Hello,

I'm looking for advice on the exact steps needed to buy a used car. I test-drove a 2003 VW Passat. Its 2700 CHF. I'm not looking for an amazing car, I'm only going to be in Switzerland another year or two, so I just need something to use once or twice a week for shopping or going into the mountains.

The test drive was fine, but it had no plates, so I could only drive on a small street, never got past 4th gear. I agreed to buy the car on the condition the seller got the MFK done. I also told him I would like to have a garage do a pre-inspection before paying the full amount, just to be sure it's not a total lemon.

But I'm not sure how I can take it to a garage because it has no plates. The other thing is I live in Gümligen and the car is in Ins, so it's not super convenient going back and forth to figure out the registration steps. The seller still has the registration card.

I've heard you can get temporary plates from the Strassenverkehrsamt. Has anybody done this? How much did it cost? Did you already need to have insurance or the old registration card?

So I'm also wondering, how neccesary is a pre-inspection if it passes the MFK? I know it's old, if I take it to a garage, they will surely find some work that could be done... I just don't want to spend another 2000 CHF in the next year to keep the thing running. But if it passes MFK, can I be pretty confident it will run well for another year or two?

Any advice?

MFK is more about everything safety related than doing a full check, so zero guarantee the car will run fine, but even a full check will give no guarantees that the car will not fail in whatever way or even breaks down completely, it just gives you a rough estimate of the odds.

Personally since it's from 2003 if they do the MFK, and the car felt good during a testdrive, have them send you the registration paper, call the insurance company, than pass by stva for registration and plates, grab public transport, and pick it up. Depends a bit on how much you trust the seller.

You can always pay a mechanic and take him with you to check the car. By the way, check YouTube videos for the must checkpoints when buying a used car. I don’t think the mechanic is going to do a real extensive check either. Lastly, if you are going to buy a 17 years old car stick to Toyota/Honda. Change oil and filter every year and you are good to go. No headaches

This may help https://www.wikihow.com/Check-out-a-...fore-Buying-It

First thing I always do is check the oil with the engine cold.
Then I check the trunk where the spare is usually kept for rust. Once I found a swimming pool in the back of a convertible. Had no need to look under the spare.

You can get day plates (Tagesschilder) from the Strassenverkehrsamt
https://www.svsa.pom.be.ch/svsa_pom/...ernschild.html

Autoscout have a comprehensive checklist, in german.
https://cms.autoscout24.ch/media/100...utsch_as24.pdf

Coparis have a checklist in English on this page
https://en.comparis.ch/carfinder/kau...tipps/autokauf

No need to, the mechanic will bring his own plates.

Tom