European Diesel Delivery Programs

By Jonathan Spira on 12 March 2010

THE TRIP

My European Diesel Delivery trip began on December 20, with a flight to Munich. Delivery was on December 23 (the last BMW European Delivery of the year), and the itinerary included Lindau, Berchtesgaden, Roßfeld, Graz, and a return to Munich after 1348 kilometers.

See complete details of the trip in the slideshow at the bottom of this article.

ARRANGING YOUR EUROPEAN DELIVERY

Today, European Delivery sales are arranged through authorized factory dealerships in the United States. Many designate one salesperson as a specialist in this area. Buyers should expect more paperwork (after all, buying a car usually doesn’t involve one’s passport) and need to be aware that the wait time for redelivery can be six to eight weeks.

The vehicle will typically come with auto insurance for a two week trip. The insurance can be extended at extra cost as long as this is arranged at the time the order is placed. Each car is built to the customer’s specifications and orders should be placed at least three months prior to the desired delivery date.

Buyers need to be aware of local holidays when making travel plans not only for the delivery and drop-off dates but because school vacations and other holidays can cause extra holiday traffic on the roads.

EUROPEAN DIESEL DELIVERY PROGRAMS

	AUDI	BMW
Models Available	A3 TDI, Q7 TDI	335d
Discount	3% (A3); 5% (Q7)	7%
Program Includes	Factory tour; museum admittance; 14 days of insurance; meals in Market Restaurant on delivery day	Factory tour; museum admittance; 14 days of insurance; light meals and snacks in Premium Lounge on delivery day
Perks	Airport pickup; one night’s lodging	Lufthansa two-for-one program; €15 restaurant voucher; €10 gift store voucher
Pick-up Location	Ingolstadt, Germany	Munich, Germany
Drop-off Locations	14 major cities including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London Munich, Nice, Zürich	12 major cities including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Nice, Vienna, Zürich

EUROPEAN DIESEL DELIVERY RESOURCES

Manufacturers’ Web Sites

Audi Web site

BMW Web Site

Online Discussion Forums

European Delivery forum at Bimmerfest.

Over 10% of BMW’s European Delivery customers utilize this online forum, asking questions and making travel plans.

European Delivery forum at AudiWorld

Airport Transfer and Tours

Rolf Raffelsieper – BMW Pick-up Service

Herr Raffelsieper started working for BMW in 1967. For a very reasonable fee, he will pick you up at Flughafen München Franz Josef Strauß and take you directly to the BMW Welt ,the Audi Forum, or directly to your hotel. He is also available to meet you at your drop-off in Munich and take you to the airport or back to your hotel and he also conducts local tours. E-mail him at rolf.raffelsieper@web.de.

Winter Tire Rental

Many European countries require winter tires in wintertime. E.D. Winter Tires rents and installs winter tires – and stores your original tires and wheels – so you can drive safely in wintry conditions.

EUROPEAN DIESEL DELIVERY TRIP ADVICE

Some suggestions to make the European Diesel Delivery experience more fun and less stressful:

Order Satellite Navigation and, if European maps don’t come preinstalled, get the DVD for Europe. Getting lost on the road can spoil your fun.
Learn a few phrases in the language(s) of any countries you will be visiting. “Danke” (thank you), “bitte” (please and you’re welcome), and “Guten Morgen” (good morning) will go a long way.
Plan for local weather. Don’t order a car with summer (performance) tires for a mid-December delivery. E.D. Winter Tires rents snow tires to Americans picking up cars in Munich and Ingolstadt.
Don’t overplan. Many first-time visitors to Europe try to see everything. Pick a few destinations and get to know them well.
Verify the location and hours for your intended drop-off location when you are at the Delivery Center.

EUROPEAN DIESEL DELIVERY – THE TRIP

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4 Comments »

Fjorder says:

17 March 2010 at 17:00

I like the idea of this, but likely would be more interested if some of the diesels that are not available in the US (A4,A6) or the 5-Series diesels were part of the selection. I am guessing that there are emissions or some other issue that is keeping them out of U.S., thus keeping them out of the diesel delivery program…
Alan Schoen says:

14 August 2010 at 16:58

I’d love to have a Passat CC diesel. Given that the Jetta and Golf have diesels, why shouldn’t Americans have larger economical diesel cars?
Monika says:

24 October 2010 at 19:58

Alan Schoen is correct, why not a Passat 2.0 Liter Turbo Diesel?
We have been driving 2.0 and 1.6 Liter TDI Peugeots in Europe for the last seven (7), achieving 49 to 59 MPG while driving at speeds of 175 Km/h for extended periods and great distances (this year 8000 plus Km total) on the German Autobahns.
We will drive our 2001 Passat until we are able purchase a midsize (Passat, C model, 320 TDI or similar) with a 2.0 Liter TDI engine, or until it falls apart.
Taylor says:

14 March 2011 at 22:52

I second Fjorder, I’d buy a diesel A4 if I could. What exactly is the deal with those awesome Euro mpg cars? Last time I was over there I saw an ad for a huge V8 diesel Jaguar that got 50mpg. Are the emissions standards really that much lower in Europe than the US? Do they just fudge their numbers haha? Also, how come there are so few diesel awd/4wd available?