jmkjjk

(7/13 Update: Car arrived at local dealer today in Boston, MA. They said 4-6 weeks but it took 21 days total from drop off in Munich)





I just got back from picking up my new S6 at the factory. I stayed for two weeks, traveling through Bavaria, Austria, and Italy with my wife and 9 year old son. Here are some tips from our experience....

General Tips:
Make sure you let your credit card companies know you will be using the card abroad. Otherwise they may freeze it while your over there. And ask them if there is a surcharge on European charges. My Citi Visa surcharged 3%, and my MC did not have any surcharge. Make sure you check. I did a lot of research on my first ED trip a few years ago and the best way to pick up Euros is with my ATM card. The best rate and no surcharges.

I did the ED program for Volvo 2 years ago, and the delivery center seemed to be focused on handling delivery to customers from the U.S. Very polished with many people there to handle any issues that arose. However the showroom at the Audi Forum where you pick up your car delivers around 50 cars a day, mostly to Europeans whom they offer the same deal (tour. lunch, etc) without the 5% discount. The general staff, while friendly and helpful, are not that familiar with the nuances associated with the Audi U.S. European delivery program. So beware that if you run into issues (see missing GPS system later in this article), there were very few people there that were familiar with the specifics of the U.S. program.

DONT LET YOUR DEALER CHARGE YOU A "DESTINATION CHARGE": My dealer tried to charge me $750 destination charge (the charge for transporting your car from the US port to your local dealer) arguing that it was not included in the program. I had to show him in two different places in the ED literature that it was included in the purchase price, and he begrudgingly deleted the fee. Real sleezeball tactic.


Note:
Your Audi Dealer, Audi of America, and the Audi in Germany are actually 3 different companies with operating agreements. Neither really stands by the representations of the other. Know that your agreement for your ED purchase is with Audi of America, and not with your local Audi dealer or Audi in Inglostadt!

Now for the trip:
Assuming you are leaving the U.S. in the eve, arriving in Munich in the A.M., and picking up your car on the second day there, here are some initial tips.

Why waste your first day staying in Ingolstadt (no offense), when you can see Munich. You arive in Munich early in the morning and have the whole day in front of you. this is what I recommend:

- There is a third hotel option which is not listed in the literature that you can request. You can ask to stay at the Kempinski Hotel at the Munich airport. They will also pick you up here in the limo, just like from the other two hotels. However staying here has many advantages over the two in Ingolstadt.

*The first is that the hotels entrance is about 100 yards from the luggage pickup area, so you can keep your luggage on your push cart (which are free by the way), and wheel your stuff right up to hotel registration. This is fantastic when you are groggy getting off the plane. You are checked into your room within 15 minutes of going through customs.

* The second is that the hotel is large and modern (see picture in link), with all expected amenities and services, and looks really cool with a 100' high front lobby area. As a matter of fact, Audi had a few conventions staying here that were celebrating the roll out of the new R8.

* The third is that the hotel entrance is about 200 feet from the express train which takes you to downtown Munich in about 30 minutes. You can buy an all day pass for one person for about $20, or a family pass for up to 4 for only $24 total. Is was much more convenient for checking out Munich without the hassles of driving into and parking in Munich.
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* If you want to really feel like your in Munich, visit the beer garden which is next to the Chinese Pagota in the English Gardens (see photo). This is where they play the um pa German music and you can drink steins of beer and eat traditional German food in a gorgeous outdoor setting with hundreds of Germans. Not to be missed.

* The day of the pickup, try to book an early pickup as the restaurant at the Audi Forum is fantastic and you can eat a huge breakfast for free (actually, food is free here all day for you...as many visits and food/drink as you want). You can eat breakfast and then go back for lunch after the tour.

* Your GPS system wont work in Europe. However I was told by the US ED representative that they would arrange it so that when I picked up the car, I would receive a portable unit that I could use while in Europe and return at the end of the trip. However when picking up the car, the people handling the delivery didnt know what I was talking about. And since it was promised to me by Audi of America, the delivery center felt no obligation to oblige or offer any compensation. I was very frustrated by that.

* If you are driving into Italy, make sure you ask the delivery people for the two yellow "breakdown" jackets you will need to show the Italian police if they pull you over. They are free and you will be ticketed if you dont have them.

- If you bought the iPod connection option, you will still need to buy the cord that connects your iPod to the unit in the glove compartment. Luckily, they sell them in the Audi souvinere store for about $30.

* Also make sure they give you the info of who you are supposed to call if you have car problems wile in Europe. They feature this service in the ED literature but after I left the factory, I discovered they didnt give me any emergency contact info. And contacting the delivery desk once you leave is almost impossible.

* The car was missing the Audi medical kit that is supposed to be stored in the rear armrest. Make sure your car has yours.

* Both the museum and factory tour were very interesting and not to be missed.

* Make sure they take a photo of you with your car (as shown above) before pulling out of the showroom. Its a free service and they print at 8.5 x 11!

* Italian drop off warning...Italy is the only country where you cant drop off the car at a location where it is then flatbedded to the train or ship. In Italy, they have a driver pick it up at your hotel, and then drives it all the way back to Munich!!! No thank you please. Not in my new S6!!! My wife and son flew back from Florence and I drove it back to Munich myself and then flew home from Munich.

* Ask for your license plate when you drop off your car and you can bring it home as a souvenere!

Other memories:
- I was stopped by police twice, once in Germany and once in Italy, both times going over 120mph, and never received a ticket. They checked my documentation, asked me questions about the cars performance, and then let me on my way! I did get the car up to 150mph twice in Germany, much to my wife's dismay!

