OSD financing and XC70 camping in Europe

[Camuyano]

All:

I found your site today and have already learned a lot. We are considering buying a Volvo XC70 through the OSD program but have a few questions. I sent an email to the address in the OSD program's website but have received no reply so far.

Question #1: Did I read in one of threads that cars purchased through OSD need to be paid in advance and that VNA won’t finance them? How can anybody buy one of these cars then? I don’t think that many people have $30K+ in cash lying around and most banks won’t finance cars without a VIN# or purchase order.

Question #2: We plan to spend 3 to 4 weeks touring around Europe. Our original plan was to rent a camper so that we could camp some of the time to save money and for an added sense of adventure but now that we plan to buy a car through OSD we have to modify our plans. Have others spent time camping out of their XC70 particularly around Europe in the fall? What are the challenges and/or special equipment and accessories that are considered essential for this type of trip? Do you sleep inside the car, roof tent or regular tent? Has anybody rented a caravan in Europe for towing with their new OSD XC70 and what are the insurance, regulatory and/or equipment hurdles for doing this?

Thanks,
Imanuel

[William]

Imanuel,

Here is an answer to your first question. I have not camped in Europe so I can't answer your second question.

1. An Overseas Delivery Program Volvo needs to be paid for or financing set up thirty days prior to the pickup date of your new Volvo in Europe.
Volvo Finance of North America (VFNA) will finance an Overseas Delivery Program Volvo - VFNA just won't allow any special financing offers for Overseas Delivery Program vehicles that may be available for regular US delivery Volvo's. There are other lenders who will also finance an Overseas Delivery Program Volvo.

If you have any more questions about the Overseas Delivery Program, please let me know. I have helped many folks "See Europe by Volvo" and save.

William

[gary]

All:

Question #2: We plan to spend 3 to 4 weeks touring around Europe. Our original plan was to rent a camper so that we could camp some of the time to save money and for an added sense of adventure but now that we plan to buy a car through OSD we have to modify our plans. Have others spent time camping out of their XC70 particularly around Europe in the fall? What are the challenges and/or special equipment and accessories that are considered essential for this type of trip? Do you sleep inside the car, roof tent or regular tent? Has anybody rented a caravan in Europe for towing with their new OSD XC70 and what are the insurance, regulatory and/or equipment hurdles for doing this?

Thanks,
Imanuel

Camuyano,

Welcome to the site. I've done a bit of tent camping in Europe (primarily in the U.K. and Germany). One of the challenges of camping in the Fall timeframe, at least in my experiences, has been an abundance of moisture (be it rain or just heavy dew) and the subsequent problems of drying things out after camping. Unlike camp grounds in the States, where you tend to get a hard sand/gravel/grit packed camp area to pitch your tent, the camp sites that I've been to have been large grassy areas (pitching your tent in a field), so lots of moisture is retained and things just have a tendency to get wet and stay wet. I'd recommend a tent with a good fly cover or a tent that hangs within an outer shell (sorry, don't know the technical name for this type of tent). I'd also recommend a tarp to put under your tent to help keep the tent floor a bit dryer. You'll also want some good warm sleeping bags as the nights here in Europe at that time of year can be quite chilly.

As far as camping out of the XC70, I don't know your family size, but we're a family of four and I find that I need more space than the cargo area provides for our camping gear, so I also have a roof box. In addition to the normal things one takes camping (tent, bags, etc.) we're carrying a cooler of food and camping chairs and some other stuff that my wife insists we need I don't know if you will be doing that, so you might have enough room for your gear in the cargo area. If you have the luxury of being able to fold down the rear seats then you get even more area (I don't have that luxury, but the roof box works well).

I've never rented a caravan in Europe, so I can't help you there. There is a lot of them on the roads though...so it seems a pretty popular thing to do.

Best of luck with OSD - I've heard nothing but great things about the program.

[littlewaywelt]

Camuyano,

I'd recommend a tent with a good fly cover or a tent that hangs within an outer shell (sorry, don't know the technical name for this type of tent). I'd also recommend a tarp to put under your tent to help keep the tent floor a bit dryer. You'll also want some good warm sleeping bags as the nights here in Europe at that time of year can be quite chilly.
...
and some other stuff that my wife insists we need

The outer portion of a double wall tent is called, as you correctly put it, "the fly."

