mrsdarcy

Can we have a friend or a family member pick up the car and drop it off for us in Germany or do we have to do it ourselves? Thank you.

TIME89

If you add your friend to the car purchase document and your friend has US SSN - than yes. At that point he is owner of your car the same as you who paid for that car. I personally, do not think that Audi hire idiots for European Delivery program and loop hole like this will be covered by ED Contract, that you will sign before you fly to pick up your car.
Just a reminder that you have to return this car to US.

superswiss

I don't think so. Why would you? If you can't pick up the car yourself, then have it shipped directly to the US. The point of ED is that you get to pick up the car in Germany and drive it for while. If your plans have changed or something, then just let them know you can no longer pick it up and they will ship it directly.

mrsdarcy

All I want is the 5% and do not want to have to fly all the way to Germany. I have friends and family who actually live in Germany who I can ask to do the pick up and drop off for me. If I'm not allowed to have someone else pick up the car for me, then I won't be able to do the ED and can't afford the car and will have to go with another option.

superswiss

Honestly, if 5% is the difference between affording the car or not, then you are shopping way beyond your means. If you do ED, you also have to pay the 19% VAT, which you will get back once the car arrives stateside, but given your situation, I doubt you can part with that much money for a couple of months. Besides, the ED discount is not guaranteed. It's up to the dealer. In most cases you can negotiate even higher discounts w/o doing ED. Heck a 6 months Audi Club membership gives you a 6% discount at most dealerships. A good negotiator can get even more.

ED is not about saving money at all. It's about the experience of picking up the car at the factory and driving it in a country where 2/3 of the highway system has no speed limits.

TIME89

No more VAT tax, search for my post.
To OP- your plan will not working. They need to be present in US during car purchase and sign all papers with you. During pick they have to show up ID - US passport and SSN.

superswiss

Still the same regarding VAT. Audi doesn't require it, but dealers usually request it to be on the safe side instead of running after you in case you leave the car in Europe. It was already like this when I did ED with my RS5 in 2013. My dealer requested the VAT and cashed the check. Once I took possession of the car at the dealership 10 weeks after dropping it off in Zurich, they processed a refund check, which I got in the mail about a week later. All in all, they kept my money for about 4 months from the time I payed for the car and headed to Germany a week later, then 4 weeks in Europe and 10 weeks for the car to arrive at my dealership.

Also, you don't need US passport, nor do you need to be US citizen to do ED. I'm not a US citizen, although I have a green card, which I did not have to show at any time. I did have to show my passport, though to confirm my identity.

OP, Audi sends out an authorization letter for pickup. Only the person in possession of and listed on that letter can pick up the car. You could perhaps work with Audi and authorize a friend or family member to do the pickup, but this whole thing seems pointless. ED is the wrong vehicle to save money on a car purchase. As I said earlier, join Audi Club and get a no hassle 6% discount or practice some good negotiating and negotiate an even better deal. If you buy off the lot, you can usually get pretty good discounts.

mrsdarcy

Audi club doesn't allow the 6% for the 2017 Q7. Even if they did, there's a 6 month waiting period once we become a member.

In Southern California, q7's are selling really well and most dealers sell at MSRP. We tried and got only 3%,4%. It's impossible to get even 5% let alone 6 or 7.

superswiss

I would say it's time to set your eyes on a more affordable alternative. Brand new models such as the 2017 Q7 will take a year or two before you see significant discounts being handed out. That's just how it is.