Does anyone have experience learning here, and what should you expect?
If someone wants to get a driving license in zurich or the area, approx how much should they expect to pay altogether? Including lessons, tests and any other suprise fees that may pop up.
Practical driving lessons are the biggest factor in the cost. The average rate seems to be about 80-90 CHF/lesson, and you would need anywhere from 20 to 30 lessons to pass the practical test comfortably.
All other costs (first aid course, theory test and processing fees) would add up to less than CHF 300.
You need to add on the two mandatory post-test courses that you now have to do as well which are around 300 chuffs each (ouch).
In total I would say I paid out around 2000 CHFs to jump through all the hoops here. But I think that's probably the extreme upper limit - I did have a lot of lessons and I did also have a bit of a stop/start approach due to a pregnancy & subsequent baby - so some of my things expired and had to be done again.
Meant to add some general stuff about learning to drive here since you asked.... it's quite complicated getting a license here - there are a lot of things you have to do as well as just drive.
You'll be expected to know where the oil goes in the car and what the tyre pressure should be, how old kids have to be before they can travel without a car seat, what you should do if you park your car on a snowy hill and all kinds of other things. But if you go with a reputable driving school / instructor they will tell you all the stuff you have to do and know etc. And I have to say though that all of it is good - I went into it with a kind of "this is a real pain in the ass" having to do some course on traffic but actually it was really good and I learnt some useful things.
And the 2 phase course that you do after you pass your test is brilliant - you get to take your car to a skid pan and do some interesting games!
The practical test itself I found easier than in the UK (I took and failed four times in the UK). The examiner had no clipboard to make ticks on but instead used his eyes and ears and made an overall assessment of whether I should pass or not - he may have had some checklist in his head, but I must admit I felt much more at ease without having someone putting black marks on a list as I was driving in the test. The test is quite short too - barely 40 minutes so there's not time for much to go wrong anyway.
All in all, my learning to drive experience in Switzerland was very positive and it's been totally worth it.
And I should add - I did all my driving lessons in English and the theory test too, but all the courses were only available in German. So you need to be at least a little bit competent with German. For my practical test I was quite lucky to get a guy that also spoke English and was happy to do the test with a mixture of him asking questions in German and me answering in English when I couldn't in German - but that was really luck of the draw, you have to be prepared that some examiners will only speak German and will expect you to be able to answer in German also. But it's not so hard to learn the questions they might ask and the answers you can give in German.
I'm not sure I agree with that. I failed my tests twice and each time it was over very small detail that was not really a fault. I did it in Lausanne though: I've heard they are much more strict there than in any other city. Finally I gave up, spent a couple of years in US, got a licene there, came back and now I'm going to get a Swiss driving license without any exams or tests
for some reason i only saw this thread now. Thank you for the responses. So if i set aside 2000 chf that should cover it? That is pretty much what i had in mind, but my husband thinks it would be double. I wouldn't mind extensive courses on road rules and safety. After all i want to feel confident.
Hi Wattsli1,
Do you recomend the driving school you went through? My last attempt at getting a driving license was about ten years ago in France, and I didn't get past the theory lessons as I started a new job shortly after signing up
I was talking to my boss who is American with a Swiss passport about this earlier in the week.
He has just been on holiday in the States and whilst there his 18 year old son did the American driving test and will now convert it to a Swiss one. He reckons it has saved around d CHF 3000!
You should know that if you have your lerners permit, you are allowed to drive with a driver who is over 23 years of age with a drivers license more then two years old sitting next to you. You need to stick an L in the back of the car and practice as much as you can. When my kids were getting their license, I drove with them a lot of hours. That reduced the cost of learning with a driving instructor.
It's not the test, it's probably you being one of these Americans that are too silly to drive a car (see the Toyota case). Let's hope the good public transport system here keeps you off the street most of the time.