[Sausagemaker]

Hi,
When using overseas delivery, does the dealer you order through still offer a discount,
or is the pricing set and firm?
Thanks

 

[gascos80]

The price is firm. You do not buy it from the dealer, but from Volvo directly. The dealer is just a paper pusher. The OSD buyer gets actual certificate of origin, and is an importer and a "dealer" for all practical purposes.

You might be better off going with one of the resident specialists here - Bob Kennedy ( East coast) or William Marks (West coast), unless you dealer is very familiar with the process.

 

[Sausagemaker]

OK,
So if I am looking for a best cost, am I more likely to save money buying a new car that is sitting on the lot? I wouldn't mind the trip to Sweden, and figure it to be worth close to 2K, but wondering if dealers have more room than that.

 

[BKNCOSD]

A lot will depend on which model you want AND if you are financing or trading a vehicle. With the current incentives on the S60/XC60, you can probably beat the OSD price and get the free 4 payments.
However, if your goal is to get the exact vehicle you want, with the exact options...or even a color not offered in the US....AND you want to take an adventure on the roads of Europe, then OSD is the way to go. OSD is not just about price...it is the experience that makes it special. The generous discounts of MSRP are set up so the normal back and forth haggling are removed, to take the negatives normally associated with buying a car, out of the way, and make the entire process a fun and positive process.
It is a different way to buy a new Volvo and a different a attitude from the staff at the factory delivery center and the beauty if Sweden that make OSD special.

 

[Sausagemaker]

Hey Bob,
Thanks for the info.
I admit that picking up a new Volvo at the factory and cruising around Sweden sounds pretty cool. Interesting that you would mention the xc60 as a vehicle where the incentives make buying one off the lot a better deal if cost is the only concern. We test drove a couple of them last week, and they are great! Because everyone wants a good deal, and no one really knows msrp vs. invoice vs. cost, the "negatives associated with buying a car" remain.
One last question: Does the OSD program ever have special offers? I bet you get tired of everyone wanting a deal, but nobody wants to pay more than they have to...even to get a new XC60.
Thanks

 

[BKNCOSD]

There are no OSD incentives for the XC60

 

[dhorvath]

You can often get a better deal buying right off the lot -- because the dealer wants to get rid of the car.

With OSD, you can pick specific options rather than taking packages. For instance, we wanted heated seats but not the other parts of the "Climate Package". Via OSD we ordered heated seats at about 1/2 the Climate Package price.

But the real reason for OSD is the experience!

 

[ufosprey]

I'll put in a plug for the OSD. I picked up my new S80 this morning and my wife and I just drove over to Stockholm. Based on the research I did, with the OSD discounts I think I paid maybe $500 less to break even for what I may have paid had the dealer been able to locate the vehicle I wanted and so the trip is gravy. Certainly we'll need to pay some additional travel expenses for hotels and meals but Volvo flew us here and paid for the first night in Gothenburg. The biggest negative I can find about the OSD program after driving my car all day today is the wait I'll have to endure when we get home and wait for the car to be delivered, unless I can convince SAS to let me check it as baggage.

 

[gascos80]

The OSD is NOT design is a mean to get the best discount possible. You are set for a disappointment, if you look at the program strictly from this angle.

From the stand point of my 3 OSD experiences, these are the biggest benefits:

1. Making a stressful purchase of the depreciating asset/appliance into the rewarding, wonderful, educational, and sometimes, life-changing experience. With the long-lasting effect of having different, much more personal relation with the car you drive
2. A great bargain as a Euro trip/car purchase combination (in this order). I save in the neighborhood of $10K or more on the tickets, car rentals, etc. plus a decent discount off the MRSP every time I go to Europe on Volvo dime. I only hope that I could afford buying a new car as often as I travel.
3. A la cart options, and options that are not available otherwise.

You can only appreciate the benefits if you go...you just do not know how much the car buying and the traveling experiences could be different...

...I often pitch the OSD to the people who travel a lot too...driving through the Europe in your own brand new premium car adds a lot to the enjoynment...

...and you do not know what the car buying experience could be if you never went OSD route...


