Last Wed. night my wife and I placed an order for our A3 TDI choosing to also do the European Delivery Program. We are hoping to go to Germany the last full week of May for our vacation, but we will see; I talked to the dealer on Monday and he couldn't get a VIN yet due to issues with TDI parts availability.
We have friends studying in Milan for the semester so, we will definitely make it over that way. Also interested in going to Belgium to tour a couple of the Trappist breweries. I definitely want to go to the Nurburgring, not sure if I will actually drive around it though, seems a bit risky.
My wife and our are definitely beer nuts, so any of the smaller towns with breweries would be a great stop. I am thinking that we could take a jaunt through South France and put my minor in French to the test also.
So far our theoretical schedule looks like:
May 21st - Depart Chicago
May 24th - Take Delivery of Car (except the dealer informed me this was a German holiday, perhaps delayed until the 25th)
May 31st - Return car to Munich/Frankfurt and fly back home
Everything is still up in the air and I expect it to be for a while, but we are going to be over there a decent amount of time and are looking forward to the trip!
patinsd
03-02-2010, 04:13 PM
Welcome and congrats .
Just let you know ,you are not going to get a VIN # until the car is built .
You might be able to get a commission # by now and a approximate date of fabrication .
You can look at my older thread ,I list all of the events from the day I ordered the car .
Good luck and be patient .
IbisTDI
03-02-2010, 07:00 PM
Welcome and congrats .
Just let you know ,you are not going to get a VIN # until the car is built .
You might be able to get a commission # by now and a approximate date of fabrication .
You can look at my older thread ,I list all of the events from the day I ordered the car .
Good luck and be patient .
Thanks, I just the read the whole 8 pages! I guess my associate at the dealership was a bit confused, he kept on calling it the VIN, but from your thread it appears that I am awaiting the commission number. I guess the waiting has just started...
patinsd
03-02-2010, 07:24 PM
Thanks, I just the read the whole 8 pages! I guess my associate at the dealership was a bit confused, he kept on calling it the VIN, but from your thread it appears that I am awaiting the commission number. I guess the waiting has just started...
You know ,so far everything has been very smooth for me .
I am going to pickup the car next week and I will post every aspect of this experience .
The Audi european delivery program people have been very helpful .Every time I had a question ,they answer in the next 24 hours .
But ,you will see ,when you get the welcome package ,(in about 2 weeks after ordering ) this is when the exitement begin .
Ravenash
03-03-2010, 04:58 AM
Congratulations, IbisTDI. My wife and I are also thinking about doing ED for an A3 TDI as well. We'll probably make up our minds this week. If you guys are beer nuts DEFINATELY visit Belgium. I lived there for 2 years and they have hundreds of different brews. Any trappist abbey tour is highly recommended. Stay away from the touristic bars and go to the local ones, the beer selection is much bigger and mostly on tab if you are lucky.
Remember that Brussels and the south of the country are 'francophone', so you can pratice your French there too. And if you want a beautiful ride go to the Ardennes, plenty of twists and turns in those hills.
By the way, did you all know that if you place your order for ED after March 22nd you will be getting a 2011 model? I was told by Audi that would be the case and that delivery would have to be in the Aug/Sept timeframe.
IbisTDI
03-03-2010, 05:17 AM
If you guys are beer nuts DEFINATELY visit Belgium. I lived there for 2 years and they have hundreds of different brews. Any trappist abbey tour is highly recommended. Stay away from the touristic bars and go to the local ones, the beer selection is much bigger and mostly on tab if you are lucky.
Remember that Brussels and the south of the country are 'francophone', so you can pratice your French there too. And if you want a beautiful ride go to the Ardennes, plenty of twists and turns in those hills.
By the way, did you all know that if you place your order for ED after March 22nd you will be getting a 2011 model? I was told by Audi that would be the case and that delivery would have to be in the Aug/Sept timeframe.
Ohh man, now you have me even more excited about the trip to Belgium!
Interesting about the 2011 model information, if Audi can't make it happen by the last week of June (that is our 2nd option) we were planning on waiting until Sept. anyways (got to hit up Oktoberfest!). I haven't found any information on the 2011 models, I wonder if there are any changes coming out...
Ravenash
03-03-2010, 05:50 AM
Yeah, we thought about waiting too, but we MUST be in Europe in July/August to be able to meet family and friends over there. I have tried looking for info on the 2011 A3 but have found nothing other than made up pictures.
By the way, just curious, did you negotiate the price with the dealer or did you got a straight 3% off? I am debating the best strategy :-)
CrazyIvan
03-03-2010, 06:03 AM
You know ,so far everything has been very smooth for me .
I am going to pickup the car next week and I will post every aspect of this experience .
The Audi european delivery program people have been very helpful .Every time I had a question ,they answer in the next 24 hours .
But ,you will see ,when you get the welcome package ,(in about 2 weeks after ordering ) this is when the exitement begin .
+1 on the Audi european delivery people. Very helpful, they answered every question I had for them. And they usually answer within couple hours. Dont rely on the dealer for info about ED. I told my dealer more about it than he ever knew. I'll have to trade info for some cool Audi stuff from now on :)
IbisTDI
03-03-2010, 08:57 AM
Yeah, we thought about waiting too, but we MUST be in Europe in July/August to be able to meet family and friends over there. I have tried looking for info on the 2011 A3 but have found nothing other than made up pictures.
