Hello all !!

I have been offered to relocate on an expatriate contract to Lausanne and would like some advice on Car Leasing. I have been offered an amount of CHF2250 per month to cover the cost of leasing (maintenance + car insurance). Fuel is excluded and will be reimbursed. Also, I would have to arrange a private lease as opposed to a company lease.

Since I have little or no idea about the car leasing market in Switzerland, I was wondering what type of car I can expect to lease for this amount (3 year period) and if indeed this is sufficient or should I ask for more. Advice from anyone who currently leases a car in CH or has an insight into this market would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks !!

Ask for the cash and buy a banger

frankly, you can lease absolutely anything with that amount if you do it right.

There are no company leases, just private leases. You can hit sub-4% if you hunt around (ask your company if they have leasing agreements too, for preferential rates).

You can have something massive/expensive/fast/furious for 1500 per month and then give it back at the end of the lease or you could get something more "reasonable" and potentially lease to 0 or 1000 francs during that time too.

You will be taxed on this amount as income btw. But since you're paying 45% deductions now, you'll be glad to know that your deductions will be significantly less in Switzerland.

2250 CHF a month? Are you seriously considering this?!! What on earth is that for a car, that is 27.000 CHF per year. A Ferrari??

In Bern the electricity company sponsors gas cars, and you can get a new family car for 400 CHF a month.

I would very much argue against leasing in CH. Cars here are cheaper to buy than in Western Europe, and some of us find we do not even need one. I use Mobility www.mobility.ch and am happy, but spending 27K on leasing without fuel if you do not want to buy nor car share is a rip off I think!

Even half of that is a waste in my view.

Muse7, that's the allowance he has been given by his company. It means he'll get to drive around something "above average" if you catch my drift. Look around you - despite all these people confessing their love for public transport, there are quite a few people that also like to drive nicer cars.

As for leasing/buying - it's a financial and tax issue. It makes sense for a lot of people to combine the various payments for a car into a monthly amount, especially when they are being paid this amount by their company. I've owned cars, and I've leased cars at different times of my life depending on the circumstances - it has nothing to do with the purchase price of the car at all.

I know for a fact that a lease on a Porsche Cayenne S should run to around 1300 francs per month. Don't expect to stand out in one and don't expect to keep it

Lob, I think he is after a lease that encompasses everything except fuel - what I would call a "fully operating lease". That price you quoted for Cayenne is probably only for the depreciation of the car itself, not counting maintenance, tires, service, repairs, road tax, insurance, fuel, etc, etc.

A few years ago I bought a BMW 728i which was 18 months old. I calculated the depreciation over the life of the car around 600-700 per month, but by the time I calculated ALL the costs of running it was coming out at around 12-15k per year. I was being paid 1k/month car allowance at the time, so it kind of balanced out.

So if you were going to have a flash car and buy it new then the figures the original poster was writing probably aren't that unreasonable. A Ferrari would cost far more per month (total costs)

Try leasing an aircraft on wet-lease. Some of the numbers will make your eyes water.

dave

Indeed that might be what he wants which is why I have not spent his whole amount But you certainly see differences in leasing for vehicles with high residuals - your 7-Series had most likely done the majority of its depreciation in those 18 months (only beaten by Maxims and Omegas in that respect).

I am assuming the vehicle will be doing some high volume of km and so will need to look at servicing costs, fuel and insurance.

If there is genuine kms being driven for work, you can avoid tax on some of the allowance. This is unclear but with that amount being offered, he's either going to be a BSD or a Road Warrior....

Actually the old BMW wasn't financed. It dropped about 50% in the initial 18 months so I ended up picking it up for 47k. I sold it 5 years later for 9k with accident damage (not from me), so that depreciation calculation was just the difference in the buying and the selling divided by the time.

I've been burned on leases before where I end up selling the car at the end of the lease for less than the residual and having to stump up the cash for the difference. That hurts.

By the way, readers may be interested in this related thread where registering a car (and a bit of leasing) is discussed.

Original Poster here :-

Thanks so much for all your replies. Not sure if it has made things clearer or more confusing - but on the whole I get the feeling that this is quite a generous budget. also, I am not obliged to use up the entire budget and can take the remainder as cash.

