrote above, you'll see that some believe the manufacturers pay less to import a "used" car than a new one. They are also building brand loyalty, which means increased future sales.