I've seen multiple posts and still would like to start a new one for updates on more recent shipments.
We look forward to moving to Zurich!
We plan to ship a car in a couple of weeks from SF Bay area to Zurich. We tend to get estimates around 3,700$ that do not include destination charges. Is there something you could recommend based on your experience?
Why? Depending on the make/model it may cost you to bring it up to Swiss standards. May be better to sell it and get another car once you’re here.
Welcome to the forum and soon to Switzerland!
You might also want to consider the import tax when shipping a car into Switzerland.
PS. I am moving to the Bay Area in a month from Switzerland!
Swap cars and save some money !!
Import tax is only levied if the car was owned for less than 6 months prior to first entry to CH.
If your car is sold here, I think you're better off selling in the US and buying again here. Shipping costs, plus paperwork make it just annoying. Unless you have something REALLY special and the prices are too different between US and CH, I don't think it would make much sense to do it.
If you just got the car, and you don't want to eat the steep initial depreciation cost, I would leave it with family to sell it at a decent price later.
If your car is not sold in CH or the EU, it would be too much of a pain to bring it in.
So all in all, better to leave it behind.
A very entertaining thread Importing a car from US to CH
Do tell us what car!
Regards
Ian
Fiat Panda.
Tom
The price arbitrage between US market and CH vehicles can be substantial. Case study: I purchased a 2018 VW Golf Alltrack for USD 26,500 including taxes. In 2018 the same car was offered for sale in CH for CHF 39,000. Because this is a VW global platform vehicle*, the differences between the US and CH vehicles are relatively minor. The meaningful difference is the headlamp beam pattern (cost: $248 per headlamp to replace w/ Euro-spec). I can't speak to the importation process, as I intend to import mine in 2020. But, even assuming $3K shipping costs and $1K on headlamp retrofit, importation looks like an awfully good deal. The shipping cost I received from Boston to Zurich was closer to $2K.
*Fair warning: many US market VW/Audi cars are de-contented compared to the Euro-spec cars bearing the same model name. I did my homework comparing part numbers for many critical parts including but well beyond the powertrain.
Never. I've lost track of my English Forum memes, but do we love the Nissan Qashqai or the Juke?
Relatively minor can be VERY expensive
If their s no European CoC (Certificate of Conformity) then the tests to get the car through are far harder and more expensive.
When you come to re-sell the car, as a US import it is worth between 10-15% less than a car sold via a Swiss dealer.
Unless it really is special, it's not worth it in the long run, but i leave you to decide if you want to find out the hard way. By special we are looking at cars that have European CoC on them and are worth over $100k new, or are some antique car (Think Jaguar E-type)
the car is somewhat special for reasons that are more personal than anything else
it is 2016 volvo xc60
Just a point of clarification: no car built in or for the North American market will have a European CoC, even if the car is built on a global platform by a European company. In the case of my Golf, I am fortunate as a former Audi tech to have access to a database where I can compare VW/Audi products side by side and cross reference part numbers. There are 17 part numbers (out of over 10,000 parts) that vary between the US- and Euro-spec vehicle. Most are inconsequential, but I know how much each part costs and am prepared to buy it and install it if needed. I agree that this level of research and preparation appears to be what's required...or get ready to pay an importer a few grand to start.
Get over it, it's a manufactured object
When we moved here, a million years ago, we brought our then-new car. While the fees paid and the bureaucratic hoops jumped through are likely no longer relevant, the rationale for bringing or not bringing still applicable:
If someone else is paying for the move - shipping costs, plus all ancillary costs to get the car 'street legal' in CH so that you are not one penny out of pocket, and you don't have time to deal with arrangements to leave the car stateside before the move, it might make sense to bring it.
If on your own dime, not a great idea.
Alternatively, if it's a corporate move why not negotiate something towards the purchase/lease of a new car into your move deal?
If you want the car for sentimental reasons... do remember that sentiment aside it's a depreciating asset, and getting rid of a depreciated asset can be a pain in Switzerland, and perhaps an expensive one at that.
Could you capture that sentiment in something else? Moving to Switzerland often means letting go... this would only be the first of many similar exercises.
Were we to do it all over again, with the benefit of hindsight, I likely would not have brought the car. I could have used that space in the container for something else, or better yet negotiated extra cash in lieu into the move deal.
Good luck with your move...
I brought a motorcycle when I moved here 33 years ago, and I still have it. It was a bit of a pain, and expense, but I would do it again (in fact I did, 12 years ago when I bought one in Italy).
I borrowed the few parts I needed for the homologation, in fact 6 years later I bought the bike that I had borrowed the parts from, still have that one as well.
Tom
You shouldn't compare with a new car.
If you move here in 2020 with a 2018 car, you should compare it with a 2018 second hand car in Switzerland. Also, a US car will be harder to sell here.
Well, if it's special to OP, then it's special.
Can't argue with that.
Hopefully it doesn't get totaled in the first month here ;-)
Insurance only covers the monetary value after all.
We shipped a car from California (Tahoe) to Spain in 2006 for ~$3000.00. I would think that your offer of $3700 is in the ballpark. As you didn't ask for info regarding importing, I won't comment on that.