Any experiences with Volvos? I have a '98 V70 which I am thinking of bringing over and need to find out some information on what the modifications would likely be.

I imported my 645ci to Germany and yes there they made me change front and back lights...here in CH i do not think this would happen but oh well it is done...I got the front and rear lights for about EUR500 on ebay and had dealer install it. Registration here was a non-issue.

I say bring it here, have it go through inspection and then if they write you up on something just change/replace what they indicated. do not make mods prior to it. this is the most appropriate approach.

i would not bother...bit old and not worth it...that's just my opinion

It's just a question of cost - it's paid off so if it's a few thousand to send here and then a few thousand to modify, then it's far cheaper than buying here.

i used these guys and got a quote online...for transport http://www.shipping-worldwide.com/.

rest all depends on your situation...will you pay duties? not sure about what parts cost for your ride...then there is registration cost...I did not pay for transport nor duties just EUR500 for parts/labor and of course road taxes...

Should be no duty - it was more a question about how much the lights change would be and if there are any incompatibilities with electrical systems/emissions etc. that would cause more expense.

In assessing your question I reckon the best way would be to buy a left hand drive car in the UK (because they are very cheap) and then driving it to Switzerland as its less hassle and easier to do.

I admire your ability to read a five pages thread in two minutes, but how many more one-liners do you intend to post today?

For what it's worth I spoke with a gentleman at the Basel office today who confirmed that asking for the 15.30 form at the border would allow a vehicle to come into the country and be used for two years even if less than 6 months old. We're taking our 5 1/2 month old car through on Sunday so I can but hope he knows what he's talking about.

He was correct. There was no problem with bringing our car in and no duty to pay. We can drive it on UK plates in CH for up to two years.

Hope this helps, I spent ages looking for the answer for this!

Hi,

We have just moved to Switzerland and we have a trailer (small, max. weight 500kg). The problem is that it has a Swedish registration number because we bought it in Sweden 3 months ago. I would like to sell it but dont know what can I do? Have to change the registration or no (how much CHF is it)? Do you know any firms (dealer) who buys a trailer?
Thanks for your answer!

Trailers are very burecratic here, you need to have them registered and have separate plates for them; ie. a separate grey card. All details such as chassis no. etc. are noted there, and assuming it is EU compliant it should meet conformity standards, otherwise you could have a real problem. In addition, your pulling vehicle should have the towing element noted in the grey card as well.

As for dealers, yes, you will find sellers of trailers/camper vans/etc. (new) but not sure if there is much dealing in 2nd hand (used) items here. You might have better luck selling in local newspaper or on-line auto classifieds.

Hello,
let me first say hello to every body. Just have registered but have been reading the forum for months. I couldn't find the answer to my query so do apologise if i have missed it.
I am interested what my position is if i import new car from another EU country.Lots of information but only about US,UK ets.
It is about ford fiesta 2010 but it will be half price if bought in Bulgaria (CHF-9000). Any idea if i pay vat in Switzerland or suggestions whether it will be difficult to pass the Swiss MOT.
Thank you in advance

If you have been owning your car for more than 6 months you don't have to pay VAT.

Take a look at this for details:
http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...gpKfo&typ=.pdf

I bought a 2007 Mercedes CLK550 convertible in NJ, it is aboard the RoRo vessel to Antwerp, Belgium right now.
Always wanted a CLK cabrio, but Swiss second-hand prices are insane, and it usually comes with 2L engine and no options.
Thus bought a 5.5L fully-optioned CLK for 1/2 price of the local one, so even 11.4% VAT/duty and shipping make sense to pay.

The only problem is to drive the car from Belgium to Switzerland - Belgians do not want to issue a temp transit plates "because 2007 should have a COC" which a US Mercedes does not have, of course.

There are two ways:
- will ask the US dealer to mail the 30d- temp tags and get the car on my Swiss AXA insurance (will need to deposit 31% in Belgium until custom-cleared in CH)
- will pay the Belgians to transport the car to CH custom warehouse in Vevey, VD (725 euro!).

Any change to use my existing Swiss plates to drive? I guess, no, before the car is here and passed the inspection.

Your best bet is to register the car in the US with DMV to get the plates, then drive with the US plates for 1-year including from Belgium to CH.

Hi everyone.

I'm from Croatia and I'll be moving to Switzerland soon (in slightly less then a month). I'll be employed at a research institute while I work on my PhD. Since there will be some stuff I will have to bring with me, like literature, clothes, laptop and so on, I've been considering the possibility of driving there with the car I currently use and keep it for a month or two until I settle in, find an apartment (in the meantime I'll be staying in the institute guesthouse) and so on. At that point I was planning of taking it back home. From what I've read so far I would not have to import it and pay duties/VAT for periods up to 1 year if I own the car. However my situation is somewhat different. The car I use is registered to a firm owned by my family. I haven't found any similar situations explained so far on this forum, but I was hoping someone would know what to do in such a situation. I guess this kind of situations would crop up if you come with a relative's car or a rental. The point is, I'm wondering if this would be a problem and what kind of procedure would be needed, ie. if and how much different it would be from the situation when one owns the car. In any case, the car would be in Switzerland for about a month or two, basically until I go home for the first time (probably Christmas).

You can usually come in and out without having to import it but for this kind of edge cases, don't bother with posts here, most people here dont know what they are talking about.

First Point of call is the Road Traffic Office of the canton, email via their website (For Zuirch its info@stva.zh.ch ). They will tell you if you can drive your car in CH legally without having to do anything

If they point you to having to import it, then contact customs:zentrale.ozd-fahrzeuge@ezv.admin.ch

Both are more then happy on converse in English.

I'm guessing since Ill be staying in canton Aargau I should contact that Road traffic Office, correct? http://www.ag.ch/strassenverkehrsamt/de/pub/

New info I found, a FAQ on the Federal Customs Administration page, I think might interest other people as well and I think it covers my case:

http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...x.html?lang=en

I guess this should solve my situation...