Outstanding Hotel Tip if your in Northern Italy:
Hotel Villa Del Sogno located on the Gardone Riviera (see pictures in link). Right on a lake with stunning views and grounds, friendly staff and great food. It was the highlight of our two week trip. Check it out online. It looks even better when there!

* When driving on European Highways, you will notice that no-one passes on the right. I came to learn that there are heavy fees for doing so. Be patient and the car in front of you will pull over to the right (I wish we were this discipled here!)

Well, Ill add more tips if I think of them!
Good luck, drive carefully and have fun!
Jim

(more photos below)

miwim

I guess you car is exactly 50 cars after mine was pick up. My plate was IN 450 A, picked up on 5/21/07. Just a little difference information, I was told that they deliver about 300 audi a day at the Audi forum... i guess it somewhre in between 50 - 300.

Also one more thing that you could do if you are up to it is I arrived in Munchen at 8 am and the Limo took me to the hotel in Ingoslandt and he wait for me for about an hour to refrest up and you can also go directly to Audi forum and pick up the car right away. I got my car delivered before 11:30 am on the same day.

I think we all should try to writw a comment to Audi USA that they should provide a portable GPS unit for all the ED (I brough my own but would be great if I didn't have to find the Europe map for it). I definitely did try to make that point to Audi USA once I got back.

now you make me want to go back and order another Audi again

kimochi

Hi Jmkjji & miwim,

Thanks for the detailed info. I'm going for ED in a month and your feedback is very valuable. Any additional tips that you might have will be appreciated.

Questions:
* Is the IDP (international driver's permit) required for car pickup? (or will only a U.S. driver's license work)
* You have 3 parties. I think the free buffet, free tour, etc are only for two people. Is this true?
* Any other `must see' places in/around Munich...

K2audi

As for having more than 2 people in your party, I would ask, it may not even be an issue.

We also spent our first day in Munich. It was a great way to relax after the long flight and gave us a chance to tour Marienplatz and take a train up to Dachau before our delivery the next day.

If you have an extra day I highly recommend Audi Drivers Day. You get to pick pretty much any car in the Audi arsenal and take it for the day. We took out an S8 and toured the Valley just east of Ingolstadt (lots of twistys ;-) and made sure we got some time on the a-bahn with it as well.

Are you staying in Germany after you take delivery or are you visiting other countries.

Here is the link to our delivery we did back in December. Hopefully it will answer a few more questions and even give you an idea of things to do.<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/eurodelivery/msgs/54.phtml">https://forums.audiworld.com/eurodelivery/msgs/54.phtml</a</li></ul>

jmkjjk

* Is the IDP (international driver's permit) required for car pickup?

A. No They give you an IDP when you are there as part of yur documentation.
(or will only a U.S. driver's license work)

* You have 3 parties. I think the free buffet, free tour, etc are only for two people. Is this true? they never asked how many people were with you They are putting so many through there,

A. I dont think they really care as its pretty loose. The restaraunt is actually an upscale "cafeteria" which was better than a lot of restaraunts we have been in. They give you a wrist band which is good for unlimited trips for the whole day. They will give one to anyone who is traveling with you.

* Any other `must see' places in/around Munich...

A. I'm sure there are but we only had so much time. Walking up and down the Leopold Strass at night is nice (many outdoor cafes where you can see and be seen). The Munich "Modern" museum was interesting as in addition to the artwork they had a few Salvatre Dali's.

miwim

Questions:
* Is the IDP (international driver's permit) required for car pickup? (or will only a U.S. driver's license work)
-Not required, I have US driver license and I am not US citizen and everything still go without problem. All the IDP does is just translate your driver license anyway.

* You have 3 parties. I think the free buffet, free tour, etc are only for two people. Is this true?
-Don't know, I was by myself.

* Any other `must see' places in/around Munich...
-Dancun
-The museum was great
-Definitely take a factory tour

Can I ask what car are you getting? Anyway enjoy it. (I am getting my car this week after drop it on 5/29/07 in Netherlands). Also, as I say before, double or triple check your drop off date and make sure the drop off center that you are intend to you is open on that day. I was told that the one that I was intend to you is open and it was not (public holiday)

BajanS4

Thanks for the tips! Just got my welcome kit yesterday, very excited! Couple of questions...

#1. I'm arriving in Munich at 10:45am. Do you think there's enough time to get the car delivered, and visit the factory and museum, on the day of arrival?

I wonder if I would be too tired to enjoy it all right after the long flight. On the other hand, I want to use the next day to drive the back roads of the Alpenstrasse to Salzburg (where we're staying that night).

#2. For those who have stayed in Ingolstadt, which hotel would you recommend? (ARA, Kult, or NH Ambassador). I'm thinking the Kult.

kimochi

Hi Miwim &amp; all,

Thanks for the tips!!

"Can I ask what car are you getting?"
--&gt;I'm getting a TT 2.0T. We have 4 parties traveling, so likely we'll dropoff the TT shortly, and rent a bigger vehicle instead

kimochi

Hi K2audi,

Thanks for the tips.

I read your ED postings. You mentioned that you did a couple more additional factory tours on the 2nd day. Which one did you take &amp; which one do you recommend?

"Are you staying in Germany after you take delivery or are you visiting other countries."
--&gt;we'll likely stay in Germany only. I plan on visiting places like Neuschwanstein &amp; Zugspitze.

miwim

I picked up 3.2 TT on May, it was great driving it in the Alps but definitely not for 4 people