I gonna pick all my cars in Europe as long as I find a suitable one in the Volvo model line-up...(and even if not - I will first consider other Eurodelivery brands, like MB, BMW, AUDI).

Lastly - Volvo OSD program is the best of the bunch...

 

[comp1]

pricing

I'll have to echo gasco's comments. You can make great deals from a dealer's lot depending on the time of year you buy. Several of our "off the lot" purchases beat the heck out of OSD prices. But we have become fairly spoiled with some of the option packages that Volvo offers so finding a highly optioned car on the lot is becoming increasingly difficult. Our XC60 purchase this year was a custom order and we got pretty much everything we wanted. Our C30 OSD purchase was a little different. We ordered some things that we could not get on the car, even if we custom ordered it. I think the pricing was good from OSD, we got an extra night at the hotel and got a nice trip to Sweden. I wouldn't want to buy every car from and OSD program but its a nice treat every once in a while. We're waiting for the V40/XC40 to arrive which will probably end up being our next OSD car in a few years. The experience of an OSD is the most valuable part of the who process. Every time someone asks us about "that" red license plate on the front of the car we relieve the trip. It's not for everybody but is a great way to buy a car.

 

[jrabideau]

Pricing

To echo some things that others have already remarked upon:

First, yes, OSD prices are "firm". That said, if you are willing to purchase a pre-built vehicle (of which, as of last Friday, a number of XC60s--all 2012 are available), you may obtain some additional concessions, particularly if you qualify for the loyalty offer. In our particular case (an S60), we received a credit for the metallic paint, as well as an additional hotel night in Goeteborg (latter being a consequence of the loyalty offer). To see what models are available as pre-builts: http://www.flyvolvo.com/msg10.htm (scroll to bottom).

Secondly, that said, OSD is about the experience. It's about the opportunity to travel to Europe, to spend time getting to know your car, seeing sights, touring--whatever you and yours wish. It's a vacation and a car--at substantially less than you'd pay for the car retail. Sure, you can get the car for less--without the vacation, in the course of a pedestrian car-buying experience, rife with all the "joy" that entails (spent too many hours in the "deal rooms" of prior dealerships to need to relive that!).

Might you be able to come up with the car for less? Of course--and given current incentives, it becomes a near-certainty if you afford the hotel and flight no actual cash value in your calculus.

In sum, if you're looking for the absolute cheapest way to acquire a car, OSD may not be the right choice. Either car that lives in our garage could have probably come home for less in terms of pure cash outlay. That said, if you're looking for the absolute best car-buying experience, as well as a memorable vacation, you may not need look any further. OSD isn't for everyone--but my house knows it's for us, and anticipates buying cars through no other vein. Way to gain brand loyalty of some thirty-somethings, Volvo.

 

[dhorvath]

I'll put in a plug for the OSD. I picked up my new S80 this morning and my wife and I just drove over to Stockholm. Based on the research I did, with the OSD discounts I think I paid maybe $500 less to break even for what I may have paid had the dealer been able to locate the vehicle I wanted and so the trip is gravy. Certainly we'll need to pay some additional travel expenses for hotels and meals but Volvo flew us here and paid for the first night in Gothenburg. The biggest negative I can find about the OSD program after driving my car all day today is the wait I'll have to endure when we get home and wait for the car to be delivered, unless I can convince SAS to let me check it as baggage.

The waiting is the hardest/worst part of OSD. And you have to do it twice (order to pick up, drop off to US pick up).

But then again, you get to pick up the car twice. Kind of like getting the same new car twice...

 

[dhorvath]

I gonna pick all my cars in Europe as long as I find a suitable one in the Volvo model line-up...(and even if not - I will first consider other Eurodelivery brands, like MB, BMW, AUDI).

Lastly - Volvo OSD program is the best of the bunch...

I read about OSD programs in general in one of the "smart money" magazines (Kiplingers, Barrons, Money, who knows) many years ago and decided then that if I ever bought one of those cars it would be OSD. Fast forward to last summer/fall when I decided on my first Volvo and was reminded of that original article by the small print in one of the brochures.

