The Numbers Don't Seem To Add Up
 

In looking into Euro Delivery, I'm not seeing any advantage:

MSRP on new S5: $60,000
36 Month Lease or loan payment: $1000/mo (yes, I could probably do better, but just for argument)
ED Discount: 5% = $3000
Months of use missing due to US delivery: 3

Add it up and you're paying MSRP for the car before any trip costs given you lease or loan.

AutoEurope will rent you an A3 w/GPS for $400 for a week.

So, yes, you'd be missing out driving your new car in Europe, but if you're doing it for the nubmers it doesn't seem to make sense given you're making 3 months of payments on a car that you're not using.

So wouldn't driving my car in Europe have to be worth $3,000 post travel costs before I should do it?

Seems like the Audi driving experience might be a better deal.

If you are strictly just looking at numbers.......maybe they don't work, but
 

it is more than just purchasing a car. It really is an experience. One that I will not forget and will do again (hopefully with an S5 as well).

BMW Financial makes one lease payment for you while car is in transit
 

My car took 7 weeks to arrive from the Zurich drop-off date. Also ED leases start at least 2 weeks prior to Munich pick-up date, so you are essentially paying for 9-10 weeks during which time you are not using the car. But the one payment made by BMWFS helps soften the blow.

I agree with you that 5% ED discount is not competitive against what BMW and MB offer. I got my car for 11.8% or $5,290 off the U.S. MSRP price of $44,900. I believe MB gives you 7% off the base MSRP and does not charge for destination charge on ED cars.

I would disagree
 

True that some expenses for plane tickets and travel will cut into the discount so it's best to tie it into a vacation or business trip.

We are getting 5% off a car that most are paying MSRP for and if you drop off the car in Germany, it can be much quicker than 3 months. For example EH Harms (Frankfurt) told me Audi ships every week out of Emden and transit time to the West Coast (San Diego) is three weeks. Granted there may be some time stuck at U.S. port for customs, but not an additional 9 weeks. EH Harms is told to quote 4 - 6 weeks from drop off date to delivery.

The main benefit is visiting Germany and driving the car where it can actually be driven. Doing 140 on the Autobahn with a train of cars is an experience. Living in the U.S. where max speeds are generally 65mph, makes it a lot harder to do without putting the license at risk.

Dealer profit on the S5 is only 7%, so that's more the reason as for why we get 5% as there isn't as much room to work with compared to BMW or Mercedes.












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To me, ED is more about the overall experience and less about the money.

However, on a lease the clock starts sooner than car pick-up date
 

I don't know how Audi's prpgram works exactly but if you have to finalize paperwork 2-4 weeks prior to car pick-up in Ingolstadt, that's the date your lease starts. Therefore, you have to pay for some addtional weeks during which you are not using the car.

Sure, I'm just trying to figure out ...
 

What I"m actually paying for. If I take the dates from the ED FAQ:

9/27 Go pay the dealer and get bill of sale. [lease starts here]
9/29 Received final paperwork for pick up.

estimates:

10/15 Delivery
10/22 Dropoff
12/10 Arrive at local dealership [2 lease payments later]

So let's say a europe trip costs $5000
The car costs MSRP-$1000 (MSRP-5%+2 months payments)

Therefore given that I"m going to Europe anyway I'm down -$1000.

If I weren't going to Europe, or go before I take delivery thus requiring another trip, I'd be down -$4000.

That's probably worth it to me, but the forum seems to imply that "it's silly not to do it" and that's just not the case.