By the way, just curious, did you negotiate the price with the dealer or did you got a straight 3% off? I am debating the best strategy :-)
Yeah, the only thing I have seen is those pictures also, I actually like the looks of the current car better than that one, so the order went in!
The dealer gave me the 3% off without even asking, I didn't try to negotiate it any lower than that though. I was trying to deal with 2 dealerships, and one didn't have allocation for an A3 until the end of Summer and this one could make it happen ASAP, so I went with them. From what I have read online, it seems like the $1k off that we got was a pretty good deal. I am happy!
IbisTDI
03-03-2010, 08:59 AM
One question I have is, so I will receive my scheduled build date in a couple weeks, is that when everyone has booked their airfare? Or did you wait until the car was actually built and everything was confirmed? I read in the "release" paper work that they weren't responsible for any changes in the schedule, but I just don't want to get stuck paying last minute internation airfare!
Ravenash
03-03-2010, 09:24 AM
If I were you I would wait until you get the build date, if it is really only going to take a couple of weeks. Ticket prices will be roughly the same in such a short period.
IbisTDI
03-03-2010, 01:48 PM
If I were you I would wait until you get the build date, if it is really only going to take a couple of weeks. Ticket prices will be roughly the same in such a short period.
No, I was speaking about the difference between waiting for when the car was actually built vs. when you know the build date. I just don't know how much stuff is set in stone at which point.
patinsd
03-03-2010, 02:48 PM
One question I have is, so I will receive my scheduled build date in a couple weeks, is that when everyone has booked their airfare? Or did you wait until the car was actually built and everything was confirmed? I read in the "release" paper work that they weren't responsible for any changes in the schedule, but I just don't want to get stuck paying last minute internation airfare!
Sorry it took me some time to do this .
That’s the dates of every stage from signing contract to buy the car.
Dec.30/09 order car for ED
Jan 5/10 my SA call to confirm the car was order and schedule to be built Feb. 8/10 .He never gave me commission #.
Jan 19/10 Via FedEx, I received the welcome package from Audi ED program
“Vehicle production scheduled for the week of Feb 6 with delivery available after March 10/10
Jan 20 I started looking for airfare for delivery March 11/10
Feb 15/10 I received a call from my SA “car is built and we need to finalize the paperwork and pay for the car + VAT”
Feb 15/10 I booked airplane tickets
Feb 16/10 I paid for the car + VAT
Feb 16/10 I sent via email the customer form and paperwork needed to Audi ED program
Feb 17/10 Audi ED program emailed me back telling me “they will prepare my final agenda and delivery documents and send them by the end of the week via FedEx “
Feb 20/10 I got all of the paperwork from Audi ED program, all my wishes are accepted (date for delivery, hotel choice, pickup arrangements at the airport, factory visit …..)
Let me tell something about the airfare.
Try to book your flight at least 21 days before the day you are going to flight and you will avoid last minute fees
IbisTDI
03-03-2010, 07:10 PM
Sorry it took me some time to do this .
That’s the dates of every stage from signing contract to buy the car.
Dec.30/09 order car for ED
Jan 5/10 my SA call to confirm the car was order and schedule to be built Feb. 8/10 .He never gave me commission #.
Jan 19/10 Via FedEx, I received the welcome package from Audi ED program
“Vehicle production scheduled for the week of Feb 6 with delivery available after March 10/10
Jan 20 I started looking for airfare for delivery March 11/10
Feb 15/10 I received a call from my SA “car is built and we need to finalize the paperwork and pay for the car + VAT”
Feb 15/10 I booked airplane tickets
Feb 16/10 I paid for the car + VAT
Feb 16/10 I sent via email the customer form and paperwork needed to Audi ED program
Feb 17/10 Audi ED program emailed me back telling me “they will prepare my final agenda and delivery documents and send them by the end of the week via FedEx “
Feb 20/10 I got all of the paperwork from Audi ED program, all my wishes are accepted (date for delivery, hotel choice, pickup arrangements at the airport, factory visit …..)
Let me tell something about the airfare.
Try to book your flight at least 21 days before the day you are going to flight and you will avoid last minute fees
Thanks! That was (as usual) very helpful!
CrazyIvan
03-04-2010, 09:27 AM
Thanks! That was (as usual) very helpful!
Definitely wait until you get confirmed delivery date; which is after your car is built. There is a possibility that your delivery date can change. Audi, by default, gives you 30 days after production date. I was able to change mine to earlier date.
CrazyIvan
03-04-2010, 09:31 AM
Yeah, the only thing I have seen is those pictures also, I actually like the looks of the current car better than that one, so the order went in!
The dealer gave me the 3% off without even asking, I didn't try to negotiate it any lower than that though. I was trying to deal with 2 dealerships, and one didn't have allocation for an A3 until the end of Summer and this one could make it happen ASAP, so I went with them. From what I have read online, it seems like the $1k off that we got was a pretty good deal. I am happy!
Your dealer is incorrect. All ED cars dont affect allocation, except S5 and R8. Check with your dealer again and make sure the order is placed correctly. Mine was initially ordered as part of dealer's allocation. Audi USA had to get involved and fix it.
IbisTDI
03-04-2010, 09:53 AM
Your dealer is incorrect. All ED cars dont affect allocation, except S5 and R8. Check with your dealer again and make sure the order is placed correctly. Mine was initially ordered as part of dealer's allocation. Audi USA had to get involved and fix it.
