Hi,

If I want to buy a second car (crappy old van to chuck bikes into) I understand that I can use my license plates off my existing car and only pay a bit more for the insurance..?
Does anyone know the rules covering where the vehicle without plates on it must be kept? Would a private parking place be sufficient; or would it need to be locked away in a garage? I have neither of these currently but parking places are cheaper to rent than garages..

You will pay:
Road tax for the more expensive car + an admin fee (was 50 francs)
Insurance on the first and then IIRC Third party on the second cheaper car
The unplated car should be off the public road. Private street or spot IIRC should be ok

in a private parking area would do....but a blue zone would not do....someone might report the car and you might find it gone....

Cool.. thanks for the quick responses!

I'm thinking of doing this '1 set of plates for 2 cars' thing...

What do I do at the licence office when I purchase my second car ?

Can anyone point to anything more official about exactly where you can put the unplated car (ie what are my options if I don't have a private parking place ?)

Tell them you want 2 cars on 1 plate.

Rent one or have plates for both 2 cars. The car has to be on private land.

the phrase you seek is "Wechselschild" - good news is if you're not buying private, you can talk either the dealer into organising it or your insurance person. Or - gasp - do it yourself...!

I am, gasp, doing it myself. That's why, puff, pant, I'm asking if anyone can help with information around the process.

Can I have two sets of identical plates for both cars ?

two car documents, 1.5 insurance charges, 1.1 road tax and one pair of plates....

I think the insurance cost is simply that of the more expensive vehicle to insure...

OK thanks

So the procedure (all done through a private sale) is:

1. Get insurance cover for new and existing cars (the cost is only for the most expensive of the 2 cars)
2. Park the old car on private land
3. Take the plates off the old car and put them on the back seat of the new car
4. Take the new car with the existing plates to the licence office
5. Take the existing plates off the new car
6. Hand in the existing plates (in my case or hand them to the seller in most cases) and the cancelled Fahrzeugausweis into the license office and tell them to register the new car in my name on my existing plates
7. Receive the new Fahrzeugausweis
8. Go outside and put 'my' plates on the new car

Did I miss anything ?

Anyone want to rent me some "private" parking space in Allschwil ?

You just have to take the new car papers to the license after arranging insurance, it's quite possible that the old owner will have already cancelled his plate, or wont let you drive the car with his.

wow... I'm starting to realise that car dealers exist not to sell cars but stop all this hassle...

In the scenario above.. the old owner has cancelled their registration (somehow) but their car is still in their possession with their plates still on it... so can they still drive around in this condition ? Is there some kind of grace period ?

The plates must be registered on a second car as you have to hand them back otherwise . The grace period ends at midnight on the day of cancellation.

Take the papers, get the plates & then collect the car.

In CH, a car owner keeps his number and plates FOR LIFE- irrespective of the number of car changes. My dad got his plates in the early 50s, and kept them until he died in 2009. I wish I'd kept them.

Fatman.. thanks.. the "grace period until midnight" is a gem of information

'take the papers'.. you mean the cancelled Fahrzeugausweis ????
'get the plates' ... my original question was about sharing plates.. so I'm not 'getting any plates' right ?

Well, yes, if you live in the same canton all your life and own a continuous parade of cars all your life.

I had a private car, then it was sold to make way for a company car so my plates went back, then the company car went back, then I bought a new car and was given new plates.

Lots of other scenarios where you hand in plates.

The process is simple.

1) Find the second car of your dreams
2) Agree to buy.
3) Take Ausweiss to STVA
4) STVA transfer Ausweiss to you - make sure you know your registration plate - and ask for it to be a "Wechselschild"
5) Park the 1st car on private land
6) Remove the plates from the 1st car
7) Take Ausweiss and plates to pick up second car.
DONE!

If you have to hand in plates (because you no longer own a car) those plates are kept on retention for 12 months. If you don't buy another car in that time they are released. If you do, you get them back!

Another gem.. thanks Dodgyken.. I never did understand why I didn't my original plates back (because it was more than 12 months since handing them in)

Your list applies if the seller and the buyer don't want to do the whole thing on the same day in the same place.

One minor quibble - for those brave souls who look at this in the future - step 3 should be 'Take the canceled Ausweiss to the SVTA'

plus 3rd party on the "cheaper" one