hinckley

Don't ask too many questions. I don't want anyone to start thinking!! I like BMW's ED program just as it is.

Ricracing

Some of us order the E60 with the Reflex fabric/leather combo interior

JSpira

Answer from BMW NA (manager of euro. delivery) is that BMW does not pay the tax upfront. Only if the car isn?t exported.

branie555

Hey Paul- It sure sounds like you're more than a little disappointed with the build quality of your new 550, as opposed to the 545 you gave up. Sorry to hear. My lease is up in December and as much as I'd hate to leave the BMW family, I'm looking at other marques for the first time in five years (and 3 different BMW's). My last two were either Trade Assisted or with my most recent car, BMW paid my final 6 lease payments. The name goes on before the quality goes in apparently.

swajames

There's no requirement for Audi to pay it upfront either. I'm assuming Audi is collecting the MWSt as a refundable deposit which is repaid provided evidence of export is available within the time limits permitted by German and EU law for indirect exports. That's a legitimate position to take from a tax standpoint, but is obviously less customer friendly than the position adopted by BMW.

Edit - yep, here's the text from Audi's website:

Investment and Value Added Tax (VAT)

Customer agrees to purchase vehicle at Audi European Delivery Program price established by a participating Audi Dealer and return vehicle to authorized Audi drop off location within 90-days of delivery date from delivery center in Ingolstadt, Germany. VAT will be refunded by your Audi Dealer immediately following confirmation that the vehicle has been dropped off, within 90-days of delivery date in Ingolstadt. If travel exceeds 90-days, VAT may not be refunded by your Audi Dealer.

pharding

Actually I like my LCI 550 Sport a lot. My previous 545 was a great car. Undoubtedly there are tens of thousands of decisions that go into a car like the 550 Sport. I just happen to question 4 of those decisions. Two items, the leather and the wood match, reflect subjective quality control issues as to what is acceptable. Possibly my 550 sport fell to the bottom end of the range for these basically natural products. The Logic 7 audio system is surprising because it sounds less than what we had before in the e60, but it is not the end of the world. The shifter plate filler is a surprisingly stupid design decision by a company that cares so much about design. However if I objectively look at the totality of the car, I believe it is a fine car. As an architect, I just happen to question a few items.

JSpira

Ja, this is correct. I found this out when Audi launched their program (and I managed to get it into my European Delivery article for Business Traveler magazine as a sidebar, the launch and the deposit btw).

There is no reason I can think of for Audi to require a period of only 90 days. Germany requires export within 1 year.

So this is to Audi?s detriment on more than one count (i.e. not only requiring the funds up front but also limiting the time a customer can keep the car in Europe). BMW limits customers to a far more reasonable six months.