Take a vacation where the souvenir is part of an unforgettable experience. Purchase any new Volvo within the Volvo Overseas Delivery Program and you'll discover a truly unique way to buy a car, as well as a truly unique way to travel around Europe.
Over the years, hundreds of Volvo owners have participated in the program. Take a moment to meet a few of them and hear their stories. Watch our Overseas Delivery Program video.
How does Overseas Delivery work? It's this simple:
Step #1 Order the Volvo of your choice from O'Steen Volvo.
Step #2 Pick up your new Volvo at the Gothenburg Factory Delivery Center or at any official delivery location. We will register your new car for your stay in Europe and walk you through the process of getting European insurance, as well as provide you with the protection of the Volvo On Call Service.
Step #3 Test your Volvo out on the roads of Sweden, either with one of our spectacular tours or on your own. Then head anywhere you please in Europe.
Step #4 Drop off your Volvo in Gothenburg or any official drop-off location. We'll ship it to you and take care of all the problems that make importing a car difficult, from excise taxes to import duties.
Still need convincing? When you purchase any new Volvo through our Overseas Delivery Program, you'll receive a variety of added incentives.
Volvo Overseas Delivery Experience This European vacation almost pays for itself by: Teri Patterson
Fortuitous is a good way to describe the events that lead to our purchasing a Volvo through their Overseas Delivery Program.
Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Sweden with the University of North Florida. I traveled with a group of MBA students joining their study abroad in Sweden and Denmark experience for twelve days. The class, Business Process Management, was instructed by Dr. Dag Naslund, from Sweden. It was while we were on a charter bus traveling to one of our business meetings with Volvo Group that I first learned of Volvo’s Overseas Delivery Program. By chance the timing was right; my husband and I were planning to purchase a new vehicle in the upcoming year. Before I left for Sweden my husband, Steve had mentioned that we should consider a Volvo. Once I learned about the overseas program, I wanted to know more.
Upon returning home I began researching the program. Volvo’s website provided a wealth of information about the program and how it works. Under the Volvo Overseas Delivery Program they offered us a savings of 8% off the U.S. MSRP - free shipping - marine insurance - two round-trip airline tickets to Europe - the opportunity to drive our Volvo in Europe covered by their auto insurance, roadside assistance and registration - one night hotel in Gothenburg - and more. Honestly it sounds too good to be true. Any questions we had were promptly answered each time we called the toll free phone number to Volvo’s OSD Customer Care Center.
I researched a little on the internet looking for articles about the program’s customer satisfaction, etc. An article posted on Edmunds Inside Line, dated Nov. 2005, caught my attention. They stated that Volvo claims a 99 percent satisfaction rating for the program. Of the European automobile manufactures that offer an overseas delivery system, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Saab, Volvo has the largest share of the market. This paragraph from the article made me smile: “What's driving the increasing popularity of this program? Is it the thought of saving 8 percent on the price of a new Volvo? Is it the included round-trip airfare, factory tour and one-night hotel stay at the SAS Radisson Hotel in Gothenburg? Is it the prospect of visiting a country where even the airport baggage handlers could pass for supermodels? The answer is "yes" to all of those, but the real beauty of the program comes from the extensive range of travel options offered by Volvo. Beyond the included airfare, hotel night, factory tour and premium delivery experience that every OSD customer gets, there are several travel options that can be purchased at extremely competitive rates.”
We made our decision to purchase a Volvo through the Overseas Delivery Program. Now we needed to find a Volvo dealership of our choice to process our OSD purchase. We called O’Steen Volvo in Jacksonville. I was pleased that upon explaining our plight that the owner, Mr. O’Steen talked with me personally. He advised us that Joe van Bavel would be happy to help us and that he processes most of their OSD sales. Joe van Bavel contacted us right away.
At this time Volvo was offering an extra travel option called their Winter Travel Offer. For an additional $695 total we added a trip to Rome for two. The Rome travel package included: three nights at a four-star hotel in Rome and one extra hotel night in Gothenburg including airfare with private round-trip transfers from the airport to the hotel.
Then just a few days before we signed the contract Volvo OSD added an incentive offer on Model Year 2008 In-Stock Packages. This offered us additional savings off options and accessories packages that were on their in-stock vehicles. The factory had in stock the vehicle that we were interested in with the added packages, so this in-stock offer added additional savings for our purchase. This extra discount more than covered the additional cost to add a trip to Rome.
The process of signing the contact at O’Steen Volvo turned out to be quick and simple. We are very pleased with the customer service we have received from both Joe van Bavel and O’Steen Volvo. We purchased a 2008 S60 2.5T, Titanium Grey Pearl with Light Taupe Leather, with the Premium Package and Climate Package.
Once we received our order conformation package in the mail I called their Corporate Travel Management Group and booked our travel arrangements. We departed out of Jacksonville on December 10th to Rome. We spent three nights in Rome, Italy. From Rome we chose to arrive in Stockholm, Sweden. We spent the weekend in Stockholm and took the train to Uppsala for a day. Uppsala is where some of my ancestors immigrated from and many had attended the Uppsala University. On Sunday, we took the high-speed train from Stockholm to Gothenburg.
Monday morning Volvo OSD picked us up from the hotel and took us to the Factory Delivery Center. First we had to complete some paper work which turned out to be pretty quick. Then they presented our Volvo to us in their OSD showroom. Now we had an opportunity to drive our brand new Volvo. Suddenly we were a bit nervous about taking it for a drive on foreign roads. We were pleased when they pointed out their small test driving track. After gaining a little confidence we asked them to suggest a possible nearby scenic drive. They gave us driving directions to the archipelago town of Öckerö. This was a beautiful drive. We drove onto the ferry which transported us to the island town. This quiet little town was full of fishing boats that were stored for the winter. The weather was lovely and a few people were out riding bicycles. It was very picturesque. We drove back to the delivery center in time to enjoy the complementary Swedish meatball lunch followed by the factory tour.
