cloudycarpet20 karma
From what I can recall, they did pay for my parents, but they did not pay for me and my sister- They did pay for the hotel. It was all through SAS, which is positively genius.
I want to say the cost of the car was about.. 32k after it's all said and done.
gitesy1 karma
How is it 2-5K cheaper to got to Europe, stay in hotels, etc etc and then buy the car and have it sent to America? Not saying I don't believe you but there's no obvious way this is a money saver.
cloudycarpet8 karma
The car was cheaper, but the amenities did add to some of the cost.
I'm not entirely sure on how the specifics work out, as I wasn't really paying attention to that aspect.
cloudycarpet15 karma
My dad, who purchased the car, absolutely loves it. It's one of the best car he's ever owned. I've driven it, and it runs great. No major issues besides a squeaky bearing in one of the drivetrains. He's considering getting a new car, and I'll either end up with my mom's BMW or the Volvo!
CarbonDudeoxide7 karma
My mom was thinking about getting a Volvo. I just looked up the overseas delivery program. Not bad at all! I'll definitely let her know about it.
cloudycarpet8 karma
Do it.
It's a lot of fun!
One of my favorites was seeing a massive XC90 lined up next to a bunch of smaller European cars that are designed for economy. (Gas is like 9 dollars there) It was like comparing an M1 Abrams tank to a Toyota Prius!
doctorXdonna4 karma
So it's all expenses paid??? the flight, the hotel, everything?
EDIT: they should pay for the flight!
cloudycarpet8 karma
No, you paid for the whole "experience". But, the car was cheaper than what you'd buy it in the states. So the whole thing was more expensive than buying a car in the states, but you went to sweden, picked it up hot off the line, and drove it around.
Definitely worth it.
electric_sandwich0 karma
So the whole thing was more expensive than buying a car in the states
wtf?
cloudycarpet5 karma
Well no, what I'm saying is, is that the car was cheaper than buying it in the states.
The whole trip + car was more expensive than buying a car here.
electric_sandwich-4 karma
Well what's the point then? I can buy a volvo here then go on vacation to Jamaica...
electric_sandwich-1 karma
If it ended up being the SAME price to fly there and ship the car I could understand, but this just sounds like you're paying for a trip to Sweden and buying a car at the same time.
cloudycarpet9 karma
Terribly sorry.
Looking back now, and doing some google-fu, I can see that the car did in fact be the same price to go there and ship it, versus buying a car in the US.
cloudycarpet0 karma
Proof..
Well, I might have the red and white license plate around here somewhere...
My dad removed the "S" "SEE EUROPE BY VOLVO" logo from the car a long time ago.
nanjikun2 karma
What happens with US taxes? I heard that since you buy the car overseas, it counts as a used vehicle when imported back to the United States. Is that correct?
cloudycarpet2 karma
Might be able to.. I'm in LA right now, on vacation.. Which is no where near the car.. But I'll see if I can dig one up..
MidKnight0071 karma
Is their anything special that came with the European package compared to the American counterpart? Like any extra features?
cloudycarpet2 karma
It was fairly kitted out- Honestly there aren't too many features. One notable instance is that it did have MPH as the main speedometer metering, rather than KPH. It was US spec. I'm sure there were safety features that the EU requires that the US spec doesn't have. It had special Swedish plates that were red with white lettering, and those indicated that is was out of EU spec, and it was designed for the United States, and it was just there for a few days. (In case someone was pulled over by Swedish police.)
cloudycarpet2 karma
Probably the lobby.
It was so Gran Turismo-European-Classy like, and it was so calming. Seriously, it looked like it was straight out of a Gran Turismo design book.
It had an espresso bar.
064052 karma
Did you put a secret mark on the car when you were in Sweden to make sure it was the same car when you got it back to the states?
cloudycarpet4 karma
I left a empty juice container in the center console by accident..
That was fairly interesting opening that up.
jakakun1 karma
So what were the total expenses? How much did the car cost? How much did you pay for "the experience"?
I think that's what most of us wants to know!
cloudycarpet2 karma
Whole thing ended up around 32-35k. My parents weren't to specific on it, but that was about the price of the car + amenities and travel.
I could probably ask them about it, if you want specifics.
jakakun1 karma
Thanks! How much was the car, if bought in US, at the time? Did you actually save any money through the entire program (after subtracting out you and your brother's expenses)?
I was just wondering if it's all in all cheaper to buy a car through this program.
cloudycarpet1 karma
Hm.. I would imagine it was about 38-40k something, with the packages we got in the car.
According to my dad, it did end up being significantly cheaper.
cloudycarpet3 karma
Probably just because of the fact that not too many people know about it- We were fortunate to know a Volvo salesman who told us about it. It's quite something, and it's pretty neat. You can google it, but it's not a widely circulated thing. It might be advertised more now, but it was pretty secretive when we were doing it.
cloudycarpet1 karma
PROOF:
http://i.imgur.com/kLoENur.jpg
I know it's just the car, but it adds some legitimacy. I've just gotten home, and I'll look for the license plate.
cloudycarpet5 karma
More or less, yeah.
But, my mom is a 1st generation Norwegian immigrant, so we knew Scandinavia quite well, we have friends in Sweden and relatives in Norway.
kamajo899117 karma
So, they paid for all of this? The flying you out there, the hotel, and the flight home? Or did you have to pay for all that yourself?
Also, what did you pay for the car? (Feel free to ignore this if it's not something you want to answer, money is a touchy subject sometimes).
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