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Old 06-06-2012, 03:58 PM
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Default European Delivery: Anyone have lessons learned?

The wife and I are planning to take Euro delivery of our next car in Germany at the factory.

Looking for input from anyone who has done this before, any gotchas or things to watch out for?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 06-06-2012, 04:18 PM
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Spill! Watcha getting?
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Old 06-06-2012, 04:20 PM
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2013 Audi S4 (for her)
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Old 06-06-2012, 04:26 PM
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I was gonna suggest visiting the museum...but not sure how good the Audi one is.

Congrats! Nice way to please the little lady.
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Old 06-06-2012, 04:38 PM
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Take some cash and hop over to Stuttgart!!
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Old 06-06-2012, 05:03 PM
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DHS/TSA won't let me travel with that much cash

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Take some cash and hop over to Stuttgart!!
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Old 06-06-2012, 05:18 PM
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For what it's worth, I have a friend (and my insurance agent) who took delivery 2-3 years ago of a Mercedes at the factory. Before shipping it, he drove it all over Germany and western Europe, plus a trip to Scotland. Nothing but raves about their service.
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Old 06-06-2012, 05:28 PM
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Make reservations for a Porsche factory tour NOW thru a dealer. You cant just show up and expect it.
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Old 06-06-2012, 06:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pjalexandre View Post
2013 Audi S4 (for her)
Paul we picked up a Q5 back in 8/2010, and had a great time. The factory tour was neat, close to 2 hours long, with lots of walking. The Audi Museum has some neat cars. We also hit the Porsche Museum on our return trip back to Munich. Google maps helps to map out a route, so you can plan your drives. Check out the Bimmer world forums, lots of good advice there. We stayed the a Kempinski hotel at the Munich airport, our first night. It's a short walk from the terminal, like 150 yards. They let us check in that morning, we took a nap, then took the Sbuan downtown to hit the hofbrauhaus and walk around downtown Munich a bit. Audi sent an S8 to pick us up the next morning and we took delivery of the Q5. Had lunch, and did the factory tour, then the museum. The day ended with a drive to Salzburg, only about 1 1/2 away.

I could write loads more, but drop me a PM if you have any questions. We would do it again in a heart beat.
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Old 06-06-2012, 08:02 PM
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You'll have insurance on the car for up to 14 days, but you can buy more if you want. Fuel prices are mortgage-worthy. Don't drive like an American. Learn the rules of the road and follow them. In town, if there's an uncontrolled intersection (no stop or yield signs and no yellow diamond indicating the "main" road), whomever arrives first gets the right of way, but if you arrive at the same time, then the car on the right has it. Stay the hell out of the left lane. If you're not ACTIVELY passing someone, you should be as far right as possible. The rule of thumb is ten seconds. That means, if you can get over for ten seconds without having to slow down, do it. Just because nobody is behind you is no excuse. Get back over because someone in a Benz (verdammte Benzfahrer!) is probably closing in on you at 250 km/h...you just can't see them yet. Look in your mirrors two times (maybe three to be safer) before changing lanes to pass. On a "B" road, if only one lane in each direction and you're going slower than the person behind you wants to, pull right and even ride a little over the line to let them pass, although I'm guessing you're more likely to be the one wanting to pass.

Whatever you do, no matter how big of an ass the guy in front of you is being, no matter if nobody would get hurt, do not pass on the right. I've seen someone do it, stop to fuel up about 15 km down the road, and the Polizei came up and gave him a ticket based simply on the fact that someone called it in. One of my friends is a "Beamter" for Polizei Niedersachsen and has told me of cases where he has given tickets to people under the same circumstances.

If you do get stuck behind that asshat, put on your left turn signal, a quick double-tap flash of the lights, and they'll likely wake up and get out of the way. Not always, but usually. Sometimes, it's better to let the guy coming up behind you past to sit on the asshat's bumper, then pull back in behind.

Be prepared for some of the longest traffic jams you've ever experienced. Some moron will try to change CDs or something equally not worthy of a person doing 220 km/h, and end up playing bumper pool with his car against the guard rails. This will cause traffic to back up for several kilometers. You'll probably see blood so unlike DC, it'll be worth it. =-)

Get a data plan on your phone for Europe and use an application like Trapster to warn you of the stationary speed cameras. I think TomTom also does it, but it's not necessarily up-to-the-minute. However, that won't help you with the camera cars. Yes, that's right, occasionally you'll find a nice Audi or VW sedan cruising along seemingly baiting you to speed. Don't take the bait. It's probably a camera car. They have video (front and rear) with a speed overlay. They'll follow you past a speed limit sign, visible in the video, then send you a ticket. You'll get it at the factory when you drop the car off to ship it back. They're quick with those. I can ask my buddy who installs the systems for the Polizei in Niedersachsen which cars they're using predominantly now.

Driving in Germany is very serious business. A few of my friends didn't even get a license until after 30 because they were just not yet ready for the awesome responsibility (and cost).

When you get back here, get to know your cruise control. You'll have been driving at whatever speed you want (in some places) and will be desensitized to speed. A friend came to visit several years ago when I was still living there. We went all over the country in a nice VW Corrado, doing pretty much whatever speed we wanted. When he got back to Boston, on the way home from the airport, he got a ticket for 85 in a 55. He didn't even realize he was going that fast. Not at all dissimilar to being at the track all day and then hitting the road back home.

There's a lot more, but people are already going to talk smack about what I wrote. Give me a call in the morning and we'll chat more about it. I have a flight at 1pm, but am basically free up until then.
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