The dealer I ordered it through didn't have any problems. It was the other dealer that was telling me about their "allocation" issues. I think it worked out better anyways!
patinsd
03-04-2010, 10:19 AM
The dealer I ordered it through didn't have any problems. It was the other dealer that was telling me about their "allocation" issues. I think it worked out better anyways!
As far as I know ED does not affect allocation for the dealer .
You know some dealer have no interest on doing ED program and they don't want to learn the process on how to do it .
I am glad you find the right one .
I had the same issues ,went to two dealer and picked the one with more knowlege about ED program and so far very pleased with it .
IbisTDI
03-04-2010, 01:54 PM
I got an e-mail today from the dealership, they are having problems confirming production dates on the TDI, but we will supposedly know more next week. Although it did say that they would be able to meet our requested delivery in May!
Ravenash
03-05-2010, 06:32 AM
Hang in there. I am sure you are biting your finger nails :-)
My wife and I are going to test drive an A4 today. We might change our minds and go with it instead.
IbisTDI
03-05-2010, 11:42 AM
Hang in there. I am sure you are biting your finger nails :-)
My wife and I are going to test drive an A4 today. We might change our minds and go with it instead.
Yeah, it was a toss up for me, but the TDI put it over the edge.
I could have gotten a A4 Avant with Sport Package and IPod connector for the same price that I paid for my A3. But will (hopefully) be getting up to 50% better fuel economy. No kids in the picture for a long time, so the A3 was a good fit!
K2audi
03-06-2010, 07:57 AM
I will be interested to hear what kind of gas mileage you get on your overall trip. Congrats!
quailallstar
03-12-2010, 10:05 AM
What kind of deal/pricing did you get for the A3 TDI and Euro Delivery? I'm deciding whether to get an A3 TDI or a VW Golf TDI. The Euro delivery is tempting...
Thanks!
IbisTDI
03-14-2010, 06:39 AM
I just got the standard 3% discount, didn't even have to ask for it.
Got an e-mail from the dealership, Audi in Germany confirmed they can make our delivery date and our welcome package should be shipping out next week!
I requested May 24th as the delivery date, but I see that it is Whit Monday, does anyone know if this is a typical holiday where everything is closed? Not sure if we will have pick-up on the 24th or 25th.
Ravenash
03-18-2010, 11:07 AM
IbisTDI, any news at all? Did you get your welcome package?
IbisTDI
03-20-2010, 07:58 PM
IbisTDI, any news at all? Did you get your welcome package?
Nope, no news to update!
Hopefully I will be getting the package this coming week, but I am traveling so my wife will have to fill me in.
We are now thinking about taking delivery on Friday the 21st since this will give us an extra weekend with the car.
patinsd
03-21-2010, 10:46 AM
Looks like BMW Welt is open don't see reason why Audi will not working on that day - hope you will be fine.
Monday may 24 is off in France (religious holiday),probably same in Germany .
IbisTDI
03-24-2010, 01:23 PM
My wife got the package from Audi in the mail yesterday. Unfortunately I am traveling in CA at the time...
She said that it is going to be built the week of April 26th, with delivery available after May 25th. But, we want to pick it up on May 21st.
It says to contact my salesmen with any issues, I guess that I will need to give him a call...
Ravenash
03-24-2010, 04:54 PM
Looks like we got the welcome package the very same day :-)
One piece of advice. Send an email directly to the european delivery program directly before talking to your dealer. Give them your comission number and tell them the day you would like your delivery scheduled. I am sure they will make it work. They have been very responsive with me so far. My case is the opposite of yours, we want to pick up the car way after its build date. They typically only allow 60 days but they promised me they would keep mine until the end of July to meet my dates.
Their email is europeandeliveryprogram@audi.com
IbisTDI
03-24-2010, 07:19 PM
Looks like we got the welcome package the very same day :-)
One piece of advice. Send an email directly to the european delivery program directly before talking to your dealer. Give them your comission number and tell them the day you would like your delivery scheduled. I am sure they will make it work. They have been very responsive with me so far. My case is the opposite of yours, we want to pick up the car way after its build date. They typically only allow 60 days but they promised me they would keep mine until the end of July to meet my dates.
Their email is europeandeliveryprogram@audi.com
Drag out the waiting period longer???? We thought about doing that first but I put an axe to that, I want my car! : )-
patinsd
03-25-2010, 01:06 AM
My wife got the package from Audi in the mail yesterday. Unfortunately I am traveling in CA at the time...
She said that it is going to be built the week of April 26th, with delivery available after May 25th. But, we want to pick it up on May 21st.
It says to contact my salesmen with any issues, I guess that I will need to give him a call...
Just contact the Audi ED program directly ,they will do everything they can .
Wich hotel did you pick ?
If you stay overnight in Inglolstadt ,I will give you recomendations ,my wife and I had a very good time .
Ravenash
03-25-2010, 05:33 AM
Drag out the waiting period longer???? We thought about doing that first but I put an axe to that, I want my car! : )-
I wish I had that choice. I think I will have no fingernails by the time I pick it up :-)
CrazyIvan
03-26-2010, 05:28 AM
My wife got the package from Audi in the mail yesterday. Unfortunately I am traveling in CA at the time...
She said that it is going to be built the week of April 26th, with delivery available after May 25th. But, we want to pick it up on May 21st.
It says to contact my salesmen with any issues, I guess that I will need to give him a call...
+1 on european delivery people. Your dealer most likely wont be able to help you much. I emailed Audi ED directly and they changed my delivery date to earlier time.
