Drive without MFK!?

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
I have been looking for information specific to my situation but could not find anything exact enough ...

I am looking to buy a car in Canton Zurich from a dealer and bring it back to Canton Bern, where I live. However the last MFK was done in 2010 so it's due ...

When I phoned the seller he told me that it was no issue and that after I buy the car I could still drive it, and in several months I will get something in the mail requesting me to take the car in for inspection. He assured me it would pass without issue.

It seems like a really good car and in top condition etc, but I am worried about a couple things:

1. If I buy it can I actually drive it without the MFK having been done?

2. What about plates? Do I have to get plates before I buy the car?

3. What if I buy it and go in for the inspection and it doesn't pass!?

I heard that it can take years to get an MFK appointment, so I cannot really tell him that I will buy it as soon as he gets it done and it passes ... Or do dealers get the MFK done faster because they are dealers!? :P

I would like to buy the car in the next few day ... but this has got me pretty frazzled ...

2
You heard wrong. Get him to do it first

3
Get the dealer to get the MFK done, will be possible in a few days. If it was a private sale you will have no problem registering the car, you will get called up anything from a month to a few years! Mfk's don't expire as such some people wait 10 years between tests! This is Switzerland it varies......

4
So because it's a dealer I should get them to do the MFK, but if it was a personal sale I could buy it without the MFK being done!?

5
Either dealer or private, to ensure you are getting a sound vehicle, it is always good to the the selling party to do a MFK inspection.

This way, you have the peace of mind and it is a good sign the seller stands behind their vehicle.

6
Right ok!

But how long will it take to get the MFK done? Days, weeks, months ... longer!?

7
Days. Anybody telling you otherwise is pulling your thing

8
Do yoiu know anything at all about cars ? If the answer is only vaguely no and even if it is yes but you have no place to work on the car WALK AWAY quick until the dealer puts an MFK on it, which he can dso quickly and eaasily being in the garage profession.

If you do dewcide to buy it, despite my advice, please don't come back here to complain how the car is shite, you been ripped off and the Swiss are a bunch of dirthy theiving shysters.

9
OK so I bought a car 6 weeks ago, the dealer did not have an appointment so left it at the TCS all day, we went & collected the car at 5.00 & I drove away a few minutes later.

10
I will call the dealer on Monday and tell him that if he does the MFK and it passes, I will buy the car and pay for the MFK - if he won't do it then I will leave it!

But in general, for information sake, if you buy a car which is past 2 years of it's last MFK can you legally drive it?

Also how does it work with plates here? In Australia the plates go with the car - but here not!?

11
I was not aware that TCS perform official inspections ... I thought they only did pre-checks ...

And don't you have to be a TCS member to get anything done with them!?

12
Why are you looking for problems, let the garage sort it out. The TCS perform official inspections, a pre test from any garage is a total waste of time or money. The official test costs just 65 CHF in ZH.

You also keep asking exactly the same questions , In post 3 I answered what you asked in post 10.

There is also a search function as it's a VERY regular question, probably asked within the last month.

13
Sorry, I am not trying to make problems, I am just addressing all the things I have already been told by others ...

Is it considered normal here to get winter rims/tires with the car ... or is it more of an added bonus if your lucky enough to find a car being sold with them?

Also, if a car is being sold within the last few months of it's 2 year period of having had it's last inspection, is it still possible to take it into a TCS for an official inspection, or does one have to wait till the 2 years have passed!?

Can other garages also perform the official inspection? If so how does one go about locating a garage that does it? (Other than calling every garage in the area :P )

14

Jeez man you keep asking the same thing. Just have the garage do the MFK and be done with it. Yes it can be sold even if the wheels fall of , just depends on what you want to do with it. Your 2 years has nothing to do with anything. The garage does nothing official. It is bought to a special inspection point where you wait and someone gives your car a good lookover.it either passes or you will be given a slip with issues that need to be fixed before you come for as recheck.

(I do believe however in some places for a private sale the MFK has had to have happened within the last year or 2)

Change of tyres is not standard but many do come with it as it is widely used here.

15
You could get a new mfk every month if you really wanted, listen to what you are told here, forget any system from any other country.

Second hand wheels can be found on Ricardo.ch it's all very easy

16
Manly from my experience having owned cars in Bern, Fribourg, and Vaud,

1. when you register that car in Bern they will demand an MFK test within 1 or 2 weeks. If the MFK is recent, within 2 years, they will usually allow you to register it, and you will get an apointment in Bern about 2 years after the last MFK was done. Some Cantons have a backlog, Bern doesn't.

2. you can drive it to Bern on the dealers plates. Or you can get your own plates at Bern and go and collect the car using your insurance.

3. as everyone has told you, don't buy a car without a recent MFK, less than 6 months ago. The car may seem cheap, but you don't know the problems. Also very important is to check the pollution certificate has a recent date, this is a good indication that the engine is reasonably sound.

4. do a test drive, listen for odd sounds, and look for smoke or steam.

5. you should join the TCS, then they will offer several different tests for older cars. They are authorised to do the MFK, in the same canton as the car is registered, and only for the car owner, not for a dealer. The TCS test, has to be made before the next MFK is due.

6. car insurance will vary with your nationality, don't be surprised!

http://en.comparis.ch/auto/default.aspx

Any other questions, please search the Forum.

17
I sold a car a while back. Was sure the car would pass, I offered to have it inspected via TCS inspection point at a local garage. Even paid for it. The seller was extremely happy.

Personally, if the seller is interested in selling the car, they will pay for the inspection and suck up the costs.

18
Ok, so I have narrowed down my options to another car which has passed the MFK in November 2012. I will have to travel to Tübach to fetch the car. I have been told I need to get "day number plates" from the Strassenverkehrsamt here in Bern before going to get the car so as to allow me to drive it back. The seller told me he would email me the car's ausweis to take with me when I get the "day number plates". Is this the correct way to go about it?

Also, once I get the car back to Bern what then!? I am guessing the "day number plates" are only good for a day (24 hours!?) and then I need to get permanent plates ... which I do at the Strassenverkehrsamt again!? Do I also get my third party insurance there, or do I have to go to another office for that?

19
That is wrong, you do it after.

Law was changed several years ago.

You buy it, register it, put plates on it, and then sometime in the future they will send you the invite.

You (or the seller) can of course request an appointment before the invite, but it is not required.

Just got an invite for one of my bikes. Last MFK was in 2005 (when my bike turned 20!).

My wife bought a bike last summer, got the invite two months later.

Tom

20
If this is true I am very annoyed due to having passed up what I considered a deal-of-a-lifetime because the MFK was not done in the last 2 years!!

But what if you buy the car without the MFK having been done and then later on it fails the MFK!? That would kinda suck ... no!?