I'm going to Sweden next june to pick up a new S40. The wife thought this was a good idea since her family lives there. Has anybody done this and how smooth was this evolution? I've got tons of experience with the 240 and 940 volvo but never with a FWD. Is this a good car? BTW, I bought the wife a new SAAB 9-3 combi but she does like volvos.

June days are long in Sweden. Hope you are going for Midsommar.

"Farthinder" means speedbump and the sign looks like a brassiere.

Have a great trip.

mormit
--
02 S40 now my daily! :), 98 V70 T5 new wife mobile-very nice!, 85 245DL 270,000mi V15cam It takes a licking and keeps on ticking

It's a fine car - but you are going to pay a premium for the car. With rebates and dealer discounts what they are stateside, especially in June, you could get the car in the U.S. for thousands less and avoid the long delay of shipping it home. European delivery has become just a flat out bad deal economically - but of course there could be non-economic reasons for doing it.

Well Volvo pays for the airfare and one night in a nice hotel. The S40 if bought from stock comes w/the premium package free. That's almost a $2K option.
Also the car will be about 8% off the MSRP which should put it below invoice in the US. The trip is about free at that price. BTW I'm going in late june so I'll have plenty of sunlight to enjoy.

passport:

Everything you said is correct... free flight, free one night stay in a nice Hotel (It's okay), but there is one additional expense you need to factor in. We went to pick up our XC-70 in May of this year and decided to stay for a week. We decided to stay in the Radisson SAS Hotel for the entire time and were very frugal when it came to food, drink, and misc. crap. Don't forget, if your not willing to park your new car on the street... yeah right, like you could find a spot... plan on spending another $20 a night for Hotel garage parking. When we were back home and had the credit card bills all sorted out, not including what Volvo paid for, we spent $2500.00 to be over there for a week.

I now question the value of the 8% discount as it is at best a break even. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time but the USD is darn near worthless over there!

One last comment, hope you ordered the navigation option, it should make your life a lot easier while you are over there! Their freeway signs have no hint of North, South, East, or West... just the City or Country you are heading towards! Wish I had spent that $2500 on a Nav system and picked the car up at the dealer! Cool trip, but expensive....

jorrell
--
92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently in pieces

Yeah. We paid about $2500US to stay in a hotel in that general area for a week. Also paid our own airfair, rented a car, paid for parking, and had to deal with our own very used Volvo when we got back to Logan Airport.

What's your point? We travel to Europe and some other continents every chance we get, and have yet to find a place that will give us lodging, parking and a car for free. Should we try Antarctica?

Once again, what's your point?

My life partner doesn't know it yet, but we will take delivery of our C30 in Sweden, put on a couple of thousand miles in Europe and then have it shipped home.

Well, she knows it, but she thinks it will be another stuffy old V70...

Everyone needs a dream, eh?
--
01 V70 2.4 M5 and a Mini

Sorry, didn't mean to anger. All I was trying to point out is that it's friggin expensive over there when you are cashing in USD! Just make sure up front that you realize that Volvo isn't providing a one week free vacation, just a significant discount (airline tickets and one nights stay). In Sweden/Europe, for that matter, you will not find a $39 a night Red Roof Inn, and a BK Whopper runs around $10.

We had a great time, but we were not mentally prepared for the expense. This is despite having made many week long trips to San Diego on business, where we usually spend less than $500 total on car rental, lodging, and food. Believe it or not, frugality is still possible in SD!

jorrell
--
92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently in pieces

I'm certain I could lose weight if Whoppers were $10.

What does this mean - in stock on European delivery? Sounds like a contradiction in terms.

It means if the factory has that model w/those options in stock. The local dealer is supposed to be able to get an inventory of what the manufacturer has onhand. If you agree to purchase what they have, color, options etc. you get the incentives for nothing. Sounds like a good deal to me but you need to be 'semper gumby'.

That's interesting - would seem to indicate that European delivery could be sort of an act of spontaneity. I always thought of it as a rigid, months-in-advance special order program.

You raise an interesting point. How can one order a car from stock which apparently hasn't even been built (owing to the 90 day required lead time from purchase to delivery). I'll certainly have to clarify that. I'm going to bring my laptop to chronicle this event so perhaps it would be useful to this forum if I report back wether this risky transaction is worthwhile or simply a swedish scam.


r/


passport

whatever the double talk it sounds like they are trying to make European delivery more competitive with the after rebate prices in the U.S. - which is a good thing. I'd rather have the rebate on a stripped down model than a free package - but that's a personal choice.