IbisTDI
03-30-2010, 01:00 PM
I emailed the ED program, unfortunately they are booked solid for May 21st, so my delivery is still set for May 25th (our anniversary, I will really have to make this up to her...). But this might work out better, we will probably fly into Milan on Saturday and then take a train to Munich on Monday. I have talked to many people that said bringing a new car to that area of Italy probably isn't the best idea and I was worried about it anyways...
Ravenash
03-31-2010, 05:27 AM
DON'T know what you they are talking about. Have no problem to drive in Milan and all the way from Lake Como to Genova and next to France. Rome is a differnt story - if I have to go there - I probobly leave my car outside city or go streight to hotel and live my car on secure parking lot.
My next ED, I planning spend at list a week in Italy, start in Venice - 1 night, Florence (3-4 days as base) with short trip to Sienna and around Tuscany, and Portofino 1 day.
I agree, you should not have any problems in Northern Italy. Rome is pretty bad and in general the further south the worse it gets. Naples area is pretty bad, although the roads south of it are really fun to drive if you go there off season.
Sorry your date did not work out in the end.
IbisTDI
04-20-2010, 01:00 PM
Talked to the dealership, my car was released to production on the 13th, so it might be built, but I haven't gotten a call back. I need to start booking my travel! Hopefully that volcano stops by the end of May!
Ravenash
04-20-2010, 04:34 PM
Talked to the dealership, my car was released to production on the 13th, so it might be built, but I haven't gotten a call back. I need to start booking my travel! Hopefully that volcano stops by the end of May!
Great news!!! Yeah, hopefully the volcano would be cool by then :-)
IbisTDI
04-22-2010, 05:47 PM
Ok, got my flights booked and am making more definite plans. The wife and I would like to stay in Amsterdam and Brussels for a day or two, does anyone have a recommendation on hotels? Preferably ones with secured parking.
Unfortunately the Ring isn't open to public the second week we are there, so it looks like I will have to make the journey during the first week.
patinsd
04-22-2010, 06:23 PM
Ok, got my flights booked and am making more definite plans. The wife and I would like to stay in Amsterdam and Brussels for a day or two, does anyone have a recommendation on hotels? Preferably ones with secured parking.
Unfortunately the Ring isn't open to public the second week we are there, so it looks like I will have to make the journey during the first week.
The day you pickup the car ,where are you going to stay ? Ingolstadt or Munich ?
IbisTDI
04-23-2010, 04:20 AM
The day you pickup the car ,where are you going to stay ? Ingolstadt or Munich ?
Actually, we will just be passing through (at least that is what the plans are for now). We will be coming in the morning of pick-up at 6:30 on a train from Milan and Audi will pick us up at the train station. We are saving our "free" hotel stay for the night before we leave at the Kempinski so we can just get out of bed and be at the airport. I would expect that we will be heading north after our delivery, but to where, we are open to suggestions!
Ravenash
04-23-2010, 07:38 AM
Ok, got my flights booked and am making more definite plans. The wife and I would like to stay in Amsterdam and Brussels for a day or two, does anyone have a recommendation on hotels? Preferably ones with secured parking.
Unfortunately the Ring isn't open to public the second week we are there, so it looks like I will have to make the journey during the first week.
We will be staying one night in Brussels as well. Our hotel is the Metropole (http://www.metropolehotel.com/). Granted, it has mixed reviews and it is not the cheapest, but it has valet parking service on a nearby garage and it is in the heart of the city. You are in walking distance to all major attractions, not to mention that one of my favorite bars (http://www.lecorbeau.be/) is right next door :-)
I have also stayed in the NH Atlanta Hotel, 100 yards from the Metropole. It is very clean and service is really good. I think it is cheaper than the Metropole. Unfortunately I did not have a car when I stayed there, but I am pretty sure they will also park it for you in a secure garage (there are plenty nearby).
IbisTDI
04-26-2010, 08:04 AM
Ok, I will ask the group another question, what is a reasonable destination after pick up day? My wife and I would like to make it to Amsterdam the following morning, but would like to enjoy the night life (read beer scene) that night along the way. Is Dusseldorf too far of a stretch? Or is Frankfurt a better stop?
CrazyIvan
04-26-2010, 12:03 PM
Ok, I will ask the group another question, what is a reasonable destination after pick up day? My wife and I would like to make it to Amsterdam the following morning, but would like to enjoy the night life (read beer scene) that night along the way. Is Dusseldorf too far of a stretch? Or is Frankfurt a better stop?
Let me ask you a question: do you plan on taking a factory tour? Or check out the museum? Because if you do, plan on spending most of the day at Audi Forum. I didnt leave Forum until 4pm and I was alone. Frankfurt is about 3.5 hours away from Ingolstadt depending on traffic. I would look for a closer stop though.
Ravenash
04-26-2010, 05:47 PM
Let me ask you a question: do you plan on taking a factory tour? Or check out the museum? Because if you do, plan on spending most of the day at Audi Forum. I didnt leave Forum until 4pm and I was alone. Frankfurt is about 3.5 hours away from Ingolstadt depending on traffic. I would look for a closer stop though.
I totally agree with you, CrazyIvan. Find somewhere not to far away, specially if you still have a bit of jet lag. 3-4 hours away should be fine. Days are longer in summer, but expect it to be pretty dark by 9:30 PM. Our drive after delivery is about 4 hours.
