Can someone exlain to me how this process works? I go to London fairly frequently for the government and thought about trying out this buying process. I understand that I need to work with a U.S.-based dealer but is there a cost savings? In other words, can I beat a U.S. deal? Do I have to go through a dealer? Going through this process would spare the dealer floor-plan interest costs...

And, plese, if you are a dealer, please spare me the "loyalty" or "We all have overhead" crap... the profit center of a dealer is in parts, service, and used car sales... not new car sales. I love Volvo cars but I don't have to love the dealer...

Yes, I was crass but I believe when I'm spending my own money, politeness can go out the window... thanks again everyone.

"And, plese, if you are a dealer, please spare me the "loyalty" or "We all have overhead" crap... the profit center of a dealer is in parts, service, and used car sales... not new car sales. I love Volvo cars but I don't have to love the dealer..."


You don't have to be so crass about it. Just keep in mind what you wrote in case you ever have your own business. Lastly, keep in mind that you will be treated the way you treat others, in this case whoever will decide to sell you the car.

Yannis
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2001 V70 T-5M SR, Classic Red/Graphite Lthr., ipd ME7 ECU Upgrade, iPd Sport Exhaust, K&N Air Filter, Cold Weather, Dolby Surr. Sound, Rear Spoiler, 17' 'Tethys' alloys

Volvo's website has a pretty good description of the overseas delivery program although I don't know if the XC90 info is on it yet. The way it worked when I was shopping for a V70 a couple of years back was that you pay less than invoice for the base car but full retail for options. So, if you tend to drive a stick with cloth interior, no sunroof, etc. then the overseas delivery program can save you something. If you tend to buy more optioned vehicles your local dealer can do just as well.

I bought my XC70 via overseas purchase. Couldn't have been easier. I picked out my car & spec'ed the options from the dealer, paid for it 30 days before it was to be picked up, flew to Sweden to pick it up, drove it for 2 days, and took it back to the factory for them to ship home. I got a loaded XC for $36K with almost every option.

I think everyone makes out on this deal. The US dealer sells another car that doesn't come out of their allotment. Volvo can sell it to you cheaper because the car is sent to the US as a used car, rather than a new one, therefore import taxes are less (so I've heard). And I got a free flight to Sweden, one night in the Novotel, and an exciting drive through Gotenberg. I even outran a "trolley" when I accidentally ran a red light (the turbo lag took so long to kick in it scared my wife when she saw that trolley in her window). I also took the high speed train to Stockholm and stayed 2 nights in the Grand Hotel, rated one of the top 10 hotels in the world.


You can dicker on the options, but not much probably, if you catch your dealer in a good mood. My salesman was very willing to take my order. Since I had already decided what I wanted, it didn't take long.