I know that this question has been raised before but I found on the forum both positive and negative answers...

I wonder if is it possible to buy a car (new or used doesn't matter), insure it, get licence plates, etc... having only a temporary L permit (11 months)!

Thank you very much in advance!

Hi everybody,

I made several enquires (in person/phone/email) and also had a feedback from several members of this forum (Thank you!!). Covering the car with an insurance seems to be the tricky part of the process..... no problem for buying and getting the time-limited number plates (once the insurance cover has been granted).

I've contacted two big insurance companies and none of them officially offer the cover to L permit holders. They explained to me that the local agent can try requesting a special authorization to do that, but the final decision depends on the central office. However I'm convinced that somebody who insures an L permit car exist .... I hope at least!

I wonder if somebody else can share its experiences or views on this subject.

Thank you again,

Suimi

normally it's not a problem for even non residents without any sort of permit at all to get insurance for a vehicle. but only for upto a maximum of 364 days and all insurance premiums and swiss roadtax have to be paid in full in advance.

and yes, at the end of the day it's up to head office to either accept you or refuse to insure you at any price!

If you are having problems getting the insurance let me know, I have a contact in Zurich Insurance.

Rolf Probst: Zurich Insurance - 044 628 83 43 / 079 421 26 34

He speaks perfect English and can help out throughout the whole of Switzerland. Say Hi to him from me: Neil

Must admit, I never had any problems buying, insuring, getting number plates on an 'L'. But that was many years ago.

With an 'L' permit you get a 'Z' plate, with a sticker on it that needs to be renewed each year. This is a little more expensive than a non-Z plate. So if you ever get to upgrade your permit, worth changing the plates.

btw: You can't get plates WITHOUT insurance.

"petfect" English? Okidokey!

Yes his is, but my typing is not

Just keep getting my mucking fingers fuddled

Z plates are only for (mostly new) vehicles which are import duty (zoll)exempt. for people on limited residency permits the plates have a red stripe with date of expiry on them but no Z.

and ye get to keep them as a souvenir.

Thank you for your support and help!

ayemibbe: nice collection

pity i don't still have the cars that these plates were on tho'.

I think you can buy a car with an L permit, but, if you need to borrow money, you may have problems getting financing. I have a German colleague who was in this situation, and he ended up having to buy his car from Germany and importing it to Switzerland.