Hello fellow EFers,

I am in the process of buying a car from a private party to replace my existing car which means I have to sell my existing car as well. What would be the best course of action?

1. Get the new car.

• Get the grey annulled paper from the seller

• A signed contract copy

• MFK/Inspection papers/proof?

• Log Book

• Any warranty paperwork (Don't know if it exists or is it assumed that the factory warranty is in place)?

• Will the owner take off the plates? If yes then can I use my existing plates (from my old car) on the new car or will I be issued new ones by verkehersamt?

2. Arrange for additional parking until the existing car sells.

• Reserve an additional spot through the landlord Cancel it when the existing car sells

3. Transfer insurance from older car to the newer car*

• Call my insurance company with the new car information and request them to transfer the insurance from my old car to the new car on a certain day (I want to drive my old car on the day of new car registration to the verkehersamt to get the new plates and install it on the newer car so I can drive it the next day). Is it even possible?

• Can the Insurance company immediately fax me the new proof of insurance to take it to the verkehersamt on the day of registration?

4. Get the existing car annulled on the same day since I won't be driving it anymore.

• But then how will the prospective buyer test drive the car? Is that an issue?

5. Put the old car up for sale. How to calculate the asking price for my existing vehicle?

Am I missing something in this sequence?

I am in the process of buying a car from a private party to replace my existing car which means I have to sell my existing car as well. What would be the best course of action?

1. Get the new car.

• Get the grey annulled paper from the seller Fahrzeugschein YES

• A signed contract copy YES

• MFK/Inspection papers/proof? YES, stamped on Fahrzeugausweis

• Log Book?? Abgas Papier, Emissions certificate YES

• Any warranty paperwork (Don't know if it exists or is it assumed that the factory warranty is in place)? YES

• Will the owner take off the plates? YES, they are his
  If yes then can I use my existing plates (from my old car) YES

2. Arrange for additional parking until the existing car sells. YES

• Reserve an additional spot through the landlord Cancel it when the existing car sells YES

3. Transfer insurance from older car to the newer car* YES- insurance company

• Call my insurance company with the new car information and request them to transfer the insurance from my old car to the new car on a certain day (I want to drive my old car on the day of new car registration to the verkehersamt to get the new plates and install it on the newer car so I can drive it the SAME day). Is it even possible? YES

• Can the Insurance company immediately fax me the new proof of insurance to take it to the verkehersamt on the day of registration? Insurance send FAX / E-Mail to Vekehrsamt

4. Get the existing car annulled on the same day since I won't be driving it anymore. YES

• But then how will the prospective buyer test drive the car? Is that an issue? YES

5. Put the old car up for sale. How to calculate the asking price for my existing vehicle? www.autoscout24.ch

Am I missing something in this sequence?

I heard that it can take upto three months to sell a car. So the people who have their cars up for sale keep it registered and insured until it sells?

You can buy 3rd party insurance with license plates on a daily basis from the Vekehrsamt, but they are expensive,

http://www.vd.ch/fr/themes/mobilite/...a-court-terme/

.

Looking around at all the cars in car parks i'd say not, they usually don't have plates. The previous owner of my car actually took the plates off the car he came to meet me in and used them for the test-drive of the for-sale car

But he wasn't insured was he? The link I gave is the proper way http://www.vd.ch/fr/themes/mobilite/...a-court-terme/

Possibly the 2 cars were on 1 plate, which is exactly what I have.

Yes, but the buyer is hardly going to arrange temporary cover for a car he might not buy. He was obviously driving with no insurance, and the seller risked being charged with "aiding & abetting" the felony.

The previous owner of my car actually took the plates off the car he came to meet me in and used them for the test-drive of the for-sale car

The PREVIOUS OWNER put plates on a car he was selling for a test drive, or have I not understood something?

Keep both cars registered with a "Wechselschild" i.e. one set of plates for both cars. I have done this before when I was in the same situation. It's much cheaper than having both cars fully registered and it solves the test drive problem. It requires that you have private parking though, because you're not allowed to park the car without plates on a public street.

Correct, it was parked at a garage (friend of his). And yes, it was still his car at the time, so I suppose covered by his insurance

Yes, if you forsee not selling the old car immediately, get both cars on the same plate for a few months, insurance should be nil, it will be on the higher value car, and the paperwork for the plates is not too difficult. Did this a few times, worked very well.

This is the best/most sensible suggestion. The cost to do so is about 50chf to register at the STVA. If both cars are Voll-kasko insurance will also go up.

Just for clarification, you can insure and assign multiple cars to one set of license plates, BUT, you can only drive one at the time. The additional insurance and registration charge is nominal, for me it was around 200 CHF per car per year which translated into 30 CHF while I had two cars in transit.

They do run a tight control on license plates since you can only have one set at a time. When i ordered new ones becaus of the mounting difference they mailed me a letter a week after that I have not returned my old plate, and if I would not do so within a few days they would send the police to collect them (and give me a fine in the process. Fair enough...

I actually think the Swiss process of buying/selling cars is very easy compared to other countries.

The vehicle I am planning on buying is 08 model year with 30K KM and the MFK/emissions is due sometime next year according to the seller. Should the seller (private party) do the MFK (even if its not due yet) before selling the car to me and should I emphasize on it or is it normal to buy a car without the MFK and do the MFK myself when its due?

If the price is good, it's fine to do an MFK yourself, however deduct a minimium of 1500 for your trouble-

I'd still push the seller to do it - if he is genuinely interested in selling privately it would be worth doing. The next one would be due in 2016 either way.

The MFK option seems to take longer. If the seller does a MOT check at a local garage with a stamp/seal that it is in perfect order, should I accept it?

It means nothing, probably the car will pass but it has not, so deduct 1500 for you risk.
I turned up at 8.00 am in ZH & got a test for the same day, anything is possible if you try!

The seller told me that he called the office that does MFK and was told to go online and download a form and print it and mail it for an appointment. If I ask him to just go to their office in the morning and try if they take him, can it work?