I am seriously looking for factual information from anyone with direct knowledge related to why Swiss car prices are so much higher for the exact same car than in say Germany or elsewhere. I appreciate opinions but that's not what I'm asking for in this post.

A collegue of mine recently bought a brand new Audi S4 Avant in Germany, paid an importer for their services, paid the import taxes and duty and says he still paid about 30% less than buying new through the AMAG dealer in this area. I've looked at new car prices in Germany and can see how that would be possible.

I'm of the nature to buy local to support local but that kind of savings on something that quickly depreciates in value is somethig I just cannot ignore.

I negotiate on all major purchases and am of the opinion I would take the imported cost estimation to the local dealer and see what can be done.

However, before I do this I would like to know if in fact the dealers here take a huge markup over what the German dealers use, or are their dealer costs really that much higher and they are running on the same margins as the German dealers?

you'll find a lot of information regarding this issue in the forum, if you search for 'car import'. meanwhile, you can have a look at car import process for related fees, and maybe http://www.mobile.de for German car prices.

Hi

The one thing i learned when considering importing a car from germany is that it has a lower re-sale value.

Keep that in mind if you are considering selling it again after a few years

The reason for this is the strong Swissie, it's a clear arbitrage opportunity that people are taking advantage of and will carry on taking advantage of until it's no longer there or there are measures to stop them doing it.

The only thing you need to think about is the Guarantee and service but if you save that much you're probably not gonna be bothered about that. As mentioned above the resale value is also something to think about, but depreciaion on like for like price is going to be the same, and I would be very surprised if it wasn't... if you buy it cheap people are gonna bid less money and you will be willing to sell for less which is why the resale value is lower.

Everyone is doing it, if the numbers make sense on paper then just go and buy your car in German it's that simple.

Some dealers are offering heavy discounts because of this, and some are throwning extras for free to try and compensate for the loss, but I guess nothing will be as much as 30% of the value of the car.

I still believe that at the bottom end of the market you can find some very good quality cars for low prices. Basically Swiss owned - but not wanted by the Swiss market once KMs are above 200k

Hi, I have read through a lot of the posts in the forum, I know the car import process and I've done my research on German car prices ..

I asked about was for info on the Swiss dealer pricing model to try to see a reason the big differences in pricing.

Do you know where to find info on that part ?

that I don't know. then again most prices are that way here. The following is not necessarily an answer to your question about how the dealer pricing components are.

some time back, i wanted to buy brake discs+pads for my car, and found out EBC a UK brand, which costed around 600 CHF if imported. However, you need a Swiss homologation document for especially such security related stuff, so, I checked the Swiss dealer, which was charging above 1200 CHF for the same thing, explaining that they do Swiss Standard tests on them which costs a lot. I could still get 25% discount after pushing, though, escalating to EBC support line, which returned back to Swiss dealer.

The Swiss cars usually(?) have longer factory warranties and stuff, and might also have Switzerland oriented higher quality trims. So, the dealer will find an excuse for overcharging. And all garages seem to agree on prices, so, not really much competition to lower prices there, either.

the net prices are also set according to market, too. when the taxes are much higher the factory's net prices are lower, thus the arbitrage possibility among countries.

Also, demand-supply dynamics and such.. You'll get higher prices in German dealers close to Swiss border for the same car compared to dealers further away...

unless the discs look different to standard and the pads are different colour - knowing EBC they are I wouldnt even bother with swiss certs.

My discs are non standard as are the pads - the pads are bright red and no one has ever questenioned it at the MFK, even when looking at the calipers..

However EBC based on previous experience of mine and many others are crap.

they were different to standard. actually, they were grooved sport discs and differently colored pads. it costed around the same price with standard ones after the discount, though. and i needed to register them on the Fahrzeugausweis for MFK, so, the certs were useful. (well, i've seen threads here where people talk about buying the cert from the dealer -for example for rims-, which is another way)

all in all, EBC was not better than the standard discs (albeit being 'sport discs' and greenstuff upgrade pads), neither was it visible behind the multi-spoke rims

Hi,

Picked up on this thread re the EBC discs.

