Hello,

i'm weighing pros ans cons of having a car.

Since it depends on where you live I would like to know about ZH.

So apart from fuel, fines, maintenance, parking, insurance, highway vignette, etc... needs to be paid :

- plates (how much) ?
- registration ? (how much / frequency ?)
- MFK (about 100 chf every 2 year if car more than 5y ?)

is there a city tax ? pollution tax ?
do we have to put winter tyres in winter ?

what else ?

THank you

How long is a piece of string ?

The questions you want answered are the cheapest parts of a car

Rego - 400CHF a year for something like a VW Passat
Winter tyres - recommended to keep you safe on insurance etc however they extend the life of you summer tyres to some extent. Cost - depends on your car

Plates - there is some cost but its all part of the original purchase and really is only a small amount

Really the costs you need to really consider most are insurance, tyres, fuel, servicing and parking at your apartment. Fines you will have minimal if you follow the rules

Parking will be your main worry- especially in winter. I wouldn't have a car if I lived in Zurich, honest.

I have 2 cars in Zurich both left outside, one is on a 50 a month parking spot the other in Blue zone. Never had any problems in winter, there is very little snow to worry about.

We have had 2 cars now for many years. I once did a rough calculation of the monthly costs including gas, insurance, parking, speeding fines, fees, and amortization of the car itself...came to about 600 CHF per month per car. Not cheap.

We have 1 car and the flat costs is 450 chf p/m to run it.

It's worrying that speeding fines factor into your *monthly* costs...you do know it's kph here, not mph?

How much will it cost me to own a car here?


might be of help...

We have two cars, one is parked (not paying insurance, taxes). We might sell it. Depends on your lifestyle - where we live, a village, with small kids, a car is a MUST have. In Zurich you will have problems parking in many places you want to visit (park far away versus get dropped off in front through public transport), and it's gonna be expensive if not outside, as people have stated.

The public transportation is so great in the city, that living there I would really consider using a thing as Mobility for the weekends (I love to tour in my own wheels) and one-off need. You could make an argument for it costing less / similar, and you have piece of mind (never worry about maintenance, paperwork, etc).

My Civic, the one parked, pays per month 72 on insurance, 24 on taxes (canton Zug). Parking is 130. And the car is paid off (it's over 10 years old). So it's not that much money, but add on top of that gasoline, maintenance and I am sure it's near 500 francs per month.

Edit - not including amortization / finance of the car. This of course will add quite much if car is not paid off. Never calculate into cost just your debt payment (this is almost obvious), remember every month you drive the car it's loosing value, the more expensive/newer the car, the higher the hit...

Anytime you move or change jobs, you find out where the speed cameras are on your new route only after they flash...