Regarding my role, it is definitely not a road-warrior role and not sure what a BSD is (Blood Sucking Diplomat ??). Just a Senior Marketing role with a multi-national corporation and my commute should be less than 10km each way.

Any websites that you could recommend where you can simulate a lease ? We have quite a few of these in Belgium but am not sure if one exists for Switzerland.

Thanks again!!

Lease a cheap car, buy some expensive shades and pocket the cash.
dave

Is there any problem leasing a vehicle with a B permit? Do you lease through a bank or a dealer?

thanks
clint

We have a lease car. We lease it through our company here. It's a VW Touareg and we pay 1300CHF per month. This doesn't include fuel or insurance.
We went to the VW Dealer who took care of everything for us, he's even changing the lease for us next year and arranging to take the Touareg back. We went over our allocated KM allowance, and at the end of the lease we should, by rights, pay around CHF7000. The dealer has incorporated this amount into our new lease, so we get a spanking new car and the lease just continues.

We are both B permit holders.

I work for EurotaxGlass's which provides automotive information.

We run a car scheme that gives people a cash allowance or FULLY costed car of the same amount (finance, amortisation, insurance, service, tyres etc) and takes account that eg BMW are in CH inclusive maintenance for 3 years.

Senior execs get 1500chf a month that will finance a mid range 5 series, but not for example a big X5. Managers have 1100chf a month that will finance a mid range 3 series/A4.

So I concur that 2k+ is definitely putting you in fully costed luxury car bracket, although you will probably find the out of the showroom depreciation on a Ferrari or Aston will take you way over!

Daniel

I wanted to send a note along about my recent car buying experience in Bern. This is my story:

Originally I wanted to bring my car here, but after reading about all the hassle to import a car into Switzerland, I decided to lease a car. After researching what was available, I chose a Honda because the cars are reasonable and well-built. So, I sent out emails to all of the local dealers in German and English, and after telling them I planned to lease the car in the next few weeks, I told them that my German was poor and I couldn't understand Suisse Deutsch. Would they be able to communicate in English? To my surprise, I received only one reply. It was from Blunier Honda.

Having only one choice, I went to Blunier. Of course, there is no negotiation in price at car dealerships in Switzerland, and I knew that going in. So, there were no worries there. Jeannine Blunier Bigler greeted me with a big smile and spent a lot of time with me discussing the cars. We worked out the configuration, and she researched what cars were available. She set up financing in a day, and the company got the registration and license tags for me. All fine and good, expertly done, and expected. But she also helped me acquire auto insurance, and gave me expert advise all the way. The service I have received there was excellent. They even stored my summer tires for me because the car was delivered with winter tires.

Here is the bottom line: After purchasing about 15 autos, this has been my best buying experience to date. Also, I am from the U.S., and from personal experience I have found there are some people who really dislike us as a group. These people treated me very well... like I didn't have George Bush attached to my hip. I highly recommend them.

In Europe, the customer service is generally sheit wherever you go. You
had good luck with this one. I have had many similar experiences with
businesses not reacting to requests.

Good luck with the Auto.

My lease experience was with a second hand Family Chevrolet purchase, that I discovered hidden in the park of a large car dealer in Fribourg. Big solid car, less than 4 months old. Petrol engine. All specs.

As I understood after, one of the dealers wanted to purchase the car for himself , that is why it was hidden I suppose.

I traded in my old Mercedes, and got plates and registration papers + insurance in less than a week. The lease was 518 CHF a month. The vehicle had 3 year guarantee. No hassle. The lease rate was 1.9% (same rate offered on brand new cars).

In Bern I came very close to conclude a good deal for a second hand VW Sharan, 4x4, petrol, auomatic. Almost new but we did not agree on the lease rate (which was higher that 3%). The VW dealer is AMAG AG, not far from the Stadium, probably on Winkelriedstrasse (at the main junction).

Just know that lease rate can be negotiated and that is where you can save.

As other people have said, take the cash and buy a car yourself. You would be insane to lease a car for that amount per month, unless you are after something special.

You could buy a new Z4 for 85k CHF. At 2.1k CHF per month you would pay it a loan off in 3.5 years and the car would be yours.

Or get a 2nd hand car and you would be even more in the money.

Inkiboo

The one you replied to was in year 2006, time were different and people used to have good times
Cheers