I have these already on my car and am going through the process of importing my vehicle to Switzerland I have the KBA refs as printed on the disc but no paper work.

Apparantly I should be able to get TUV certificates ABE / KBA certificates.

Does anyone know if that is enough or is this Swiss homologation cert something else ? So many mixed messages on this subject - some say TUV is enough, would appreciate input form someone how has succesfully gone through this process.

Thanks.

Hi there,
I do not mean to be rude, but it is quite simple really.

Swiss salaries are high. Cost of living in Switzerland is also high. Everything here is priced higher than anywhere else in Europe.

The difference you are talking about, is the swiss labour costs. The rental costs are also higher compared to DE or other EU countries.
It can be exactly the same car with same options, and you still pay 30% more here. The overheads. The mechanics.

However what you get is this: longevity of the swiss garage and therefore the service (you don't want to drive to DE for guarantee-claims or servicing now, do you?)
You also get a friendlier service here.
You get to resell your auto easier (imagine the bargaining because they knew you paid 30% less)

So, in CH, we have to pay Swiss prices. You don't expect to be paid a German salary now while working in CH, do you?

If you have paperwork showing they are approved to be fitted to your car in an EU country (does not matter which one) then they are OK here under the "Cassis de Dijon" regulation.

Swiss standard tests are no longer required (except for medicines & some foodstuffs)

Link;
http://www.br-legal.ch/cms/index.php...echt&Itemid=34

Note especially the last sentence
"This unusual step taken by Switzerland is linked to the fight against the perception of Switzerland as a so-called “island of high prices”."

There's another piece missing. Look at the exchange rate history. Swiss consumers are accustomed to paying price X in CHF. Although the cost of imports has gone down over time, importers could simply maintain the same price because it was already accepted.

Now you come in without that historical "normality" in your head. You look at it from an external point of view. Logical, but not necessarily something a local buyer would give a lot of thought to. So you see a big value discrepancy whereas a local might simply see normal prices.

I don't know if it was true of only Audi, but when I looked at buying my new Audi at the end of last year one of the things they were keen to tell me is that new cars come with 10 years free servicing and all you pay for is the liquids, apparently this free servicing is transferred from owner.

And before anybody says I'm talking complete C**P I spent a good 15 minutes making sure that I had understood what I had been told, I don't speak German but my wife speaks fluent German and the facts were given to us in both English and German with the same understanding. It also explains why the resale value of an import car is less than the resale of a non-import car.

I don't have one of these but you are completely correct. If you buy a Merc, Audi or BMW it is quite common to get 10 years servicing included for free in Switzerland so you heard correct

That's right. Keep in mind though that there's a km-limit as well. E.g. Audi covers 10 years or 100'000 km, whichever is reached first.

Won't matter if you lease the car for 3 or 4 yours and don't drive a real lot, but if you buy the car and plan to keep it for longer it can make a difference.

BTW, Volvo now offers 10 years and 150'000 km.

It's even simpler.

Therefore people in Switzerland are willing to pay higher prices. That's it. Goods are priced according to what the market will bear.

Yes, but Swiss labour costs make little difference on imported consumer goods such as cars. 10% tops if you consider the lower taxes here. That difference is nowhere near the markups we see in the marketplace. Why? See above.

Of course it's a different story if you have your car serviced or your hair cut. That's where higher Swiss labor costs do matter.

I've known several people who have taken their cars in for the technical control. The inspectors didn't remove the any of their wheels. Unless the rotors are cosmetically different from OEM, I wouldn't worry too much. My advice is to stay quiet about the rotors -- If they fail the car, then worry about the paperwork.

Are the rotors cross-drilled, dimpled, or slotted?

I agree, our car has several non-standard add-on's that the import mfk didn't pick up on, they where more concerned that the UK standard bodykit was some sort of aftermarket add-on. They also didn't pick up on them on the MFK its just had either. as long as they look pretty oem then you should be ok

BMW just got a fine today of 150M CHF for blocking parallel imports (making it difficult for German dealers to sell to Swiss people).
Says it all really!