IbisTDI
05-04-2010, 06:02 AM
Let me ask you a question: do you plan on taking a factory tour? Or check out the museum? Because if you do, plan on spending most of the day at Audi Forum. I didnt leave Forum until 4pm and I was alone. Frankfurt is about 3.5 hours away from Ingolstadt depending on traffic. I would look for a closer stop though.
Yes, we are planning on doing the factory tour and museum. Or tenative plans are to have Audi pick us up at the Munich train station around 7AM so I expect we will be there really early in the morning, and hopefully get a morning pick up time.
I still don't have a VIN though and delivery is scheduled for 3 weeks from today!
CrazyIvan
05-04-2010, 06:26 PM
Yes, we are planning on doing the factory tour and museum. Or tenative plans are to have Audi pick us up at the Munich train station around 7AM so I expect we will be there really early in the morning, and hopefully get a morning pick up time.
I still don't have a VIN though and delivery is scheduled for 3 weeks from today!
Once your final paperwork arrives, it will include your itinerary. From that point you will be able to plan better. My delivery was at 10am, and ther is a delivery every 15 minutes. English factory tour starts at 1130 and dont be late or you wont be able to go. You cant bring camera or even the phone on the tour, so just leave that stuff in the car ahead of time. Tour is 2.5 hours and you can easily spend that much in the museum also. Plan accordingly.
IbisTDI
05-14-2010, 02:53 PM
Got my final delivery package today! Looks like I got the 10am spot on Tues. the 25th, can't wait!
Ravenash
05-14-2010, 06:31 PM
Congratulations!!!Almost there.
Ravenash
05-21-2010, 09:05 AM
I guess you are almost ready to fly to Europe. Good luck and keep us posted. And let me know if you have any questions on things to do in Belgium, although I think you won't have a problem with that :-)
IbisTDI
05-21-2010, 11:30 AM
I guess you are almost ready to fly to Europe. Good luck and keep us posted. And let me know if you have any questions on things to do in Belgium, although I think you won't have a problem with that :-)
Not only are we ready, I am at the airport writing this on my BlackBerry!
Our flight to NY is delayed an hour, but still looks like we will make our connection to Italy.
I will post some pictures when I get the car, I can upload from my BlackBerry to Photobucket, so it shouldn't be too hard.
TIME89
05-21-2010, 11:37 AM
Not only are we ready, I am at the airport writing this on my BlackBerry!
Our flight to NY is delayed an hour, but still looks like we will make our connection to Italy.
I will post some pictures when I get the car, I can upload from my BlackBerry to Photobucket, so it shouldn't be too hard.
Have a great Bone Voyage!
IbisTDI
05-22-2010, 03:11 AM
Well, luck wasn't on our side....
Our flight from Chi to NYC ended up getting delayed just enough, that even with running through JFK airport, we missed our flight to Italy by literally 2 minutes (our original layover was supposed to be 2.5 hours). So we got put up for the night in a hotel, are going to get to do some sightseeing (my wife has never been here before) and then take the same flight but a day later.
Ohh, and we got upgraded to first class on our way here and also on our way to Italy we will be flying business class. I guess when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
Now if my buddy who we were supposed to meet in Italy would just answer his stinkin' phone, I guess he lost the PIN # to use it...
CrazyIvan
05-22-2010, 08:03 PM
Well, luck wasn't on our side....
Our flight from Chi to NYC ended up getting delayed just enough, that even with running through JFK airport, we missed our flight to Italy by literally 2 minutes (our original layover was supposed to be 2.5 hours). So we got put up for the night in a hotel, are going to get to do some sightseeing (my wife has never been here before) and then take the same flight but a day later.
Ohh, and we got upgraded to first class on our way here and also on our way to Italy we will be flying business class. I guess when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
Now if my buddy who we were supposed to meet in Italy would just answer his stinkin' phone, I guess he lost the PIN # to use it...
Sounds scary similar! :) I also had a problem leaving... havea great trip!!!
patinsd
05-23-2010, 07:47 AM
Sounds scary similar! :) I also had a problem leaving... havea great trip!!!
+1
Our plane was on time but arrived 1h20 late because snow conditions on the runway .
Driver was waiting patiently .
Have a nice trip .
Hopefully this works! We didn't bring a converter with us and have has trouble charging my laptop. We are in Amsterdam now! Not sure if I will have the dealership look at it but it makes some wind noise at 120mph on Autobahn. :)
Ravenash
05-26-2010, 05:39 AM
Car looks really nice!!! Hope you are enjoying 50 MPG on the Autobahn :-)
IbisTDI
06-03-2010, 09:39 AM
Well we dropped off the car yesterday and leave tomorrow. It was a great trip, returned the car with 2013 enjoyable miles on it!
That's one place I didnt get to visit: Stelvio pass. Did you go to Nurburgring? You know that full report is expected with pictures ;)
IbisTDI
06-06-2010, 04:13 AM
Ok, an overview of the car in case you haven't read through the whole thread, it is a 2010 A3 TDI with the Titanium Package. We put 2013 miles on the car in two weeks while in Europe. Overall, I think that we averaged around 38mpg over the duration of the trip which included stops in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria.
Friday 5/21: Depart ORD arrive at JFK, miss flight to Pisa by literally 2 minutes. : ( Get upgraded to Business Class though on the flight out the next day, free hotel room.
Saturday 5/22: My wife had never been to NYC so we took the subway to downtown and did a bus tour.
And then it was out to JFK to hop on an airplane. Champagne awaited us at our seats!
