Volvo's Overseas Delivery Program
The factory delivery center in Gothenburg (Goteborg), Sweden is usually the ending point of a Volvo vacation. The company offers about an 8 percent savings over U.S. MSRP on most models.
Volvo offers free round trip airfare for two, one night in a "first class" Gothenburg hotel and free shipping to your U.S. dealer. Keep in mind this is a popular program, and its availability often is limited. Note that you may only use the airfares when your car is ready for delivery.
Volvo also will give you free tourist registration and return shipment of your car, and they pay duty, port fees and European car insurance for 15 days.
Eligible models vary by model year.
The 2011 Volvos available for European delivery are C30, S40, S80, V50, XC60, XC70, XC90, XC90 R-Design and C70. The S60 will be added in 2012.
These are not all luxury automobiles, and the costs for these models can be $2,000 less than you'd pay stateside. At a program-discounted price of $24,110 USD, the C30 Coupé currently is the least expensive of those eligible for European delivery.
Although there are 15 pick-up points for Volvo, the only one that does not involve a fee is Gothenburg, Sweden (the factory site). The others incur fees between $910-$1,400 USD. There are similar fees for drop-off when your trip is completed: no fee for Gothenburg and €29 for Bremerhaven, Germany; the other 18 possible drop-off locations charge fees that vary greatly, and there are individual drop-off fees for certain models as well, so read the prices carefully.
Look at your itinerary. Is it cheaper to pay a drop-off fee in Copenhagen when there is no charge in Gothenburg, 143 miles away?
This is not a new program, but it is a popular one. Volvo says more than 300,000 people have bought cars this way. Many of them are military personnel or people with extended business stays planned for Europe. Others are simply people with the budget travel bug.
