Buying a car vs renting

Potentially expensive, complicated, maybe not even legal - depends on the details.

First you will want to find out if its even legal for you (presumably a non-resident?) to register a car there....and where exactly is "there"? That may make a difference ("Europe" is not all the same). Then find out about costs for registration, insurance, etc.

Personally, buying a car is not an experience I would look for on a vacation. Be prepared to jump through hoops (assuming it's even possible). YMMV.

A car built to spec in Europe is not exportable to the U.S. without substantial modification. You could buy a car from BMW drive it around and then part of the deal is they ship it home. In the end you’ll spend a foolish amount of time buying a car there. Consider a lease from AUTO-EEUROPE. Way less hassle.

A lifetime ago (1980's), my father bought a new MB in Germany. Drove it in Europe a few weeks. Then a MB middleman shipped it to the states. It had to go to a special shop to have a few things done to make it US legal. Still was a tiny bit cheaper than buying the same car in the US and he had a car on holiday.

I remember back then there were a few companies that arranged this.

You should look into short-term leasing - you technically "own" the car for the time you have it, but the leasing company takes it back once the short-term lease is over. As I recall, it may be a better deal than renting for periods longer than three weeks.

Here is a link to Auto Europe's program:

https://www.autoeurope.com/short-term-car-lease-europe/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=9763335770&gbraid=0AAAAAD_L23vZmhqjdpwXLd9kDMipVSLwW&gclid=CjwKCAjw6s7CBhACEiwAuHQcknKK9a3YxyTmAqagwcyhOD1j9Gi6Tni9vnPy2GZ0HRAVGLKtElCvCxoClwkQAvD_BwE

Assuming you will be in Italy for less than 90 days, buying a car from just the 'economics' side of things looks to be a questionable way to save money. You will be paying retail to buy it and if you sell it there when you leave you will get trade-in ( wholesale) value, and as you would be a 'desperate' seller, and the buyer will know that and use it to their advantage.

As already noted the cost of shipping, modifications and tariffs likely wipe out any potential savings.

Depending on what you might buy there could be little or no dealer support in the USA for that car , making it difficult to sell here.

From previous comments I have seen, leasing seems to make economic sense if you plan to have the car for at least 3 weeks

Did you go to Italy in 2024? What did you do then and how did it work out?
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/car-rentals-in-rome

I understand the flexibility of a car but most parts of Europe are very well served by trains and buses (Flixbus and a number of other companies have introduced very good service to "harder to reach by train" locales). For a car there is the cost and getting the proper vignettes for driving in particular countries, and you can't drive in most city centers. The last is actually what keeps me on the trains.

It's called European factory delivery - you take delivery of the car in Europe, drive it around in Europe and the dealer then arranges to export your vehicle to wherever you live, subject to modifications that the local market may need.

It used to be more common 15-20 years ago. I have never done it (I live in a right-hand drive country, plus I cannot afford one of those cars that does this), but you used to hear of it happening from time to time on travel fora.

Lavandula

Volvo still has this type of program, and has "perked it up" a bit.

Volvo Overseas Delivery Program

shoeflyer, thank you. I was hoping someone still did it. I doubted dear old dad was foolish.

I doubt the OP is looking to import a car to the US, but it's nigh on impossible to legally import anything newer than 25 years old. 15 years old for Canada. I assume Volvo is supplying you a US-market car in Sweden. It's quite a nice idea actually, having your brand new Volvo to drive around in Sweden for a holiday and then shipping it home. It would be impossible to buy a regular Italian-market used car under 25 years old and bring it back to the US for normal use.

Google tells me that it is possible for a non-resident to register a car in Italy for 12 months use -

https://italianvisa.it/car-purchase-italy/

Volvo still has this type of program, and has "perked it up" a bit.

Volvo Overseas Delivery Program

I have done this program. We loved it! Tour of the factory, big production of bringing your car out, etc. About half the people that do the OSD take it out on the road in front of the factory then return it for shipment home. We did the program in 2017. It was fun to drive but in large cities it was a pain to park. Hoping to do it again but I will turn the car in at the factory. The big plus is that Volvo pays for your round trip flight (PE). Who doesn't like a free trip?

In the late 70’s a friend and 2 of his friends went to Germany, each buying a VW. Two were shipped immediately to the U.S. and the third was used to tour for a couple of weeks before being shipped home where all 3 were sold for enough to pay for the trip.

Volvo is the only manufacturer that still offers a buy and ship deal. Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, and others all ceased those programs. Why? US spec cars are all built in the US and Mexico now, not in Europe.

More and more travelers are choosing to buy an electric scooter
locally for a 2–6 week trip,

And discovering that a lot of those scooters are in fact illegal, and that even where they are riding them without sufficient insurance can become very expensive...

OP never bothered to reply. Unfortunate.