Buy, drive and save on cars in Europe

Get your new Volvo on your next overseas trip.

By Joe Brancatelli

Europe‘s “off-season” for travel begins in November and that conveniently dovetails with the availability of the 2011 models of some of the continent’s finest cars. If you’re thinking of heading overseas for a vacation to Europe, you might consider buying a vehicle while you’re there.

The advantages: You get to tool around Europe with the car you’re going to own, you keep the cool European license plates, the manufacturer ships the car back to the states for you and you may knock as much as 10 percent off U.S. sticker prices. These days, the best way to do overseas delivery is via a local dealer. In fact, with some manufacturers, you must do it through a dealer.

Not all Europeans offer a program. But those that do now post extensive details on the Web.

• The Volvo program is still probably the best known, no matter that Volvo is no longer in Swedish hands. Ford recently sold the brand to a Chinese company. (Its purported Swedish competitor, Saab, is out of the overseas delivery market now that the brand is owned by a small Dutch firm after a disastrous tenure in the GM family.)
• Three Germany-based carmakers — BMW, the fast-growing Audi and even stodgy Mercedes — have programs. So does Porsche, although it doesn’t offer discounts and its new parent company, Volkswagen, doesn’tplay the overseas-delivery game.

Related resources

• Europe vacations
• Germany vacations
• Sweden hotels
• Hotels
• Flights
• Business travel

Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2010 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use.

Tagged: Europe