Sunday 5/23: After two hours of sleep awoken to a French Toast Breakfast and I was so stuffed I could barely move, luckily a couple hours later we landed in Pisa, Italy. Immediately off to the Leaning Tower to check it out.
I tried to push it over the rest of the way, but it just wouldn't budge!
That night we took an overnight train from Milan to Munich, once again MISERABLE! Sweaty and hot, stuck in a room with 6 other people, once again got only about 2 hours of sleep...
Tuesday 5/25: Delivery Day! Greeted at the Munich Central Station by Wagner, with an Audi sign. Driven to the Forum in a black A8L (I presume, for some reason probably 50% of the cars in Europe don't have badges identifying the model...). Delivery went pretty well, the majority of the people at the Forum DIDN'T speak English which was surprising and at times a bit of a problem. We had to ask for the Munich sticker, so remember to do this, for some reason it wasn't included in our paper work.
Here is the car parked out front of the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, out of about 100 deliveries they did at the factory that day, only 4 were for Americans doing European Delivery. Multiples S3s, RS6s, and TTRSs...
We did the factory tour which included seeing almost everything, except the paint process, from stamping the steel for body components, to welding the body to the final assembly of the A3, we walked the whole line. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed...
Probably the car that got me started on Audis. My Dad and I went to the 12 hours of Sebring (when we lived in FL) and stood at these guys pits for about an hour, such a great experience/memory
After the factory tour, we toured the museum and got on the Autobahn to Dusseldorf. Got the car up to 120mph.
Wednesday 5/26: Leave Dusseldorf, head for Amsterdam. The only stop in Dusseldorf was our hotel and a brewery called Zum Uerige, definitely worth the stop, seeing actual barrels of beer being served and rolled around took you back into the old days.
In front of the hotel in Amsterdam, by far the coolest city I have ever traveled to, everyone was so nice there.
In front of the Onze Lieve Vrouw van Koningshoeven Abbey in the Netherlands, they make La Trappe brand of Trappist beer. My wife and I are both beer geeks, we stopped at lots of world renown bars and 4 of the 7 total Trappist Abbeys.
Our walking tour of Belgium was courtesy of Cantillon Brewery that has it on their website. It took you by all the big sites in the city and then ended at the brewery. I would definitely recommend both. The brewery has a self guided walking tour, which includes some tasting, my wife and I did not care for their open fermented brews, but it was cool seeing a brewery straight out of the 1900s.
For dinner that night, we went to Wally's Farm in Poperinge. This was probably the highlight of the trip. It is a family style dinner house, where Wally who is a Elvis enthusiast provides the entertainment. If you are in the area you HAVE to stop here for dinner, it was awesome. And probably the only place on the trip where we were the only tourist.
Sunday 5/30: Leave Poperinge and head for the Chimay brewery.
When we were driving to the monastery outside of Chimay, I thought it was weird that the road had tall guardrails all over and then there were rumble strips. Apparently we were driving on a section of the Circuit de Chimay
On the way to Triberg we stopped at the Fluchenstein Museum (hopefully that was the name) which is a small collection of German houses from the 1600s re-assembled like they would have been at the time and showing how life would have been.
The worlds largest cuckoo clock, you can tour it for 2 Euros and then another 1 Euro to hear him talk about it, sort of a tourist trap, but cool nonetheless...
After Triberg we headed to Zurich, as our staging ground for the Alps. We should have pre-booked a hotel because Zurich was expensive!
Tuesday 6/1: Leave Zurich and head for the Alps!
I had planned on driving through some roads in the Alps and wanted to go along the routes that the guys from Top Gear took, so we headed south. We started with the San Bernadino Pass, then on to the Fluella Pass (it was snowing at the top and there wasn't a sign, so we didn't stop, I just didn't want to slide off the road...), then to the Stelvio and Umbrail Pass.
Only the "front" side of the Stelvio Pass was open, the back side was still snowed over, as you can see in my picture, the snow was higher than the car. We had to take the Umbrail Pass down since we were heading back into Austria/Germany which was a but unnerving since a decent part of it was a dirt road...
This is looking at the "gnarliest" section of the Stelvio Pass, the orange are the plastic temporary guardrails; some car either fell off the top and rolled all the way down to the bottom and took out all the guardrails, or the snow destroyed them as it melted down.
On the way up to that portion there were actually some one lane tunnels that are carved out of the side of the mountain, and are too long to see to the other side. I was following a van through it when he all of a sudden slammed on his brakes and whipped it into reverse, there was a car coming from the other direction. Backing up in a tunnel that is barely wide enough to see in, in the dark, in a brand new car, was very nerve racking...
Why would anyone ever put a town at the top of the Stelvio Pass is beyond me, maybe they had planned on it being a watering hole for the car enthusiast getting to the top.
After the Alps we headed to Fussen to see the Neuschwanstein Castle, but unfortunately Thursday was a bank holiday when we had planned on dropping off the car, so we ended up having to cut Neuschwanstein out of the schedule.
Wednesday 6/2: Leave Fussen stop at the Andech Monastery, check in at the hotel in Munich to empty the car out and then head to the drop off site. :(
Thursday 6/3: Check out of our hotel in downtown Munich and head for the Kempinski to check in, then back downtown. The Kempinski was a beautiful hotel!
