Hi,

[ Most of the below are general car import/insurance questions - so please comment even if you don't know anyting on campers! ]

We are interested in getting a campervan - well really a decent sized (6-7m) 'mobilehome' for exploring Switzerland and elsewhere - might as well take advantage of being in the middle of Europe. We have about 30000CHF to spend.

i) Buying: Does anyone know of any good dealers - we've been to http://www.grandevasion.ch/ who seem to be the main delears in Geneva. Also check www.edicom.ch etc for sales. Is there anywhere else people can recommend? We're happy to trek across CH to Zurich find somewhere with a decent selection - so anyone elsewhere with suggestion?

ii) We could also buy and import from Germany, where there is a much better selection. We're happy to do this but there is the obvious and often mentioned import taxes (4 + 7.6% I think ?). Does anyone know how the vehicle value is calculated?

I assume the authorities will fairly assume if you've bought in the last 6 months (and so have to pay tax) you can produce an invoice for the purchase and base it on this - and would be suspicious of a unrealistic price from a private seller...(!). Or do they base it on original value + age as insurance companies seem to do?

iii) Parking: We've heard there are some van parks dotted around Geneva - but we've drawn a blank with Ville de Geneve who don't seem to know about them.

iv) Sharing insurance: You can swap plates and hence insurance over. When you do this does the 'off road' vehicle still have fire/theft cover?

Any advice would be a great help!!

Thanks in advance.

Rick