So it looks like I'm taking a job in Lugano. Most of our move should be pretty easy - we don't have that much stuff, and presumably Swiss Ikea furniture is as good as American Ikea furniture.

However, my partner is very attached to his 1960 VW Beetle and we're considering taking it with us - we don't really have a good place to store it in the states.

First off, do people think we'll have any problems importing a car that old? Is it safe to assume that it will only have to meet the requirements that were in effect at the time it was manufactured?

I got a quote for US$900 to ship it from Los Angeles Bremerhaven plus EU385 in destination fees, plus EU750 to ship it to Bern, which by their standards is very near to Lugano but by our standards seems quite a long way to drive a 47 year old car over the Alps. I may ask them what it would cost to go to Genoa instead, which raises a second question:

What are the complexities involved in picking up the car in another country? How do I prove that I'm not importing it to Italy or Germany and am in fact planning to take it to Switzerland? Has anyone been through this process? It seems that it would be a lot cheaper to just pick the car up in Genoa and drive the few hours to Lugano ourselves.

Thanks in advance!

Any car shipped into Switzerland has to comply with todays emissions tests even classic cars. If your particular modal has already been through the process by another person importing it then it is quite straight forward however if it is the first time that car has been imported then you are liable for all the costs of the testing. The car will also have to be modified to pass the test. I don't really know much about this, I only found out this much as I was helping one of the Swiss guys at work who was considering importing a car from Canada that had never been through the process here. He ended up not buying the car as the testing was going to be too much trouble and too expensive.

Hmmm...presumably ours would not be the first VW Beetle imported into Switzerland, but from what I'm finding so far the shipping costs alone are going to be prohibitive - Los Angeles to Bern ends up being over US$2000 (even without insurance and arrival fees), and Los Angeles to Genoa ends up being nearly US$4000!

For that amount of money we could presumably buy one there, or perhaps I can talk him into a classic Fiat 500 instead since I think they're cooler anyway.

A most excellent idea (the not shipping part, not necessarily buying the Fiat). One thing about Switzerland is that second hand cars are cheap compared to neighbouring countries. Saving yourself some headache and money is always a good idea!

There are various websites such as www.autoscout24.ch where you can check the prices of cars here.