All in all the car was a blast to drive. The brakes leave something to be desired and unless you keep the revs up in the diesel, it doesn't have much for guts. I had my moments with the DSG, if there is a way to totally lock it out from down shifting let me know. Going through the passes in the Alps, every time you hit a hair pin you had to slow down which the DSG would down shift from 2 to 1 causing a big lurch when I hit the gas again. Luckily, most of the "issues" that I had with it are situations that will never be seen here in the US or the way I will drive it over here. The car cruised perfectly fine at 120mph on the Autobahn with only a bit of wind noise, which was to be expected.
The trip itself was unforgettable and probably a once in a lifetime opporotunity. In our opinion, two weeks was plenty of time to see everything that we did. We aren't much for museums or anything, so about a day to a day and a half in each place gives you a good enough amount of time to walk around, see the sights and get on the road.
Thanks for looking if you got this far and let me know if you have any questions. We took over 1300 pictures...
Ravenash
06-06-2010, 07:16 AM
Wow, excellent trip summary. I really liked the pictures. And drinking Westvleteren, lucky you!! I wish we could get it at a decent prize here, it is one of my favorites. Totally agree that the Meineken Piss is overrated :-)
The drive in the Alps looked like fun, you should have taken your skis with you :-)
Glad you had a blast. Welcome back home!
TIME89
06-06-2010, 09:26 AM
Wow, excellent trip summary. I really liked the pictures. And drinking Westvleteren, lucky you!! I wish we could get it at a decent prize here, it is one of my favorites. Totally agree that the Meineken Piss is overrated :-)
The drive in the Alps looked like fun, you should have taken your skis with you :-)
Glad you had a blast. Welcome back home!
+1 ! Thanks for sharing - excellent report and great photos.
When we was on our ED - front exterior of Milan Duomo was all covered with restoration work. I see they open now - what a amazing structure. This is a second largest Duomo in Europe after Vatican.
In our previous trip to Italy (1998) we spend 2 days in Milan. We take a elevator to the roof (it was 6 am - can't sleep do to the time change) and watching city weak up.
CASTELLO SFORZESCO - name of the castle that you forgot.
I think Zurich one of thos cities - when you just make a mark - been there - but nothing special and VERY expensive.
IbisTDI
06-06-2010, 10:49 AM
And drinking Westvleteren, lucky you!! I wish we could get it at a decent prize here, it is one of my favorites.
I bought a souvenir pack from there that included 2 glasses and a bottle of the 12, both glasses broke!
:(
Thanks for the comments guys, glad you enjoyed reading it!
TIME89, when the Duomo was being restored, did the curtains covering it look the the building behind it? We saw this all over Europe, which my wife and I found funny.
TIME89
06-06-2010, 11:14 AM
TIME89, when the Duomo was being restored, did the curtains covering it look the the building behind it? We saw this all over Europe, which my wife and I found funny.
Hebe you went yo Galleria and make a 360 deg turn on bull private parts and make a wish?
No we did not do that, we weren't aware!
Do I need to contact my dealer about getting my VAT check back or do I get that when the car is delivered here in the US?
TIME89
06-08-2010, 07:52 AM
No we did not do that, we weren't aware!
Do I need to contact my dealer about getting my VAT check back or do I get that when the car is delivered here in the US?
Do you have in your hands paper that you drop off you car? Then call you dealer and ask : Where is my money?
patinsd
06-08-2010, 08:14 AM
Do you have in your hands paper that you drop off you car? Then call you dealer and ask : Where is my money?
You can wait ,but they are not going to call you or maybe in 10 days or so .
What I did ,I send an email to the Audi european delivery program telling them "my car was returned and I was waiting for my VAT check ".
Not later then day after ,my dealer called me to pickup the check .
I like the report you did .
IbisTDI
06-14-2010, 04:05 AM
Ok, I sent my dealership an e-mail and the check is on the way.
Does anyone know when I can expect the EH Harms website to updated with vessel information, etc? It still hasn't been updated...
patinsd
06-14-2010, 06:15 AM
Ok, I sent my dealership an e-mail and the check is on the way.
Does anyone know when I can expect the EH Harms website to updated with vessel information, etc? It still hasn't been updated...
Take about 1 week after drop off to be update .
I got my car 3 weeks ago here and still not updated with the Custom clearance date .
IbisTDI
06-14-2010, 07:59 AM
Take about 1 week after drop off to be update .
I got my car 3 weeks ago here and still not updated with the Custom clearance date .
Hmm, onWednesday
IbisTDI
06-14-2010, 08:00 AM
Take about 1 week after drop off to be update .
I got my car 3 weeks ago here and still not updated with the Custom clearance date .
Hmm, on Wednesday it will be two weeks since I dropped it off, and Munich was supposed to get it back to the US quicker.
IbisTDI
06-15-2010, 12:17 PM
Well, guess I got a little impatient, car left Europe on the 12th and is due in to Houston on the 29th.
Yep, from reading all the posts clearly one thing we need to have doing a ED is patience :-)
IbisTDI
06-21-2010, 11:24 AM
Appears that the boat arrived in Halifax today. Too bad they couldn't have just dropped it off there...
CrazyIvan
06-23-2010, 08:53 PM
Appears that the boat arrived in Halifax today. Too bad they couldn't have just dropped it off there...
Be very patient. Mine was sitting in the port for a month! Painful, especially because the port is 3 hours away. You will be very excited when your car shows up at the dealer but stay calm and inspect your car carefully.
IbisTDI
06-25-2010, 10:47 AM
Be very patient. Mine was sitting in the port for a month! Painful, especially because the port is 3 hours away. You will be very excited when your car shows up at the dealer but stay calm and inspect your car carefully.
