treeznbreez20

I ordered my S7 a few weeks ago and have recieved my commission number. I spoke to my dealer to check whether or not a European delivery would still be possible. They have sent an email with the request to Audi of America. Just curious to see if anyone has taken European delivery or heard reviews of it first hand. It seems to be an amazing experience, driving the S7 across Germany. I'd love any feedback.

palmerg

I sort of wish I had done it. It would have been easier for me since I live in Italy, until June. I have heard great things about the experience and Audi treats you very well. Driving in DE is fun especially on the Autobahn although now (just in 2015) some sections have posted speed limits. Usually 130 kph (about 81 mph). It will be mixed up so you will break it in well

I do wish I had done it but alas I wait to hear how your experience went

superswiss

It's the only proper way to take delivery of a German performance car. I've done it with my RS5 and there is no better feeling than blasting by a cop at 174 mph without getting pulled over :-). A quick visit to the Nurburgring shouldn't be missed. I spent almost 4 weeks over there, driving 4000 miles. I combined it with a business trip and I am originally from Europe, so I speak German. The Autobahn has had speed limits in urban areas for a while, but the rural areas is where you can truly experience what these cars are capable of.

You might be a little late now, though. There is no delivery of cars that come standard with summer tires between November and April.

treeznbreez20

I did some asking around at the dealership and it looks like the car will be done before the factory closes for 3 weeks in August meaning I would have to delay my order until the first week of September to do European delivery. Which would be find if I got the car soon after but they are telling me that it takes another 11-13 weeks after I drop the car off at port in Germany. So I had to make the choice of having my car mid-august or early september vs. late november or early december. I chose the first option. I did so much trip planning and research on what I wanted to do in Germany that I will still most likely make a trip out there later this year.

superswiss

Yes, you have to be willing to wait for the car once your are back in the states. 11-13 weeks is their worst case. To Florida it will be more like 8 weeks or even less. I got mine after 10 weeks from drop off. I'm all the way at the west coast and I dropped it off in Zurich from where it first had to be trucked to Emden. If you drop it off in Emden, they won't have to truck it anywhere as the ships leave from there and it will take less time for the car to arrive here.

The wait and the fact that you have to write the dealer a check for the 19% VAT are common reasons people don't do ED. The VAT will be refunded as long as the car is exported withing 6 months, but you have to have the funds sitting around to do it.

It's a great experience, though and it's all worth it, especially if you plan a trip to Europe anyway. What better then a vacation in Europe driving your own car instead of some crappy rental and you save all the money you would spend on a rental car.

The only downside for me was that the RS5 completely spoiled my future Autobahn experience. It used to be fun driving the Autobahn even with a rental Golf, but not anymore :-(.

tpitsti93

I ordered my S7 back in February before the price lists were even out. That fit a little weird but with the fixed deal of 5% off MSRP I was OK with it. The process has been great so far - I pick it up later this week and will let the group know how it all goes. I can't wait!!!!!!!

treeznbreez20

@superswiss
Haha I can see an RS5 ruining the Autobahn experience for you. Did you get a chance to do any laps around the Nurburgring?
@tpitsti93- I am incredibly incredibly jealous of you. Please do share pictures and experiences with us! Can't wait to see how much you love your build!

superswiss

Yes, I did do a few laps around the Nurburgring. I wish we had something like that here. Just pull up after work for a few laps on the way home :-).

tpitsti93

Just completed my EU Delivery. Here's the summary (sorry, it's a bit long):


I started the whole process by visiting the Audi dealer in Bedford, OH in November of 2014.I’ll start off by saying the dealer, Greg Mason, the manager in particular, has been great and very easy to work with during the process.I was debating an S7 vs. an RS7.I went with the S7 – it’s amazing, plenty of car for me and I have no regrets but never drove an RS7 so I can’t really compare.I’m sure it’s even more amazing!Anyway, I test drove an S7 in December 2014 and asked for a quote.Greg couldn’t provide one because 2016 pricing hadn’t come out yet.I had a very limited window of dates I could pick the car up so I started the whole process pretty early.Greg placed the order in early January 2015 for a late June 2015 delivery, even before he had pricing.I got a 2016 S7, Daytona Grey Pearl, Driver’s Assistance, Cold Weather, Sports, Black Cloth Headliner, Black Optic with 20” 5-double spoke wheels, Contour Seating, Night Vision, rear airbags and Carbon Atlas Inlays.I got the pricing in mid-February 2015 with the standard EU Delivery price of 5% off MSRP – no surprises.A couple of weeks later, I got a package from Audi USA with a coffee mug, notebook, pen and some information about the program.I also got a commission number and a start of production date of May 11.On May 11, I got an email from the dealer saying that the car had finished production.Next step was to go to the dealer and pay for/finance the car.I got a few extras like window tinting and a clear plastic bra, etc.It took us a few iterations with Audi USA EU Delivery to work out the pickup logistics.We had a complicated itinerary, changed the exact date and time a couple of times, had different arrival dates and stayed at a different hotel but after several emails and a few phone calls, in the end we got it all worked out.Audi USA sent us the final forms, which included an authorization for me to pick the car up (Audi USA and Audi in Germany are different legal entities so this all makes sense) and our final itinerary with the chauffer information, deliver time, etc.All of the forms indicate not to book your flights before you have confirmation of production.We were using miles, had a very limited window of days we could make work so we booked our travel way before then.Worst case, we would have just rented a car and had our vacation and then figured out how to have the S7 shipped over.I.e. we took the risk and it all worked out just fine for us, but we also ordered more than 6 months before our pick up so we definitely did not push the limits of the system.To continue the story, we got on our flights, showed up in Germany and everything worked perfectly.





