Can You Say `Dicker' in Swedish? - automobile overseas-delivery programs

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Oct, 1999 by Ed Henry

Don't worry: You can cut your deal here and pick up your new car abroad.

Ah ... Scandinavia in the fall. The air is brisk, the sightseeing spectacular and the Viking museums aren't too cluttered with visitors. It's the perfect time to visit the famous Swedish glassworks or wend your way through the Norwegian fiords by ferry. And while you're at it, why not pick up a new car through a European automaker's overseas-delivery program?

Sheila Carpenter van Dijk did just that. She had considered buying a Saab for years, but her sister-in-law's wedding in Holland earlier this year finally ended those years of indecision. With two months' notice, it was easy to arrange to pick up her new Saab 9-3 at the factory in Trollhattan, Sweden, just in time for the wedding.

From their home in Tampa, Sheila and her husband, Jos, flew to Gothenburg, Sweden, spent the night there at Saab's expense, then traveled 44 miles to the factory in Trollhattan to pick up their car. "We did all the tourist things," says Sheila. They traveled through Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Holland, then dropped off the car in Amsterdam for its free ship ride home. "It was a great way to see Europe," says Sheila.

And it was a good financial deal, too. Sheila paid $27,001 for the car, $200 under its U.S. invoice price, and got two round-trip tickets to Sweden to boot. Driving her own car around Europe saved her the $450 or so per week it would have cost to rent an equivalent Saab. She also avoided the border restrictions that sometimes apply to rental cars used to travel throughout Europe.

Jack Kuhn and his wife, Dolores, also sing the praises of European delivery. They celebrated their 36th anniversary earlier this year with a trip and a new car. "The timing was just right," Jack says. "We wanted to buy a car and since it coincided with our anniversary, we thought it would be a wonderful way to have Saab pick up the tab for the airfare." Kuhn estimates that two tickets to Europe would have cost about $1,800 and that the couple would have spent at least $200 a night to stay in the hotel Saab put them up in. He also liked the no-dicker pricing Saab uses for its European delivery. The Buffalo couple paid $32,818 for the car, $506 under U.S. invoice.

On their 1,400-mile road trip in their red Saab 9-5, the Kuhns met a couple from St. Paul who had just picked up a new Mercedes-Benz and compared notes with a couple from San Francisco who were seeing Europe in their new Volvo.

Clearly, subsidized vacations are a big draw of overseas-delivery programs. And getting a roadside-assistance plan as part of the deal helps allay the fear of being stranded in a strange land. "It was one of the most relaxing, most enjoyable trips," says Jack Kuhn.

Driving a deal over there

Factory deliveries have long been a staple of European sales. Volvo started them more than 40 years ago to accommodate diplomats and military personnel who wanted to buy cars abroad and bring them home when their tour of duty ended. BMW and Porsche also have programs, along with Mercedes-Benz; Audi, Jaguar and Volkswagen do not. Last year, more than 10,000 cars were sold through the various manufacturers' programs, and a substantial number were sold to Americans.

If you're interested, don't worry about the prospect of dickering in a foreign language. All the dealing is done on this side of the Atlantic. Working with your local dealer, you agree on a price for a custom-made vehicle and put down a deposit. The balance is due when the car receives its vehicle identification number (usually six to ten weeks later). You finance the deal just as you would if you were picking up the vehicle stateside, and some dealerships are even beginning to offer leases on overseas deliveries.

Hal Rosen, overseas-delivery manager for Boston Volvo Village, handles more than 50 factory deliveries a year. "It's definitely a good deal because the cars are priced below invoice, you get a free round-trip ticket and you don't have to rent a car," he says. "To be honest, sometimes our owners buy their cars overseas simply because it's cheaper than if they were to do it here."

BMW, Saab and Volvo all sell cars for less in Europe than in the U.S. Mercedes used to offer discounts but says it's discontinuing them. And Porsche's Bob Carlson says, "Our cars have become so popular that there hasn't been a sales incentive in the past few years."

Saab and Volvo set prices for factory delivery below U.S. invoice, taking the usual $500 or so in destination charges into account if you drop off your chariot at a designated port. Your savings increase when you factor in free flights ($1,800 per couple), the $450 a week in rental savings and your stay in a top-notch hotel ($200 or so a night).

Picking up your wheels

When you arrive overseas, the car companies typically put you up for one or two days in a posh inn or hotel before you pick up the car at the factory. For example, some Mercedes buyers spend two nights at the Hotel Inter-Continental Stuttgart (about $160 a night).