Hello!

I am moving from Lausanne to Davos and I have no experience with moving in Switzerland. I have searched forums looking for advice but I need a bit more information because I don't drive in Switzerland, nor do I rent cars. So any advice about costs, suggestions, recommendations etc would be greatly appreciated.

I would like to rent a van, I can drive the van (I have a Swiss drivers license but am not comfortable driving standard), I'm not against 'man with a van' but I don't really need an extra person. I drove an full size automatic van and truck in Canada for many years so I'm comfortable with a large vehicle.

I have tried to find a price for a Europcar van but they must not have vans in every location that I check because I don't see any available. Of course, I probably don't know how to use the site properly either. Does anyone have experience moving with a Europcar van?

I realize it is unlikely I can rent the van on the west side of Switzerland and leave it on the east side (but if anyone has advice I would really appreciate it).

I have seen recommendations for www.unirent.ch (I'm trying to read it but I have no German except for the occasional swear word)
The trip from Lausanne to Davos is ~370km (I'd have to start in Zurich, drive to Lausanne, drive to Davos, drive back to Zurich). If I rent a van from unirent does that include fuel costs?

Given that I've never purchased gas in Switzerland, about how much would that cost me in fuel costs (gas versus diesel) for a van? Some vans say 'plus fuel' so I'd really love to have an estimate of that cost.

I'm really sorry if my questions are basic, I've done readings in the forums but most posts are for short haul trips or moving to/from the UK.

Thanks for any advice!

You should have a look at Mobility.ch

http://mobility.ch/en/pub/index.cfm

At least some of the vans they rent are automatic (I had a look at Ikea today). They also have a number of different models/sizes depending on how much stuff you have.

Since I am not a member of Mobility, I am not sure how it might work for a one way rental but I am sure that the website should give you the details.

Good luck with the move.

Just to add a rough guess on the fuel cost.

Assume diesel truck.
Assume CHF 2 per liter (should be a tiny bit less).
Assume since a truck is not very aerodynamic you will consume around 14 l / 100 km.

So to do 370 km you will need about 52 liters that will cost CHF 2 each, so about CHF 104 for fuel if it is one way.

This assumes that it is mostly highway driving and not too much climbing as the consumption will go up dramatically.