Now comes the L permit - for "Lehrling" (apprentice). Much easier to get, but unfortunately not much in the way of priviledges. Many people I know ended up with these when they first arrived, and can tell you many tales of what they were not allowed to do. First of all you won't be able to register a car (you could buy one for export if you want). You can't live outside of your home canton. Since you can't own a car, your car insurance won't be a problem. You might be able to get a bank account, but without anything like an ATM/EFTPOS card. You'll have to visit the branch to get your money. Since you are at the bottom of the heap and generally seen as an extremely temporary part of society this will give you an idea of the way you'll be treated.

So as Richard said - forget about an apartment, forget about a car. Your best bet is to sleep on someone's couch for the duration of your stay - or maybe you find someone with a spare room free for that period. It happens sometimes...