Just being able to drive a car with a robust engine on the Autobahn makes it all worthwhile. The Opel GT Wagon rental we had last trip topped out at 100MPH/160KPH. I couldn't top out the S60 because the limiter (remember, US Spec car) kicked in at 130MPH/210KPH.

 

[Sausagemaker]

Thanks for the information and the link. Looks like the OSD experience is worth more than I was giving it credit for. I will look into the pre-built inventory.

 

[rpmccormick]

So far all my OSD purchases have cost less than the price they would have cost if I placed an order for a car through a dealer. (There's never been a car on the lot with the options and config like I'd want it - if I'm going to pay for a higher end car I'm going to get exactly what I desire.) My 2007 OSD XC90 had a package that was free (I think that alone was a $3,500 savings) if you picked up the car by the end of March.

Another benefit is what you would consider the cost of the free airfare to be. Normally to get a decent airfare you have to purchase well in advance and also typically travel during mid week, etc. It appears that with the Volvo OSD program if there's a free seat on the plane you can have it. And you can fly to anywhere in Europe that SAS flies. Our trip earlier this year was from our home airport to IAD (Washington Dulles) through CPH (Copenhagen) to LED (Saint Petersburg). We spent some enjoyable time in SPb and then got our own flights LED-ARN-GOT to pickup the car. Drove around Scandinavia and dropped the car back off in Goteborg. Flew back to the states GOT-ORD-home. Let's just say if I had to purchase those tickets (exclusive of the one-way from Saint Petersburg to Goteborg) it would have been well over US $4,000 (for the pair of tickets).

 

[NavNut]

One other perhaps overlooked factor: flying first class...

So this may not be true anymore - I picked up my 2004 S80 T6 Premier (which I am now trying to sell) as an OSD... I saved a ton - including California sales tax (by keeping it in Europe more than three months)... BUT... in addition to two free tickets, we asked Volvo corporate travel who handled the tickets what it would cost to upgrade to first... they had a special deal with the airline - first class upgrade cost us $500 each at the time... so we looked at it as: "$1000 for two first class tix to Europe?!?!? DONE!" There is nothing like First class to Europe... except for maybe First class to Singapore... NICE...

-NavNut

 

[William]

So this may not be true anymore - I picked up my 2004 S80 T6 Premier (which I am now trying to sell) as an OSD... I saved a ton - including California sales tax (by keeping it in Europe more than three months)...
-NavNut

That's correct. It is no longer true in California. The sales tax exemption if you keep your new car in Europe for more than three months is no longer available to California residents.

 

[GregK]

You can often get a better deal buying right off the lot -- because the dealer wants to get rid of the car.

With OSD, you can pick specific options rather than taking packages. For instance, we wanted heated seats but not the other parts of the "Climate Package". Via OSD we ordered heated seats at about 1/2 the Climate Package price.

But the real reason for OSD is the experience!

You just cannot put a price on the experience...........at least my wife and I could not............

 

[bagleyc]

OSD Savings Where?

I just priced out an 2013 c30 with premier plus, add BLIS, Auto, Paint, Polestar, Ext. Style kit for OSD would cost. $33490. Same options for regular order from dealer at invoice including Dest Charge of $875. comes in at $31663 plus I would get an additional $1000 off for loyalty rebate for my xc90. Total $30663. That's $3000 less than OSD! WTH! Any ideas where the savings is?

 

[gascos80]

I just priced out an 2013 c30 with premier plus, add BLIS, Auto, Paint, Polestar, Ext. Style kit for OSD would cost. $33490. Same options for regular order from dealer at invoice including Dest Charge of $875. comes in at $31663 plus I would get an additional $1000 off for loyalty rebate for my xc90. Total $30663. That's $3000 less than OSD! WTH! Any ideas where the savings is?

The OSD discount is about 3% these days...dealer has more to give...but add two round trip tickets, cost of Euro rental for the duration of a trip plus other tangible and non-tangible benefits...and you still are ahead...

It has being said way more than once...the OSD is a trip first and the car- close second...


There were days of the OSD discounts of 8% across the board + destination charge...the program fell a victim of its own popularity...I plan my 4th one despite the smaller discounts...