Ten tips

By LAURA T. COFFEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 13, 2000

The beauty of buying a car overseas

Several European carmakers offer overseas-delivery programs that allow buyers to incorporate inexpensive trips across Europe into their car-buying experience. These tips can help you bring home a new car and a photo album full of memories.

1. Learn a little history. Overseas-delivery programs got their start more than 40 years ago when military personnel and diplomats didn't want to leave their European cars behind after their tour of duty ended. Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Saab, BMW and Porsche offer the programs today.

2. Subsidize your vacation. Thousands of Americans buy cars in Europe each year because it provides them with a low-cost, convenient way to tool around the continent. The carmaker pays for your round-trip flights and one or two nights in an upscale hotel before you pick up your car at the factory.

3. Avoid rental car costs and complications. By driving your own car in Europe, you can save $450 or more a week in car rental expenses, and you also can avoid the border restrictions that affect rental cars in some countries.

4. Relax on the road. The car manufacturers provide roadside-assistance plans, so you aren't on your own if something goes wrong.

5. Do the math. Several European car manufacturers, including BMW, Saab and Volvo, sell their cars in Europe for several hundred dollars below the U.S. invoice price.

6. Speak your own language. All negotiations are conducted in the United States before your departure, so you don't have to worry about communicating with a dealer in a foreign language. You put down a deposit before you leave, then pay the balance when the car gets its vehicle identification number.

7. Obtain registration and insurance. The car manufacturers will register and insure your car for travel throughout Europe. Some do it for free, while others charge about $375 for 15 days' coverage. Be aware that it costs much more than that to insure a Porsche.

8. Secure VAT coverage. Some car companies charge a hefty fee to cover the European value-added tax, or VAT, then refund it if you move the car overseas within six months. Other carmakers issue a certificate that allows you to obtain the car VAT-free when you go through customs.

9. Coordinate the trans-Atlantic journey. When you're ready to head home, you can drop your car off in one of about 20 European cities. You pay nothing if you bring the car to a designated port city, such as Gothenburg, Sweden; Bremerhaven, Germany; or Antwerp, Belgium. Otherwise, be prepared to pay hundreds of dollars in transport fees.

10. Exercise patience. It will about four to eight weeks for your world-traveled car to make its way to your home.

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