Hello everyone,

I will move in Lugano most probably in January 2015 and I am willing to buy a used car. Should I purchase it from Switzerland or EU? Are there any taxes if I purchase a car from the EU and register it in Switzeland?

You will have to pay import duty & have the hassle of importing it, so probably not a good idea.

I would definitely buy a car on the local market. Those are usually in very good condition, due to very strict technical examination (MFK). I don't know about fees, taxes etc., but check this site
http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...x.html?lang=en

Unless you plan to spend upwards of €40,000/CHF 50,000 on your used car, it's unlikely to be worth your while (financially and in terms of time spent) to find, inspect, purchase and import a car from the EU.

Get the second hand car in Switzerland with low millage. Look at BMW, Mercedes and Audi. They are in very good conditions and well taken care of by previous owners. From obvious reasons mentioned above and you can also bargain with local dealers. They can throw in winter tyres and give you a decent discount on the top of that.

You will pay over the odds for low mileage, better to buy a high mileage bmw at a big discount. I drove 2 bmw's past 300,000 with no major repairs, bought with 130k & 160k. The last bmw I bought had 181k, I sold it when I left CH with about 225k.

I bought mine with 33,000km four years ago and clocked up 93,500km up to date. No major repairs and still holds a decent value. Those higher millage cars already show more interior wear and tear. Besides that I prefer to beat the crap out of the car myself instead of other two or three owners before.

Thanks everyone for the valuable info. Anyone knows any web sites for swiss used cars? It seems that buying a swiss used car is the only way

www.autoscout24.ch

Got a new Jag over from Italy last year with the assistance of an importer. Saved a tidy amount. Only difference: it came without the service pack but the saving left me more than enough cushion to add it on here and then some.

Also bought another used car from Roc which is owned by AMAG. Was equally seamless and they added on a year's extra warranty too as I recall.

Depends also on the type of car you are looking for. More expensive sportscars seem to be cheaper in CH than the rest of the EU, even after deducting the tax difference, and can be found more easily with lower mileage.

No direct experience, but a colleague in Basel bought a Volvo from a dealership over the border and reckoned he was still saving even after all the import duty etc. This was some years ago, mind.

His wife had an interesting experience when crossing into Switzerland at Rheinfelden with 2 small kids in the back seat. The customs guys decided to search the whole car - eventually they found the log book, with the service history and stamps and receipts from the garage in Germany they had been taking it to for services. They got charged a tidy sum for the services they had done, and not having declared for VAT at the border.

Cheers,
Nick

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The inspectors at the yearly inspection bureau told me that they sometimes are stricter and more stringent when they know the car is from across the border.

Thats normal many people been caught with that. There is absolutely no need to keep the service book in the car.

Doesnt make the blindest bit of difference. .. my reply would have been so if a swiss supplied car has a fault you would ignore it?

Some items are borderline judgment calls, such as some leak deposit, rust or cleanliness of the cars. Some accept a mechanics bill that an item has been addressed.

Thanks for your replies, there were really helpful


Would leasing be a good idea? Because I have seen some really good offers online. The problem is that it allows you up to 10.000km per year. Does anyone have experience in leasing?

The decision whether to lease depends on so many factors, it's really an individual decision. One question you may want to ask is, do you want to pay interest on a depreciating asset? (Of course, currently you may be able to find leasing rates close to.zero).

Ohh close to 0%? that would be great! Do you have any in mind?