The Audi-provided pick up was great and very flexible.Our driver, Christian, was a 25 year Audi employee and not an outsourced car service so it felt very personalized.My wife and kids, and I arrived on different days and Audi was great about making sure we all got picked up, taken to the hotel and then out to Ingolstadt.I landed on the day of our pickup.Our backup plan if my flight had been delayed was either for my wife to pick the car up or to shift the pickup to the next day.As of a few days before, Audi still had a slot on the next day that we could have used as a backup delivery slot.Anyway, Christian brought my wife and kids from the hotel they stayed at downtown, to Munich airport and while they waited for me to get my luggage, he took them to the Audi showroom next to the airport and got them coffee and juice and let them look at some of the cars in the showroom there (Now my wife wants a new Q7!).We got to The Audi Forum at about 10am.They put your luggage on a cart, give you a claim ticket for it and whisk it away.We needed to get stuff out of it throughout the day which was no problem at all.We were met by Fr. Illig (sp?) to review our schedule for the day, go over insurance, driving in Germany, etc. and were given wrist bands that got us food at the cafeteria and free entrance into the museum.This was also a nice, personal and efficient process.She said that they do about 200 deliveries a day, but only 3-4 in English. Ours was scheduled for 2pm.We then had a bite to eat in the cafeteria and I did a quick walk through of the museum before our factory tour from 11:30-1:30.I would have liked to spend more time in the museum but our schedule didn’t allow for it.I think they only have English tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we were there on a Thursday so it worked out for us.It was led by Fr. Budweiser (yes, that was her family name and she was great!) and started with a 5 minute video about Audi and all of the major plants.I’m an engineer and manufacturing geek and was VERY impressed with the factory.My wife and kids were a little bored but I’m glad they got to see it.There are something like 1650 robots in Ingolstadt and 40k employees, in a factory that was clean enough to eat off the floor.Every single car coming down every line we saw wasunique.Our guide said that only 2 or 3 cars of a single configuration are made in a given year – true “Lot of One”, “Single piece flow” manufacturing.All sorts of great lean manufacturing stuff: kanbans, poke yoke, visual factory, etc.The takt time was something like 86 seconds and each station was designed to match that.We saw almost the entire production process for A3s.They make the A3, A4, A5s and Q5s in Ingolstadt so we didn’t get to see where my car was made but it was still a great tour.Our group was25-30 people so it was a little hard to always hear what Fr. Budweiser was saying, but she was very accessible and knowledgeable about the factory, the cars, various design features, etc.We were on the actual production floor which was really great.Going into it, I expected that we would be up on catwalks or looking through windows out to the factory.We weren’t; we were right in the middle of it.No photos, stay in the yellow lines, no touching anything, etc. but that’s what you’d expect.





The tour ended at 1:30 (on the dot) and our pickup was scheduled for 2 so we went straight back to the delivery area.The delivery area has a downstairs area with about 20 cars waiting to be picked up and an upstairs mezzanine.When we came in from the tour, we could see our car and could look down on it from the mezzanine.You wait upstairs for your name to be called.There is a coffee bar, a shop where you can buy all things Audi and some tables for sitting.There are also TVs that show the upcoming appointments by time and name and when your meeting arrives, your advisor announces your name.A few minutes after 2, Wolfgang called us.He walked us across a catwalk above the cars and down a separate set of stairs to the delivery area and over to your car.Our luggage was waiting for us right behind the car.Wolfgang walked us through all of the features, gave us the GPS, and helped me connect my iPhone via Bluetooth and WiFi. We looked under the hood and behind all of the panels in the trunk.He helped me set up the MMI and we talked through the various buttons and functions in the car.There was an Audi photographer who took a family picture and had an 8x10 printed before we left.We also took a bunch of our own pictures and had Wolfgang take a few of us with our camera.He reminded me of the break-in period and to keep the engine under 4000 rpm for the first 1000km.He suggested that we put the driving mode in Auto and to not use Dynamic until after 1000km.I didn’t totally baby the car, but in Auto mode it pretty much kept itself under 4k rpm so I didn’t have to think about it too much.During the first 1000km I did use the paddle shifters every so often to move the RPM up and down based on some of the comments in various forums, but did keep it under 4k and didn’t feel like I had to stick to the slow lane by any means.After we loaded all of the luggage, Wolfgang had me sign something that said I’d received the car and gave me an Audi key chain as well as two smart keys and a plastic valet keyand off we drove.The whole process took about an hour.We parked right outside and went back in for a late lunch/early dinner before driving to Austria.We went from there to Italy, Switzerland and back into Germany.I think we hit the 1000km mark there on about the 4^th day of our 11 day trip.





