I am hoping someone can help me, I have been in Switzerland for 6 months and am looking to buy a car.
I would prefer to buy from a dealer but an interesting deal has come up with a private sale. The catch is the car is still on a lease, so in effect owned by the bank.
So I would assume after I have paid for the car, the seller would pay back the lease.
In the UK this would be a no go, they would need to pay the lease company first and prove there is no outstanding credit on the car. Is it different here in Switzerland? Is it common to buy a car privately with outstanding credit?
If so, is there a way to do this safely, for example pay the bank directly?
You would need to discuss this directly with the seller and the leasing company. (If needed)
As long as it’s clearly stated that the sale is subject to the seller buying out the car from the leasing company then you should be safe from a legal perspective at least.
You can't change the registration of the lease car unless the lease company has approved this. Lease cars have a code 178 (Halterwechsel Verboten) in the grey card. I wouldn't transfer any money until you have proof that this code has been removed.
Can you not take over the lease? Or you pay the lease company directly. Handing over money and hoping they pay off the lease is pretty risky. (It’s a lease, not a loan, so car registration documents will be in leasing companies name).
Agree to pay the lease, get the leasing company agree to full payback of the lease.
Have the seller sign and date a contract for the purchase of the car, including a phrase that it becomes your property once the leasing company has been fully paid back.
Go to a bank physically and YOU make the payment to the leasing company and at the same time take possession of the grey card which is basically the ownership document.
It is fairly common that with cars on leasing the lessor cannot afford to pay the lease, this is the reason the car is on the lease in the first place !
If you feel uncomfortable with any of it, walk away.
Buying a car on leasing should actually be less risky as you know who the owner of the car actually is. In a regular sale you just know the registered holder, but the actual owner could be someone else and they might not approve the sale.
Example: Holder and seller is the husband, actual owner is the wife which does not approve the sale. If you buy the car you would have to give it back to the wife, and then you have to try to get back the money from the husband.
The due diligence is to contact the leasing company and check if they are fine with the deal.
Be aware that the sales price can be lower or higher than the outstanding lease, it depends on the terms of the lease and on the condition of the car, specially its millage.