I noticed that certain deals on autoscout24 have cars (in particular, we're looking at VW and also considering a couple other brands) that are significantly cheaper than others. Further researches suggest that those dealers (based in Switzerland) import the cars from other European countries themselves and then re-sell them in Switzerland at a discount. One particular dealer we've come across on autoscout24 is Autoshow Aathal who's located just outside of Zurich.

I did some searches on this forum and saw that there are few who have bought from a Swiss dealership imported cars. Can someone tell me what we would need to look out for? I mean, a new VW car comes with manufacturer warranty and I believe this would be included for Switzerland in the case of VW. So what risks am I taking?

I suppose, alternatively there's always the option to buy direct in Germany, but just thought that it'd still be easier to buy from Switzerland than having to go to Germany?

1)No. They re-sell them in Switzerland at a profit (usually few thousands CHFs), not at a discount.

2) New car in Germany, VW, are rather pricey and official dealers will refuse to sell to you.

3) There are importer in Germany, which also make profit, and not knowing each trick and steps will cost you a few thousands extra chf...

Having said that it's doable.

As a private person, you'll pay CO2 tax on a new car.

Any car that has been registered in another country for more than 6 months is exempt.

There are a lot of posts on the forum about this, unless the car is at least Chf 60k it's probably not worth it, for the reasons why...try search

I meant, at a discount when compared to the otherwise catalog price in CH.

Which may or not be as good as a fleet discount offered to many large companies - and the value of the Swiss warranty/service pack.

Autoshow Aathal's discount is ca. 40% compared to Swiss catalog price. Discounts from my employer are *only* 10% (which I believe is quite standard here).

My search on EF suggests that at least one EF member bought a car from
Autoshow Aathal and appears to be happy (well, I didn't see any complaints). A Google search however shows that many aren't happy about customer service with this importer.

I've done it several times and it's only really worth it if the car is more than Chf 50k to be honest. Going to see the car or pick it up, driving it back on temp plates, custom clearing it, re-plating it, low re-sale value.....

That's precisely why I'm asking if anyone knows more about buying imported cars in Switzerland, exactly to avoid having to deal with everything you mentioned. Yes, it'll cost more than me doing it myself but will also save the hassles. I just don't quite get what the risks are buying from one of those importers in Switzerland.

Actually it's worth doing it, even for lower value cars. I've bought a new car for 20k from Germany, in Switzerland AMAG sold the same car for 40k and a grey import dealer for about 30k. So it depends how much 10k - tax free - is worth for you.

It's not so complicated, you'll find documentation on the internet. Remember just not to pay any money in advance. And don't forget the CO2 tax. If CO2 tax is too high, find the same car which is older than 6 months. Send a message if you need specific information.

Ok, old thread, but same topic with a slight twist.
I did do a search but didn't see anything:

what if you are buying second-hand from a dealer that has an imported car? Not sure if he imported himself, or just re-selling.

DO you have to pay CO2 tax, is that a one-off or a yearly thing? Or is that with the original buyer only?

I have the exact same question, plus I would like to know if the warranty given as a new car is still valid? In my case the car is still inside the 3 year warranty, would that be valid in switzerland?

Manufacturer's Warranty is valid, there is some sort of government department (something like price control) who will take action if you find a dealer who will not comply - cannot find the link.

Alternatively, if you should have a problem complain directly to the manufacturer.