Hello dear petrol heads and car experts (and occasional tire kickers!)
I have a question that couldn't find answer searching etc
The thing is, I am traveling more and more to my home country, I used to take a plane and rent a car there, than I got a car in Switzerland and I did few trips back and forth, but 20 hours drive one way is just too much for a weekend/week trip. So now I am thinking about buying a another car, either a domestic car registered over there or buying a car in Switzerland, putting it on the same plates as my current car (share insurance etc) and than bring the car to my home country, leave it there and just keep it there.
The plates I will bring with me on the plane so I can use them when I am back in Switzerland. So on the insurance side, the car will always be insured, even if it is not in Switzerland. But I wonder about the MFK, is there any way that this can be done from abroad or the car has to be presented to the Swiss authorities? If the car passes the MFK date, can still be driven abroad?
and both cars would have to be Swiss . otherwise you'd have to import the other one also since to have Swiss plates it must be Swiss . The mfk is once every 2-5 years so one trip is not that much in that case.
I know in Belgium there was a thing like holiday use, so you'd only pay insurance and taxes for a certain amount of the year, and limited miles etc etc.
Others have mentioned the Swiss side of things, that the car must be Swiss-bought or imported, and subject to Swiss MFK and annual tax etc. If you fail to submit it for MFK testing it will not be legal, for sure, and they'll presumably ask you to surrender the plates or at least the carte grise, so it would no longer be legal to use anywhere.
But you also need to find out what are the rules in the country it'll be living in. Where will it be kept? is it legal to stay there without plates? Does it need local insurance or road tax even if parked off-road? Etc.
I have a friend thats been doing that for years. No problems as long as you keep everything up to date (MFK etc).
Traveling with the plates may be an issue though if you have it in your hand luggage. Security may start asking questions in the country your in. So I would either put it in the checked luggage or have two sets of plates.
My friend has also flown with plates. Just saying that its a risk that one may chose to avoid if possible. Depending on country etc. There is always the risk you get an over zealous civil servant that opens a can of worms you dont want opened.
There your plates, you can carry them wherever you like, it's not illegal so no can of worms. As always say very little to Police or government employees, they are never trying to help you! You suggested putting them in checked luggage, so customs will still see them if they look, can't see any advantage.
If you take them off your car then you know nobody else will be driving it & getting speeding tickets on your plates, seems like a good reason to me!
If you drive to the UK in one car, switch the plates when you return you WILL be stopped leaving the U.K. Showing the registration documents will show your legal! Having less passengers on the return will also be noticed.
I also used to do this - leave CH car in UK and fly with the plates in my hand loggage - in fact they used to stick out of the top of the backpack so was clear to see. No problem. Check with your CH insurer first. We were given a green international certificate that was required and it was dated for 1 year. No problem to get next etc.
Actually I don't see much alternative apart from hiring cars - I tried to get iinsurance on a UK car and no UK insurance company was interested as I was not UK resident.