What is with the insane new car prices in CH? e.g. Take the Ford website and a Ford Galaxy.

FR + BE = 30,000EU = 36,000CHF
UK = 25,000GB = 36,000CHF

Last not least Switzerland. You ready?
46,000 CHF! eek.


Rubbish web site by the way. No need for it to be full of Flash and other junk.

Many people buy their new cars in France or Germany, and import them.

autociel.ch - Independent car dealer specializing in premium brands and with an expat service
Tips on buying and importing car in Switzerland (4) 24.Oct.2011
Car group buying from Germany? (13) 11.Aug.2011
Buying a car from Germany (1) 28.Feb.2011

thnx looking into it right now.....

Links please?

Man, you are lucky that the price difference is only 10K chf. The car that I like in the States is double the price here.

Many Swiss dealers also offer so called euro discounts; I got about 25% when I bought a new car last year.
Would probably have been cheaper in Germany but I avoided any hassle plus the Swiss dealer coudl deliver direct from showroom in some days.

It's actually worse than you think. Taxes (VAT etc.) which are included in your prices are much higher in GB, F and B so the true underlying difference is even greater. Basically the thieving car manufacturers and importers robbing us all.

Yeah, you're right!!! There insanely low, right!!!

Just ordered a brand new 2012 MB C250CDI 4 Matic (Avantgarde) from the Swiss main dealer (Merbag) with a discount of 34% + bit more, ka-boom!!!

20% - 'EuroBonus', followed by another;
14% - Just for working at CS

Plus we got him to throw in a few extras for free!

The final price included pretty much most of the additional accessories (Sat Nav, Audio Pack, Heated Seats, Safe Drive etc etc..) and the AMG Sports Pack.

List price (NEW): 82k CHF
Bought for: 49.5k CHF

When I compared the prices of my spec MB to the UK and Germany prices, there was only a few '000 in it. So, 10% deposit to the Swiss Dealer and it's balance on delivery in April (and I've probably just saved myself a load of hassle with all the import/export stuff)!

You forgot Denmark: 72.000-100,000 depending of options.

Stop whining....

Yes, and you can't forget that you're getting Swiss quality for your extra money. It costs a lot to pay the technician who puts your vignette on the windscreen...

Actually it it doesn't make sense at all to buy a brand new car from an economical point of view. (or seldom)

It has a huge loss in value within the first years. So I always regard new car prices as insane. It often astonishes me how much people are prepaired to pay for these 2-3 years, the car is new and "overpriced".

It's rather a matter of prestige or sth. similar. A reasonable option could be to buy an used car with guarantee if you want to take lower risks. But of course it depends also on what you rate higher/what's more important to you.

Well thanks for that. Turning on the Australian charm there...

I just went to the Mini dealer who was offering 3K euro bonus. But I found out, because of this lovely thread, the car is 6K less in France. I will ask for mo' money off and see what happens.

These days, if you can get a Euro Discount like APx's 34%, it does. 10-20% on new cars is not unusual.

It's not so long ago that cars were way more expensive in the UK than elsewhere. 15 years ago BMW made more than 2/3 of it's profit in the UK.

Car prices in the UK, France & Germany don't change with exchange rate changes as there are many cars built locally, any competition has to pretty well fit in with local prices.

But if you buy taxfree in Denmark for export to Switzerland then it is the cheapest place

Agree with you on this. Normally wouldn't contemplate a newie as I prefer somebody else losing 10k to drive it out of the stealers. Haven't checked to see if a similar difference exists with 2nd hand cars yet.

Some others who contributed to the thread mentioned great discounts. So maybe there are good options meanwhile as well! I can't judge that and only know the thumb rule and that it's worth when purchasing a car to watch the loss in value per year.

Concerning used cars I have only experience with older cars ( 7-8 years old) which are probably out of discussion here. Well at least at this level there are no big price differences in comparison to the neighbouring countries (at least in summer 2010/ estate car). Actually they were rather a bit cheaper in Switzerland, which I found interesting. This is probably connected to a lower demand in older cars. So I could make a good deal here at this time. (area: Zurich)

Unfortunately, I have no experience with newer second hand cars or whether the recents discounts for new cars do pay off. Maybe the recommendations from the others will help. Wish you good luck in the car hunt !
It's also always a bit of a fun part to look for a car isn't it? At least I find it interesting.