We are planning to order a Volvo here in the States which we will pick up in Europe in August. The car will be delivered from Sweden to Geneva since our final destination is France. We will leave the car in Paris at the end of the trip to be shipped back to the States. It seems to be an excellent plan (free airfare, insurance on the car for two weeks while we drive our own car around Europe and no rental car expense), but have any of you ever bought a car through an overseas program? If so, any advice or words of wisdom? BTW - we are familiar with driving in Europe. Thanks!

I met someone recently who did this and shipped from Ireland. My boyfriend was amazed anyone would go through that trouble for a car...and he loves cars.

The man I met had a very easy time with it and enjoyed his trip. All he talked aout was his cars though and was a bit of a jerk if I do say so myself . I would definately do it if A. you really want a volvo, b. you like to drive long distances, and c. have a bit of adventure.

My neighbor did it last year and was very happy with the entire experience. In addition to the free airline tickets, they also got an attractive discount off the MSRP, a free night at the hotel in Sweden, etc... They drove it there for a few weeks, then picked it up back home in Portland 6-8 weeks later. I hope the program is still around in a few years when I'm ready to get a new car -- I would definitely take advantage of it.

Yes, familiar. Not Volvo but Saab...

It's an amazing experience and I honestly don't know why more people don't do it - the savings on the car, car rental, free air if offered... what's not to like? Plus, not only do you not have to rent a car, but most likely the Volvo will be much more comfortable and bigger than anything you could possibly afford as a rental.

Just a note, though... people recognize export plates so plan your security arrangements accordingly. Especially if you're getting a wagon or other car with lots of interior visibility, be careful about leaving anything in it, especially overnight. Our Saab was vandalized overnight in a Paris garage because someone thought they could nick the radio, as if. The insurance runaround in Paris was memorable.

Meant to add, you might want to have a gander at this site: http://forums.swedespeed.com/zeroforum?id=55

We were pricing European Delivery on a BMW last year (didn't) and found out there's a whole world of ED experts out there in cyberville who know how to squeeze the best possible deal out of the various ED programs (Volvo, Saab, BMW, Mercedes & Porsche). Worth a look.

Yikes, sorry to be a pest, but just saw this: http://www.flyvolvo.com/msg10.htm

Mrs. ezlivin and I picked up our ED-bought BMW in Munich less than 2 years ago. We definitely enjoyed driving around Germany, Switzerland and Southern France in our new manual transmission 5-series.

Our purchase took care of almost all our trip costs due to the generous discount (vs. buying in the States), as well as the foregone costs of car rental/train travel.

Besides, what better way to break-in your own car than on the roads where the car was built for. Even though full insurance coverage wre included, we just drove and parked a little more carefully than we would with a rental. OK, so we actually drove a lot faster, especially on the twisties, but so what.

As a car nut, it was not a hard sell for me to convince my wife about my need for a new BMW - much easier than getting her off the wheel during our trip. We now look forward to our next Bimmer via European Delivery.

Enjoy.

My father-in-law used the international program to pick up a 2004 Volvo V70 XC wagon at the end of last year. He really enjoyed the experience, including the factory tour and driving around Germany, France and Switzerland. Everyone at Volvo was very helpful and the car was great. Because he'd ordered the GPS system, they'd loaded it with a Europe version to use during his trip.
The only bad part about it was that the container ship carrying his car back to the U.S. collided with another ship off the coast of Belgium and sank...and that was the end of his new Volvo! However, Volvo handled the problem extremely well...as they did not have another car with the same specs available anywhere in the U.S., they offered him a choice of a rental car while he waited for the new Volvo (which arrived in late March 2004) or a pretty good amount of $$$ to be applied to more options or used for future repairs/service at any Volvo dealer, beyond the service covered by the warranty of course. He had a second car and didn't want any more options (he bought the car fully loaded), so took the service credit package.

Gardyloo:

Are you specifically referring to this program - - http://www.flyvolvo.com/formula1.htm - - which is a link there? Sounds like an enticing deal to the person who would like such a thing.

Best wishes,

Rex

No, I was referring to the section where they were selling off V70XCs with the premium pkg for nada. All the special deals sound pretty cool, but the Formula One one sounds amazing, esp. since it includes business class air. Holey Moley.

I assume that you are bent on getting a Volvo. That Volvo promo on European delivery on V70XC is certainly a good deal.

We almost did the Volvo deal this summer too. It's great )the upgrade to the premium package is a value!)if you can wait for your car and wanted to go to Europe too. Enjoy - I'd love to hear how it all went.
Question - I thought there was a premium to pay if you pick your car up in a city other than Gothenburg? No?

Hey - Thanks for all the responses. Will definitely report on the trip. We have quite an itinerary planned. You're correct, there is a premium to be paid if you don't pick up and drop off in Sweden. But since our final destination is France, we decided to forgo the pleasure of a long road trip from Sweden to France and have the car delivered to Geneva. Sorry about your father-in-law losing the car to the ocean floor. What a disappointment!