We did all sorts of driving – winding roads in The Italian/Swiss Alps in Dynamic mode (the sports exhaust sound awesome, I could feel the sports differential pushing me through corners), long stretches of motorway in Italy and Germany in Comfort and Auto (wow, is the car smooth).Several stints at 250kph on the Autobahn (I’m pretty sure and hope I was in unrestricted zones and don’t get any tickets in the mail!).We did all of our really high speed driving on Sunday morning when traffic was pretty light.It’s a little disconcerting to be going 155 mph, passing cars doing 75mph like they are standing still but then every so often there is someone sitting in the left lane or pulling into the left lane to pass someone.Anyway, most people moved over or responded to flashing lights or tailgating but it’s not a perfect system.We got well over 20mpg, except when in Dynamic and at high speed on the Autobahn.We spent time in Austria and Switzerland so needed to by “Vignettes” to use the highways there.Austria was something like 8 Euro and Switzerland was more like 40 Swiss Francs.You can buy them at gas stations on the highway near boarders. In Italy, the tolls were like here in The US.Sometimes you picked up a ticket and paid when you exited, other times you just paid a cash feel at the toll booth.During delivery, we were also given what Wolfgang called a fine particulate sticker that is apparently required in congested areas in cities.





We got the car washed a couple of times along the way in Germany.Most German gas stations have them and they are, well….German…the best automatic car washes I’ve ever used.I wish we had them here in The US.They took several minutes, several passes with the brushes rotating in different directions, a “Dyson Blade – like” dryer that made several passes.Perfect!I got a Platinum wash at one of them for 15 Euro and it came with a chamois to make sure I could get every little drop of water leftover after drying.My wife and kids thought it was pretty funny.They also really enjoyed how we’d be driving along in some little village or town and how all of the men and even some of the women on the streets or in the cafés would oogle over the car as we drove by and if we were parked, there were several times we’d have a little group of guys standing around looking at it.I’m sure it’s how Ferrari drivers feel all of the time, butI think I saw one other S7 the whole trip so it’s a pretty unique car, even over there.I had planned to do a few trips around Nurburgring but it was raining the day we were in that general area so I thought it best to pass on that this trip.





Somewhere along the way, we got a scratch on the front air dam which is a bummer.Nothing too noticeable, but it looks like someone must have bumped me in a parking lot or possibly I hit some debris while driving.Parking in Europe as you might expect is really tight compared to The US.





My wife dropped the car off in Frankfurt on a Monday as I had to fly out on a Sunday.She said it was really easy.For what it’s worth, if you have someone drop the car off other than the person who the car was ordered under, you need to have the person who ordered the car print and sign a letter saying that they authorize the other person to drop the car off, and you need to attach a copy of your passport and driver’s license to that signed letter.It doesn’t matter if they are your spouse, kid or twin brother…this is Germany, the documentation has to be right.The drop off company indicated that it usually takes 4-5 weeks for the car to get to port and then a few more weeks to make its way to The US dealer.I’ve seen plenty of stuff online to suggest that this ~8 week timing is likely vs. the 11-13 that Audi puts in the EU Delivery materials, but we’ll see.





As for the car itself.It is really a fantastic machine.When you start it up, it’s got this great sound, the tach and the speedometer spin all the way right, then back to zero.Even my wife to could care less about cars thought it was cool every time we started it up.From the key to the door handle, the seats, the feel of the steering wheel and so on, it’s really well thought out and full of technology.The only issues I’ve observed are minor and almost not worth mentioning – I really had to stretch to come up with these.One is that the heads up display doesn’t work great with polarized glasses.You can still see it but you kind of have to have your head in just the right place and even then it’s much more faint than with the glasses off.Another is that the sunglass holder up on the ceiling in front of the sunroof is pretty small.I think some smaller, wire-framed glasses might fit.Mine didn’t.One more, which may just be an American thing, is that if you have water bottles or a Starbuck’s style coffee cup in the cup holders, it’s hard to get to the MMI controls but you can do most of what you need to do from the steering wheel.The final one is that I wish the cruise control functions were on the steering wheel and not on a separate wand beneath the turn signal wand.It’s hard to imagine where they would put them, but my Infiniti had them on the steering wheel and I preferred that.





So, the ultimate question…would I do it again?Absolutely!It was a great experience.The logistics can become a little complicated, and you have to get over the various wait times (to build, to ship over), but if you’re orderinga car anyway vs. buying something off the lot and if you can wait a couple of months after you drive it to actually get it home, then it’s a great experience.For us, it seemed like a nice balance of being a highly organized process, but it also felt personalized and not overly scripted.It also felt like as a general rule Audi under-promises and over-delivers; not a bad formula for keeping customers happy

simonaitch

Great story. Bet you can't wait to get it home.