Service Member Trying to Buy an S5
Thread Starter
New Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Germany
Service Member Trying to Buy an S5
I have been looking at the S5's for some time and have actually been trying to buy one. I am in the US Army and deployed to Iraq. Additionally I am stationed in Germany and would like to purchase one through the dealer recommended by Audi (autoexchangeonline.com). This would ensure shipping to my address in Germany plus I wont have to pay taxes on it. I have filled out all the information requesting a quote 3 times now and have heard nothing back from them! Are there any suggestions? Has anyone else heard of a problem with them?Should I just purchase from a stateside dealer and have it shipped over? Any info on this matter would be great.
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,244
Likes: 4
From: Marin County, CA
Have you tried calling them direct?
Here's their contact info:
Auto Exchange Online
Gorxheimer Strasse 9 - 13
(Behind Mannheim PX)
68309 Mannheim
Germany
Tel: +(0049) 0621 7 18 87 58
Fax: +(0049) 0621 72 44 337
Email: online@mcs-autoexchange.com
Customer Service/Warranty Liaison: +(0049) 0631 351 8736
Auto Exchange Online
Gorxheimer Strasse 9 - 13
(Behind Mannheim PX)
68309 Mannheim
Germany
Tel: +(0049) 0621 7 18 87 58
Fax: +(0049) 0621 72 44 337
Email: online@mcs-autoexchange.com
Customer Service/Warranty Liaison: +(0049) 0631 351 8736
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 788
Likes: 2
From: Philadelphia Area
Why not contact Audi USA in Virginia directly?
Go to AudiUSA.com and send them an email with your questions. Seems to me the tax issue is the main thing to worry about. Also the exchange rate is a concern on where you order. But having a German car shipped to Germany is easy once you figure out the legalities and paperwork, I should think.
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
I bought mine through autoexchangeonline here in Germany, overall it was a good experience and a good price, and the whole process felt professional. I do not know of any other places in Germany that sell Audi's to the military, at least not in my area of Stuttgart. I agree, try calling them up, or emailing them directly. If I remember correctly I did not necessarily get a response from my quote request; my guess is they get a lot of quotes request. I went through the online process as opposed to going directly in the store to purchase the car. The person I dealt with was David Sweeney. I've interacted with several of their reps while I was shopping around at different bases before I got serious about the car, and all seemed really helpful.
PM me if you have more questions. But once again, the quickest and sure fire way would be to call someone there directly.
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2009 A5 3.2 quattro Tiptronic | Brilliant Black | Premium | S-Line | Nav | Technology
PM me if you have more questions. But once again, the quickest and sure fire way would be to call someone there directly.
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2009 A5 3.2 quattro Tiptronic | Brilliant Black | Premium | S-Line | Nav | Technology
Last edited by foxe_76; Mar 21, 2009 at 02:51 PM.
AudiWorld Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
From: Belgium
Kelton,
Understand you're going to take delivery in Germany and if you plan on selling the car before you PCS back to the US, you're correct in thinking that you will not have to pay sales tax but if you are planning on shipping it home, you'll have to pay the tax when you register it state side. Depending on the state, some will call it sales tax and other will call it 'use' tax but the tax man will get his money.
Understand you're going to take delivery in Germany and if you plan on selling the car before you PCS back to the US, you're correct in thinking that you will not have to pay sales tax but if you are planning on shipping it home, you'll have to pay the tax when you register it state side. Depending on the state, some will call it sales tax and other will call it 'use' tax but the tax man will get his money.
AudiWorld Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
From: Belgium
I'm talking to them now but they will not allow me to pick it up at the factory in Ingolstadt. They are telling me that they have to take it to Bremerhaven and take it through customs which is telling that they are ‘reselling’ me the car, they are buying it and as they are a German company and it’s a US spec car, they have to export it. I’m thinking they take it out through customs and then, bring it back in on my orders…
Thoughts?
Did you get Nav? Does it work?
Any issues with having it serviced by a local dealer?
Thoughts?
Did you get Nav? Does it work?
Any issues with having it serviced by a local dealer?
AudiWorld Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
I've got the NAV, it came with the US maps on it. From what I understand people (military with US spec A5's) in Germany have gone to German AUDI dealers, bought the European NAV DVD and most likely some software changes as well and it works. I will probably go to the local AUDI dealer and pay for this to be done in the next week or two when I switch my winter tires and rims back to the summer ones.
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2009 A5 3.2 quattro Tiptronic | Brilliant Black | Premium | S-Line | Nav | Technology
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2009 A5 3.2 quattro Tiptronic | Brilliant Black | Premium | S-Line | Nav | Technology
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Thread Starter
New Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Germany
Thanks for the help guys. I have emailed Audi and autoexchange directly. Also, does anyone know the advantages of using them vs using a US dealer? If I have to pay the tax when I get back to the states, why not use my trusted Audi dealer? I have not shipped a car over to Germany and understand that I can still do it on the Army's dime. Am I mistaken here? Again, thanks guys.
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AudiWorld Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
From: Belgium
...well, by buying it in Germany, you get to defer paying the tax and I believe they will assess the tax based on the value of the car at the time you register it so you'll likely pay less tax.
You could check with your dealer in the US to see if they would do European Delivery, some times they will won’t as they loose an allocation but in the present economic climate, I'm willing to be they'll do anything to sell a car.
I thought the rule was that you could ship one POV per PCS ‘order’ and that you could ship it at any time up until 1 year prior to your DEROS. I can't find that in the JFTR but I did find this:
JFTR, Chapter 5, Para U5457 C says "Incident to PCS: Unless otherwise prescribed in this Volume or in Service Regulations, transportation of a POV for an eligible member may be initiated any time while the PCS authorization/order remains in effect and prior to receipt of another PCS authorization/order, as long as the POV transportation is incident to the member's PCS rather than for personal reasons"
Your best bet is to talk to your TMO office as being able to read the JFTR and being able to understand the JFTR are two different things!
You could check with your dealer in the US to see if they would do European Delivery, some times they will won’t as they loose an allocation but in the present economic climate, I'm willing to be they'll do anything to sell a car.
I thought the rule was that you could ship one POV per PCS ‘order’ and that you could ship it at any time up until 1 year prior to your DEROS. I can't find that in the JFTR but I did find this:
JFTR, Chapter 5, Para U5457 C says "Incident to PCS: Unless otherwise prescribed in this Volume or in Service Regulations, transportation of a POV for an eligible member may be initiated any time while the PCS authorization/order remains in effect and prior to receipt of another PCS authorization/order, as long as the POV transportation is incident to the member's PCS rather than for personal reasons"
Your best bet is to talk to your TMO office as being able to read the JFTR and being able to understand the JFTR are two different things!
AudiWorld Newcomer
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Foxe, I just searched for this thread because I am preparing to deal with this same exact problem. Did it work for you and what year is your car?
I've got the NAV, it came with the US maps on it. From what I understand people (military with US spec A5's) in Germany have gone to German AUDI dealers, bought the European NAV DVD and most likely some software changes as well and it works. I will probably go to the local AUDI dealer and pay for this to be done in the next week or two when I switch my winter tires and rims back to the summer ones.
-----------------------
2009 A5 3.2 quattro Tiptronic | Brilliant Black | Premium | S-Line | Nav | Technology
-----------------------
2009 A5 3.2 quattro Tiptronic | Brilliant Black | Premium | S-Line | Nav | Technology