I moved to Switzerland last December. I drove in in my boss's car, which is a Spanish honda Spanish plates. She then went about all of the formal import requirements - paying a fortune, getting the COC from Honda Spain, etc which entailed 5 visits to Blecherette and 2 to Vevey ... She then moved to France but didn't officially export the car. Now she is offering to sell it to me - I like it and would like to buy it. The car has all the Swiss import on it paid, but by her. It just needs to be 'completed' and I would need to get plates assigned (as I understand it, these are personal not related to the car). My question is, if I buy the car, will the Swiss expect me to import it? In other words, will they regard the existing import duty as personal to my boss or attached to the car? My French isn't up to Blecherette, any help gratefully received

[I know there are existing car import threads, but this is a bizarre question]

Once the car has been imported, it is imported, there is no further import duty to pay.

Registration is another matter.

Tom

so it isnt on swiss plates yet?

So you will still need the emissions test (get the booklet from a honda dealer) from a garage that provides it
then make an appointment with the inspection (OCN if french) you need to call at 7.30am to make an appointment that day(thats how they do it here atleast)


I do not know if there is a time limit between import (paperwork) and actual tests. just call the office in Basel (their English is much better then Geneva ) and see if their is a limit

the actual getting the swiss plates can be the most expensive part

how old is the car, what condition is it in (most spanish cars I've seen have been total wrecks), how many km's has it done, and most importantly how much does you boss want for it?

The one I just imported had 250k on it. bodywork looks horrendous, some mechanical issues, tires were no good and some other bits and pieces....He let me get through with flying colors I didnt really get it either but well...
Just fyi I paid 170 chf for the actual test. I already had my plates from a previous car (otherwise 100chf )

many thanks

She wants the blue book price only. It is in good condition and has about 140K km. I;ve driven it and know it well, it's in good shape. Given that the import was 1400 I'm nervous about 'the most expensive part' not being that. :/

the 1400 will be the most expensive part. dont worry. unless you have mayor engine leaks etc. be sure to wash your engine when you go. It is the first thing they look at

Oh and emissions test was done, all paperwork was completed. She was just waiting on the COC which she now has from Honda Spain. I would be surprised if it has any test problems, I went over it throughly for her when she bought it.

there are lots of threads about importing cars on here, some people get lucky like Anthony1406 and kevlegs and it just flies through, we paid about 5k chf all in to import ours but that included new headlights and some work we knew it needed (like putting the cat back on)

no idea what bluebook price is, but an imported car is worth a lot less here, and ones with over 100k km on no one wants either, so unless its super cheap then you have to ask yourself if its worth the time, money and effort involved.

My administrator says that she pays her mechanic to take her car in for the test, can I do this with an import? This would be a good deal for me if it works out. Now parking is another matter ...

you also need to check that the car in that exact spec was available here, there are lots of 'swiss edition' versions here that have different ecu's

Thanks for the tip. I think no-one wants imported cars precisely because of the time and effort - they don't make it easy. But all the paperwork on this is done and it should just be a question of the test. The car has been looked over by Honda in Lausanne already and done its emissions. I think it will be pretty cheap for a CRV which seem popular here as everywhere because of their reputation.

Having spent 6 hours following the same car, as far as I remember it was in a very good state from what I could notice.

Regards

bare in mind if a mechanic takes it then your paying for there time to drive there, wait around for the test, argue with the tester and drive back, if the charge out at 120ch per hour then your looking at at least 3 hours worth before you start.

Test in ZH is usually about 15 minutes at an allotted time, should be 1-1.5 hours unless it's a very long drive!

not for an import mfk, iirc ours took about 90 minutes (in zurich) everything is checked including noise in a sound booth and how accurate your speedo is.

Hi V, how's it going?

just to add, the model of our car we imported was never available here so I think we had a harder time

isnt that what the coc is for? to see if it is up to spec (dont really know) but yeah my test took about 10 min( i waited longer in line to pay than the test took

good luck with it (btw my was free to me and has been in my fam since new so I knew I wasnt getting a dud)

thanks Anthony, yes I know I;m not getting a dud - I actually chose the car for her and was very careful about it. The COC has been obtained and should be fine I think all should be well. Many thanks for the help