I am relocating to Switzerland by mid-April and I am investigating how I can lease a car.
I have signed a job contract and the work permit B is under process. In the meantime my fiancee is already living and working in Switzerland for 3 years now.
Could you please share some hints and tips on how to start investigating our options for a car leasing?
Can I lease a car as a newcomer? Any points of attention?
Any suggestions/experiences will be higly apreciated!
You can rent a car thru Mobility ( it would be useful if you would have the SBB red card / you can start the procedure to get this one the first day in Switzerland ( you need a passport photo on you )
Also, for transportation of furniture and stuff, you can also rent a van directly from Ikea
Hope it helps
Tom
Could you please advice 1-2 websites related to used cars trading?
If your employer reimburses the use of your car for professional purposes, lost of dealerships offer a discount. Somewhere in the terms of your contract there should be something about a 1.x Swiss Francs per kilometer driven. If this exists in your contract, you can get an interesting discount on your leasing contract.
Leasing looks cheaper (0.9% interest rate) than a loan (higher interest rate), but leasing requires the most expensive insurance coverage. Most expensive insurance makes no sense for econoboxes, it makes sense for more expensive cars.
Far aside from financial concerns and more on the hedonistic side of life: Switzerland and neighboring regions have excellent roads. If you wish, enjoy a car that would be foolish to drive anywhere else in the world because you'd be breaking something once a week due to bad roads.
Somebody already mentioned if you lease a car you'll have to get "full casco" insurance, covering damage to your car and the one you hit. Not only that, but insurance companies charge more for leased cars. I know this cause I just finished my lease, and got a reduction in the insurance, with the same cover as before.
Don't know if your budget will reach for it, but an electric car will serve you well here, you'll find parking more easily [few electric cars] and will save a fortune on fuel.
A final thought, lots of mountains in Switzerland which you'll ideally have 4x4 car to enjoy in the winter. Others will argue they never needed a 4x4, but I live in the mountains and watch motorists without getting stuck every winter. And its no fun coming to the mountains and spending a few hours in the freezing cold waiting to be rescued.
I have no company car term in my contract. However, i asked my employer if they have any collaboration for car fleets, so that I can use their discount for my private car. They told me that they have such arrangements with Audi and Ford. I need to check this upon my arrival, as I heard that these discounts can be quite significant..
I also see some lease sites that claim to offer full package lease deals (i.e. Gowago), but not sure if this viable on new cars only (or used cars are included as well). Also if the insurance is included in this package?
Anyhow, as a first step I think that I need to physically visit some dealers or AMAG to get initial offers..
Have you got a big willy too ?
Also:
anibis.ch is a website I bought and sold all my cars from.
My 2 cents: never buy a new car in CH, always go for second hand.
Back to the leasing. There's a table in the contract that says how much should be paid when the contract is ended before term at the request of the leasee (the one leasing the from the financial institution). Checked my contract, it was 16% of the initial value at the beginning of the lease, and going down every month.
If for whatever reason I have to leave CH quickly, getting rid of the car leasing contract is much easier than getting rid of the apartment rental contract.