Well, it stopped in Rhode Island yesterday as well! : (
I can't figure the theory for shipping it all the way to Houston, the only thing I can come up with is that it will be shipped with the rest of the Audi's, from Houston to Chicago.
I would have thought since it was in EH Harms hands now, that it would take the shortest/cheapest way possible, guess not...
CrazyIvan
06-26-2010, 07:57 PM
Well, it stopped in Rhode Island yesterday as well! : (
I can't figure the theory for shipping it all the way to Houston, the only thing I can come up with is that it will be shipped with the rest of the Audi's, from Houston to Chicago.
I would have thought since it was in EH Harms hands now, that it would take the shortest/cheapest way possible, guess not...
The shortest way isnt always the cheapest. Hang tough!!
IbisTDI
07-18-2010, 06:15 PM
Does anyone happen to speak German? We had sent a letter to DB Bahn asking to not have to pay the other part of our fine, and well, the geniuses sent us back a letter in German, no clue what it says...
Ohh, and still no car, Tuesday will be 3 weeks waiting in customs.
IbisTDI
07-29-2010, 06:45 PM
Ok, just an update for everyone. Wednesday was 8 weeks since I dropped the car off in Munich...
I had received an e-mail on Tues. from the dealership and AoA saying that my car had went through customs last Friday, so I was content.
Unfortunately, I received a call from AoA today, the car is still in customs, appears that customs is being a bit slow. My car (and apparently some others) are going through "intensive inspection", which I verfied does not mean dis-assembly. The rep offered to call me when every he would get an update, I asked that he call within the next week if he hadn't heard anything at least.
Guess I will be driving my $2k pickup truck for a while longer...
IbisTDI
08-09-2010, 06:42 AM
Still no car, tomorrow will make 6 weeks sitting in customs. Still not ETA from AoA and I still haven't been called with an update like I had requested.
And to top it off, they won't even return my dealers e-mails requesting an update on the car.
This is definitely leaving a very sour taste in my mouth. :(
TIME89
08-09-2010, 07:43 AM
Very sorry, man! http://forumkiev.com/images/smilies/unknw.gif
Please, keep us posted.
--------
EDIT. I just doing research for you about shipping ED cars from Europe - and I run across this post (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=475096) and here some interesetingt facts:
What I heard from BMW ED supervisor is that even though the cars did clear customs in 3 - 4 days upon arrival, the paperwork was not processed/submitted by customs/USDA to Harms/BMW until several weeks later...
It's not customs/USDA guys at the ports, most cars are cleared within 2 days (unless you're unlucky like me due to filthyness) - it is definitely EH Harms not notifying BMW to get the cars. BMW follows up a week or so later (a batch request for information on numerous cars). I was copied on an email exchange regarding vehicles and it's easy to see where the screw-up was.
IbisTDI
08-09-2010, 05:39 PM
Very sorry, man! http://forumkiev.com/images/smilies/unknw.gif
Please, keep us posted.
--------
EDIT. I just doing research for you about shipping ED cars from Europe - and I run across this post (http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=475096) and here some interesetingt facts:
Well, let's hope that there is a difference between EH Harms Houston and Newark, because according to when AoA called me a couple weeks ago, my car was getting through a more "intensive inspection". I highly doubt there is a difference though and reading through that thread, they are going through the same things we are. But that still doesn't make a difference, it should be Audi/BMW/whoever to make sure their customers get their car within a reasonable amount of time.
There was some messed up stuff in that thread though... BMW/EH Harms/whoever damaging cars and not telling the customers, I would be getting a lawyer involved at that point...
Woohoo, made it home safe and sound today! Only 4 more miles on the clock, than when we dropped it off in Germany too.
Only thing, my key fob that I didn't leave with the car doesn't work, anybody else have this happen? It appears that they might have reconfiged it at the VDC...
TIME89
08-17-2010, 08:29 PM
Woohoo, made it home safe and sound today! Only 4 more miles on the clock, than when we dropped it off in Germany too.
Only thing, my key fob that I didn't leave with the car doesn't work, anybody else have this happen? It appears that they might have reconfiged it at the VDC...
Congratulation!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://forumkiev.com/images/smilies/drinks.gif
Ravenash
08-18-2010, 10:01 AM
Hey, congratulations!!! Good to see your car is back!!!!
IbisTDI
08-24-2010, 04:17 AM
Just wanted to post a follow up to this, received a call from Audi customer care yesterday, they were very helpful and apologetic about the delay for redelivery, and definitely made up for it with there CS and offer, A+ to them! Now get the Q3 finished and to the US and you will have arepeat ED customer!
TIME89
08-24-2010, 07:56 AM
Just wanted to post a follow up to this, received a call from Audi customer care yesterday, they were very helpful and apologetic about the delay for redelivery, and definitely made up for it with there CS and offer, A+ to them! Now get the Q3 finished and to the US and you will have arepeat ED customer!
One's you get car with ED - hard to get back to lot! http://forumkiev.com/images/smilies/sm-sport/auto.gif
madoden1
09-05-2010, 08:43 PM
If I do ED on my A3, can I order it with a standard transmission that is not available here?
TIME89
09-06-2010, 09:48 AM
If I do ED on my A3, can I order it with a standard transmission that is not available here?
NO!
Car has to be made as if sell from lot - US spec only. Sorry.
IbisTDI
09-07-2010, 11:11 AM
I got 45 mpg on my way back home yesterday!
I like the DSG and did not wasn't a manual car, I drive the DSG in manual all the time.