I'm toying with the idea of importing a Kia or a Hyundai to CH from Hungary.

Hungarian prices are much less (30k in HU vs 42k in CH) for the same car (new Ceed/i30 SW, 1.4 petrol, DCT, full option), plus if you export out from the EU, you get the VAT back, which is 27% over there.

So my thoughts go like this (Hungarian pricing):
- full option new Kia Ceed SW list price - 32.000 CHF
- new car discount ~5.000 CHF, paid - 27.000 CHF
- minus 27% VAT - 19.710 CHF
- getting the car here on a 1-day insurance plate ~300CHF - 20.000 CHF
- Swiss Import VAT 7.7% - 21.500 CHF
- Swiss Import tax ~250 CHF - 21.750 CHF
- MFK (I expect it to pass without any change needed?) - 22.000 CHF

vs 42k in CH - or if I'm lucky I get it for 37k. Still, a 15k difference.

Yes, I know there's going to be an X in the registration papers. Don't care much if it's 40% cheaper. Resale value after the warranty is gone will be under 10k anyhow, probably not an issue in that price segment.

There are 2 caveats I see:
- Warranty. Both Kia (7 yrs/150k km) and Hyundai (5 years/unlimited mileage) seems to work fine, only catch is the the mobility warranty for Kia, which can be had for peanuts anyway. No free service in the warranty period for Swiss Kia cars, either.
- does an EU-spec, EU-made Korean car pass the Swiss MFK without any modifications?

Anything else I missed? Anyone want to pair up for a 2-car trailer?

MFK can be several thousand, as it is a special MFK (cost me that for a motorcycle from Italy).

And you forgot 4% import duty.

Tom

Did not check if the assumed amounts are correct, but your math was wrong. Also add transportation/hotel costs and 4% import duty. And while negotiating you could think of a second set of rims with winter tyres to take home also.

Importing a car to Switzerland is pretty straight forward and often saves a lot of money.

I have an i30 imported from Prague.
I did not import it, but person who did had no issues. It did not need an mfk.

You do not need an mfk for 5 years anyway, and all the EU cars are the same spec.
There is no Swiss modification, so nothing to worry about.

It’s a no brainer.

It's usually not worth it unless the car is over Chf 75-80k


On a car like this, you may be able to save Chf 3k



You noticeably took the book price from Switzerland with no discount....


Maybe check put here :-https://www.multimarque.ch/voitures


Don't forget on a brand new car you are also subject to CO2 taxe, if it is levied on this type of vehicle. To avoid this the car needs to have been previously registered (in any country) for at least 6 months previously.

bah, thanks. bummer not being able to do a simple division

Forgot the 4% import duty, thanks. Don't need hotel costs as I have family back in Hungary, I'm going anyhow. How would I tax the rims/wheels, coming back? And especially, how would I make them exempt of the HU VAT?

that's why I did the math

correct. So I checked AutoScout, the 42k car can be had for 33-34k in Geneva. Fair enough. Still, correcting my math and adding the 4% import duty, it's still about 24k vs 34k.

The one I configured for myself comes here to 31k. They make 7k profit for doing what I would do myself. I'd rather fly in and bring it home myself.

Thanks, also fair enough (400 CHF according to the CO2 calculator).

[QUOTE=Today only

Don't forget on a brand new car you are also subject to CO2 taxe, if it is levied on this type of vehicle. To avoid this the car needs to have been previously registered (in any country) for at least 6 months previously.[/QUOTE]

I had to pay CHF 3700 for CO2 tax when importing a new car from France last June, plus importation tax CHF 1300.

how much did you pay for the import process? Did you have it imported for yourself or bought off someone second hand?

Depends then, as I did back in 2007/2008.

CHF 2k.

And it took 11 months from importation to registration.

Tom

must have been a beast.

2019 limits are 120g/km for free, anything above is 100CHF/1g/km
So the Kia has 129g, comes to 900CHF

Secondhand, so no idea I'm afraid.

This one is less equipped but is only 30k: www.autoscout24.ch/6196891

If you want a well-specced car, better go for a second hand BMW/Audi/Mercedes, save yourself some money and enjoy a way better car with less depreciation.

this one is missing about 4-5k extra spec that I'd like and it's still about 6k more expensive, so thanks, but no thanks.

How would a German premium brand cost less in depreciation?

Yes, I could have a cheaper German premium with about 3-6 years of age, ODO anywhere from 70k to 120k, but it's apples to oranges a bit for me. No warranty anymore, plus a lot of previous life I need to trust, plus the service costs could be stellar, if anything hits. Except the Octavia RS and the Mégane GT for now (I'm eyeing those as well). With the Korean brands I can have all the spec I want, albeit, not the power - and they give you 7 years of totally worry-free warranty. I'm happy to get convinced otherwise.

I planned to keep the Kia for 10 years, should go without a hiccup, and sell for ~5k. That gives about 2k per year depreciation. I have a 2008 Renault Laguna I bought 5 years ago for 12k, now virtually worthless (2k maybe), so it also had 2k/year depreciation. The fun part is, now it can't go any deeper, so the longer I keep it, the cheaper it gets.

Doesn't OP need a certificate of conformity for the MFK? If so, how much would it cost?

If the car is sold here, it will come with a European one, if not, they are expensive....

Make sure to ask for the european certificate of conformity, this will keep the MFK simple and your cost down. This certificate should be free (got mine free with the car at the time).

You can also ask a garage to import for you, can recommend the stadthalle garage Zurich (they moved but can still be found under this name).

honestly now - ain't that beautiful?

some questions here, since this is a relatively recent thread mentioning south korean cars.



- 'Certificate of Conformity' is required for a smooth MFK, right?


- EUR1 is for avoiding the customs duty, which is around 15 CHF/100kg. But, for Hyundai, one possibly cannot have it, as they are not produced in EU?


- Only sales contract required for claiming back foreign VAT?


- To avoid CO2 sanction, which became even more expensive in 2020, should the car be registered > 6 months with importer's name, or can it also be avoided if the dealer has it registered in their garage?

-CoC is needed see detailed information by StVA Zurich https://stva.zh.ch/internet/sicherhe.../FZimport.html

-Hyundai has a plant in Nošovice, Czech Republic. If it was produced there an EUR1 should be available, otherwise you will have to pay duty.

- Export stamp from the exit border post (Swiss import stamp is useless).

- Name is not important. It only must have been put on the road for at least 6 months. Be aware the manufacturer warranty will also start with that date.