I have a question,, I know I know I read all the other threads except i'm confused. I have been living in Luzern bout 3 yrs. So before I came to CH, I was young (stupid too) and bought a car in usa (where I am from) and thought I would bring it here since I was gonna live here in Switzerland. So I shipped the car a Mitsubishi eclipse '98 to Macedonia because I was gonna go on vacation there for 2months and thought I would drive the car to Switzerland after I was done with my vacation. Well long story short, the car is in Macedonia for the past 3yrs in a garage not registered there. I called some people here I have forgotten who, (got some website and emailed them) and they told me I have to pay by the the weight of the car (meaning in customs) and I have to translate everything from english to german(meaning the checklist, meaning it has to meet CH standards and when it is inspected, whatever is written needs to be translated to german) I have no idea what I am suppose to do. I ask people but they all speak german and they all tell me to ask someone else. Can't I just bring the car to Switzerland and have someone check it here? and who? (but before I do, is it cheap to convert the lights and bla bla bla, cuz u know everything is expensive here in switzerland, AND DO I PAY BY THE WEIGHT???)
HAS ANYONE GONE THROUGH THIS,, IM JUST CONFUSED.
thank you,,, please be nice.

I've got no idea of the process involved, but... why not just bring the car into Switzerland with your "tourist hat" on? ie drive on up to the border, show a non-swiss passport, say (if they ask) that you're on holiday and just passing through, ... and then leave the car in Switzerland?
The only generic problems I see are that:
- will the car still run after sitting in a garage after three years, and
- is it still warranted/registered/insured after all this time? Could you drive it through several country borders in its current state? Will your current insurance cover you if you have an accident driving from Macedonia to Switzerland today? Would a vignette be needed?
- maybe the legalese is a nightmare and maybe it is worse to keep it in CH rather than out of the country - I really don't know. In that case then sneak the car into eg Germany the same way that you brought it in, with a "tourist hat" on, and store it there while you figure out the next cunning plan...

Just my $0.02...

Sam

Hmmm Chicago Swiss,
I will do my good deed for the day.
The process you are about to go thru will be painful!!
I brought my car from Germany and what an ordeal!! But that is another story. Talk about the Swiss and their paperwork!! I had to get that dig in there!!
I can point you in the right direction and let you run with it. Have fun!!
You will need
1. The registration
2. Shipping paperwork which brought the car to europe
3. Proof of insurance
4. Residence/work permit
5. Drivers license
6. Abgas test which is done here
You will have to check with customs also for crossing the border.
I had purchased my car within 6 months of arriving so they wanted TAX!!
But if you have proof you had the car for the time past this than customs may only be a paperwork shuffle. IE formula 11.010 d and or 13.20 A
All of this will be needed BEFORE you can register.

I live in Canton Schwyz but put my car thru the Luzern customs office as I didnt want the hassle of dealing with lines at the border in Basel.
Here are some numbers. The customs gentlemen in Luzern spoke pretty good english.....unfortunately I dont remember his name. Call and ask.

Then you can call the Schwyz traffic office (verkehrsamt) as the assistance there was good and they also spoke english. I speak well German so there wasnt a problem for me but they do hear your other accent and some try their english then.

Zoll Luzern
Luzerner Str 88
6014 Littau

Phone: 041 259 0170
this is the central number ask to be connected to the Zoll buro (office)

Traffic office Schwyz
Schlagstrasse 82,
6430 Schwyz

Phone: 041 819 2145
This number you can ask questions or get the number to the canton you live in
or google it ____________ verkerhrsamt

Good luck and I hope it works for you. I only have to laugh as the Swiss wanted even more paperwork to prove my Audi was made in Gemany after the title and all else were in German!!!!
Dx

Why did you ship it to Macedonia? And can you confirm it's still where you left it?

If it's outside, it'll need plenty of TLC. For example - good luck in getting the wheels to turn Battery will need attention, a decent service will be needed.

I'd take a bag of belongings up there with you and scatter them inside the car and drive over a busy border happily waving a US passport.

Do make sure you're insured and have the highway sticker stuck to your windscreen.

Worst case is you'll have to dump it. Which is what you seem to have done already!!

Yessireee Bob, drove here all the way from Chicago...

If you get it across a border illegally, then it doesn't make it legal once it's here. You'll still need to go through the whole registration process and there might be some trouble if they find out that it's already here.

wow wow and wow,

Thank you everyone for your imput. And thank you for your good deed for the day, (hehehe) The car still runs,, I drive it when I go to Macedonia (once a year for about 2weeks). I'll try to bring it here thanks alottttt for the info,,, I just dont wanna get taxed cuz I heard its like 5grand. So thats scary if its true. Well, ,I guess we learn from every stupid mistake we make. eheheheh, Well, I did.
Thankkkkk you everyone,,
You know this is a great forum really because you can get real answers to your problems. (I mean if someone has already gone through it you get the real questions answered if you know what I mean)

Thank you,

So are you going to do it properly and legally as driverx explained, or are you going to smuggle your car in by pretending to be a tourist? (Heck, those vehicle import laws don't apply to you, do they?)

If it hasn't moved in 3 years then there is a good chance the tyres have perished along the edge of the contact bulges.

you can drive it on US plates for a year as long as you fulfil the minimum requirements for insurance.

but

it'll either be a pain to import properly as I believe the Eclipse is not homologated EU-stylee and thus it will have to be done as a single-type import - and that gets the full treatment.

You might just want to buy a local runner and leave it in Macedonia for your holidays

Well,

I was thinking of asking where driverx gave me the number to (zoll luzern). If they give me a whole lot of paper work and this and that, Im just gonna forget it. I know that I will have to change the lights on the car, (expecially since I put illegal ones on, by the brakes) I guess when you young you think you can get away with anything. hehe. I might just leave it in Macedonia and drive it when I go there on vacation. (even though it an't registered anywhere anymore) I can get insurance in Macedonia though for my car, so at least thats good (they dont ask for any kind of documents for it when I insure it) Sometimes those are the benifits of a poor country. Just give them money and no questions asked. eheheh

Thank you guys for all your suggestions and comments,
anyone planning to go to Macedonia? Need to rent a car?
heheheheheheheeheheh
Thanks guys