The piece that goes under the tent is a groundcloth. Anything will work from a cheap blue tarp, piece of tyvek, or a premanufactured one for your tent. Just make sure the groundcloth is a few inches shorter than the tent on all sides so it doesn't draw rain between the two.

I loved this line:and some other stuff that my wife insists we need .
There are several levels of stuff/weight when it comes to sleeping outside for me. From lightest to heaviest:
alpine climbing & mountaineering
backpacking
weekend backpacking
car camping where we have to bring some other stuff that my wife insists we need . -man, I love that line.
car camping with the kids

[hd70]

One note on "renting a caravan". The ball of the draw bar has a different size in Europe vs. USA (Even they are close but they aren't the same). Also the electrical connectors don't fit, it's a total different system.

Instead of camping, consider nice "bed and breakfast" places which are all over and they are still affordable and most are nice and clean.

[silverstar]

Quote: "Question #1: Did I read in one of threads that cars purchased through OSD need to be paid in advance and that VNA won’t finance them? How can anybody buy one of these cars then? I don’t think that many people have $30K+ in cash lying around and most banks won’t finance cars without a VIN# or purchase order."

As scary as this may sound, people do have that kind of money stashed under their mattress.


Quote: "Question #2: We plan to spend 3 to 4 weeks touring around Europe. Our original plan was to rent a camper so that we could camp some of the time to save money and for an added sense of adventure but now that we plan to buy a car through OSD we have to modify our plans. Have others spent time camping out of their XC70 particularly around Europe in the fall? What are the challenges and/or special equipment and accessories that are considered essential for this type of trip? Do you sleep inside the car, roof tent or regular tent? Has anybody rented a caravan in Europe for towing with their new OSD XC70 and what are the insurance, regulatory and/or equipment hurdles for doing this?"

Please travel in June/early July in Scandinavia! Trust me, everyone is happy when summer is arriving. It's a very social time. Fall is very quiet with less light and locals start to mellow out and keep to themselves.

The previous post's are correct, camping in Europe is not the same as here in the states. I don't think I would recommend camping in Europe in the Fall. Imagine camping in the middle of a gulf course and it's raining. This is pretty much what it will be like. I'm not saying it's going to be cold and miserable weather on your particular trip but the chances are higher in Fall. I picked up my XC70 on May 9th, 2003. We had amazing weather (heat wave) and I ended up staying for 3 months traveling around as far south as Switzerland. I do a lot of climbing and prefer being off the beaten track. I had my car full of camping gear and avoided hotels. I have to say that I was very disappointed camping in Europe. I much prefer the camping here in the states, it's a completely different experience. With that said, I still had a great experience but I rented sparse cabins and rented rooms from families and this was the best part of the trip. It was very cheap and easy to find through the local tourist office. Last resort was camping in a camp site. I don't know whether having a RV will give you a better experience than a XC70, you blend in better and have a lot more flexibility with a smaller car. Plus it's a lot more fun driving a XC70 than an RV!

Last summer (2004) I was again back in Sweden and Norway for 5 months starting in May. It rained once or twice every week for almost the whole summer. It was reported the worst summer in over a 100 years. I loved driving around Norway (Andenes), highly recommend it and the time was Sept., it was empty with no tourist. I did get some good weather but I ended up on a 3 day solo climb almost completely in the rain & snow. The XC70 is a good car for car camping, it has plenty of volume and I think a inflatable full size mattress will fit in the back. The one very key device was a portable 12v ice box (order a 12v plug in trunk area) purchased in Sweden, this made the difference between roughing it and living in style. Cold beer, cheese, yoghurt, cold cuts, steaks....etc would keep you from having to be near a restaurant or a market for days. A couple of beach chairs, lantern, stove and a fold out table finishes it off. A lot of this can be purchased in Sweden very cheaply (go to main shopping center in Goteborg, http://www.clasohlson.se/).

I can't get enough of Sweden in the summer time, It's a perfect place to spend your summer. It's a hidden treasure and everybody speaks perfect English. I'm trying to do it all over again this summer in a V50 T5! The dollar is very weak right now but if you stay away from hotels and restaurants and spend most of the time in the country side, you'll find it very reasonable and worth every cent.

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask.

Cheers