The factory tour was given by riding on a small train type vehicle. Headphones were provided so that we could all hear our guide as we rode through the factory. The taking of photographs during the tour was not allowed. We saw the entire vehicle assembly process while our guide explained each step along the way. It was truly fascinating and impressive. Witnessing this process certainly gave us a greater appreciation for the value of our Volvo. Volvo concentrates on safety - safety of their employees as well as the safety that is built into each vehicle. Their factory was clean and organized. I found it interesting during my prior visit to companies in Sweden as well as during this Volvo factory tour that American 80s music is very popular background music in the Swedish work place.
With the UNF group we had previously researched Volvo Group’s history. Volvo was first incorporated in 1915 as a subsidiary of SKF, the Swedish ball bearing manufacturer. Volvo means “I roll” in Latin. In 1924 the two founders, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson decided to manufacture Swedish cars. In April of 1927, the first Volvo car left the factory in Gothenburg. From the start demand in Sweden for a Swedish car was only modest. Already in development was the medium-duty truck. In 1928 the first Volvo truck left the factory in Gothenburg. The first truck was an immediate success. In the early years it was the successful truck sales that provided financial security for the company.
Volvo has become known for focusing on safety. Assar Gabrielsson’s wife died in an auto accident. He vowed to produce the safest cars possible. A few of their safety innovations include: In 1944 Volvo was the first to install laminated front windshields, and also first to install the safety cage to help protect passengers - 1959 they introduced the three-point safety belt - 1972 they were first to introduce a rear facing child safety seat - 1991 they were first to introduce a side impact protection system - 1998 they were first to introduce side impact air bags - 1998 they introduced their unique whiplash protection system - 2002 they were first to introduce a roll stability control system with gyroscopic sensors.
Volvo cars are now sold in over 100 countries. Globally their market share is about 2%. In Sweden however roughly one in every five cars sold is a Volvo. In 1999, Volvo shareholders approved the sale of Volvo cars to the Ford Motor Company. Volvo car has three component plants located in Sweden. They have production and assembly plants in about seven additional countries.
We returned our Volvo back to the Factory Delivery Center on Tuesday afternoon for shipping. The shipping paper work was also simple and quick. Then we flew home on the 19th.
Everything that Volvo listed in their Overseas Delivery Offer turned out to be true. We received an excellent price on a new Volvo and enjoyed an incredible trip to Rome, Italy and Sweden. Our Volvo was ready for us to pick it up at O’Steen Volvo on February 8th. It was shiny clean, full of gas, and in perfect condition. O’Steen’s was even kind enough to leave the front Swedish tag on our Volvo as I had requested. Our Florida tag was on the rear as required.
In summary, we are very pleased and satisfied with the Volvo OSD program. We did enjoy a vacation of a lifetime. I recommend this program to everyone. As long as Volvo keeps offering the OSD program, we will do this again.
Details of our trip -----
On December 10th, we flew out of Jacksonville, FL through Washington Dulles; from Washington to Copenhagen, Denmark, then Denmark to Rome, Italy. Volvo included in our package passes to the SAS business lounge. During our layover in Dulles, we enjoyed relaxing in their private lounge. We landed in Rome on December 11th around 12:20 pm.
We enjoyed our three nights at the Savoy Hotel in Rome which is located close to Spanish Steps. It’s was within walking distance to everything we did while in Rome. The hotel is charmingly beautiful. The streets are hilly, narrow, and filled to capacity with moving and parked vehicles. The tiny Smart Cars were everywhere. The streets were bustling with people. I found it fascinating walking along window shopping and gazing in the windows of the numerous Italian restaurants. Needless to say we enjoyed our dining experiences while in Rome. There was so much to see, do, and eat. Then add all that to the significance of their history it’s simply overwhelming.
Fortuitous is a good way to describe the events that lead to our purchasing a Volvo through their Overseas Delivery Program.
We made our decision to purchase a Volvo through the Overseas Delivery Program. Now we needed to find a Volvo dealership of our choice to process our OSD purchase. We called O’Steen Volvo in Jacksonville. I was pleased that upon explaining our plight that the owner, Mr. O’Steen talked with me personally. He advised us that Joe van Bavel would be happy to help us and that he processes most of their OSD sales. Joe van Bavel contacted us right away.
Monday morning Volvo OSD picked us up from the hotel and took us to the Factory Delivery Center. First we had to complete some paper work which turned out to be pretty quick. Then they presented our Volvo to us in their OSD showroom. Now we had an opportunity to drive our brand new Volvo. Suddenly we were a bit nervous about taking it for a drive on foreign roads. We were pleased when they pointed out their small test driving track. After gaining a little confidence we asked them to suggest a possible nearby scenic drive. They gave us driving directions to the archipelago town of Öckerö. This was a beautiful drive. We drove onto the ferry which transported us to the island town. This quiet little town was full of fishing boats that were stored for the winter. The weather was lovely and a few people were out riding bicycles. It was very picturesque. We drove back to the delivery center in time to enjoy the complementary Swedish meatball lunch followed by the factory tour. 
Volvo cars are now sold in over 100 countries. Globally their market share is about 2%. In Sweden however roughly one in every five cars sold is a Volvo. In 1999, Volvo shareholders approved the sale of Volvo cars to the Ford Motor Company. Volvo car has three component plants located in Sweden. They have production and assembly plants in about seven additional countries.