Drive it over, use it for a month or so, take it back, sell it and buy another, it's only a standard type car and quit making life difficult for yourself
here's a whole shed load of cars available from Nestle internal, people who have left and haven't sold their cars.
Remember to budget for the fine for that
We brought our cars down from Luxembourg, and getting them officially imported and registered was not painful (OK, they were LHD, so that helped). If I recall right, the important thing was that the car had a certificate of conformity - which pretty much all relatively new EU cars have.
Yes, we declared our car upon entry then have 12 months to change it to Swiss plates / headlights etc.
After much thought, we 've decided to buy a LHD here.
Same here . We didn't go ahead with the plan to bring our UK car to Switzerland for the same reasons above. Just too much hassle.
We brought both our cars from Belgium with us too and it was an absolute doddle to import them. We already had the COC for one of them and the other was very easily obtained by the vehicle licensing place as they were both 'european' models.
The biggest pain with driving a RHD car here is the ticket machines, overtaking etc. especially when driving alone. The headlight adjustments and stuff are easily remedied.
I agree. Bring the car you have and know with you, declare it at the border when you first arrive. Although sitting on the "wrong side" take a bit of getting used to, and some additional attention, it is only really a bother at ticket spitters. If you have electric windows and use a gripper arm you can get by - this raises less eyebrows than reversing into or out of the underground parking.
Once you've settled in and got used to the roads etc, change to a LHD car if you are going to stay for an appreciable period.
The only thing you need to do on the car is make sure that the headlamps are changed to LHD - some cars have this facility built in via an adjustment.
Separate questions. Trying to simply things into easy steps.
1. Drive car across border. No actual need to declare it at this stage, but you can do so if you wish.
2. Drive on UK plates, with UK tax and insurance paid, for as long as you like up until 12 months after you took up residence. Not from the date it was actually imported, as you're bringing it on tax-free as an existing personal possession.
3. At the 12 month point, or whenever your UK insurance is valid until, start the process, which involves
A. go to a customs post with documentation for you and the car, fill in the appropriate import forms (and pay admin fee for doing so, repeated at any 'transaction') and get the forms you need to register it. Follow their instructions re sending papers to other authorities.
B. You will be asked, by letter, to attend an MFK (think MOT test), before which time you need the headlights sorted and to ensure that there's no sign of oil leaks, etc. An engine clean may be advised if it's got seven years of accumulated dirt on it.
C. Get Swiss insurance.
D take paperwork, including name of insurer, to indicated office who will issue plates and reg docs.
As an aside, you'll also need to have converted your licence if you want to continue driving after 12 months. Google other threads for lots of info about that.
Oh, one last step. Fast forward some years when you want to sell it, do the sums and conclude (probably) that if would have been economically better to sell it before moving in the foray page
Wrong, there is actual need to declare. It is the law. Only tourists eligible for a tax and duty free temporary import do not have to declare the car.
O.k. nearly nobody cares or checks, and the consequences in the past have been nil. Nevertheless, not declaring at this point is smuggling!
Do not pull this in another country, for ex. Italy where you car gets impounded by the Guardia di Finanza and only released once you paid a fine which can be a multiple of the cars actual value. In Switzerland the fine could be up to around 60% of the cars value.
You're confusing 'need' with your own arbitrary interpretation of 'the rules'. Those of us that have been through the process are simply trying to answer the OP's question about what they actually 'need' to do.
Maybe you are confusing what you did with the correct way to do it?
http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...prungmarke40_6
And here it is.... even for those who "have been through the process"
I agree with some of this, but not all of it -- and I've been driving a UK-bought RHD vehicle for nearly 8 years now in Switzerland.
First of all, it was still quite a new car when I came over, and still had about 3 years of payments to make on it. I couldn't face the major financial loss, so decided to stick with it. Insurance is valid for the first month or so, then I got insurance through (I think) Stuart Collins Ltd which lasted a year.
I can't recall the process for registering the car -- I have a feeling we got a letter through to explain the procedure. I took it to the local main dealer for that make of car, and they took care of the Swiss registration, which involves an inspection. Main issue is usually the headlamps, and whether they face the wrong way. Some cars have a simple switch to adjust but some (mine included) have to get replacements.
Regarding the practicalities of RHD, yes, it can be a nuisance having to get out of the car to take/insert your ticket at the supermarket car park, but frankly, that's a bit of a First World Problem in my eyes. When it comes to overtaking, it really makes no difference. With RHD, you are disadvantaged when trying to overtake on roads with a left hand bend up ahead, but the opposite is true when the bend is to the right, where you get a much clearer view than a LHD car. So it's swings and roundabouts. Best way to deal with overtaking is simply to hang back a little from the vehicle in front so that you can see past it -- regardless of which side the wheel is on.
Honestly, I really notice no difference apart from that minor hassle of getting out to take the ticket when you use a big carpark.
The other inconvenience is when it comes to selling. I've no plans to sell for another while but I'll probably have to take it back to the UK to do so.
My experience on the licence front:
At the 11 month mark I tried to swap my UK licence for a Swiss one, because I'd read about the 12 month validity limit, but I still had an L permit so the authorities said I didn't need to swap yet.
At the 18 month mark my L permit got upgraded to a B and shortly after that I bought a car here. The process of registering ownership of the car triggered the demand that I swapped my licence for a Swiss one, a process which was fortunately quite simple.
Having driven LHD cars in the UK and RHD ones in Europe, getting stuck behind something large like a bus or truck on a country road is the worst thing. As you say, hanging back is the way to go.
There is one time there is an advantage of driving on the "wrong side" for the car and that is on motorways when checking the blind spot between door and rear-view mirrors before switching lanes. You don't have to twist your head as much.
The car needs to be declared as part of your personal goods on the day you transfer domicile to Switzerland.
You choose "Partial Importation"/Teileinfuhr on the customs form. There is a section where you give the car VIN.
Any personal goods (including the car) can then be brought in (tax/customs free) up to two years after the domicile transfer date if you choose "Partial Importation". (The other option is "Complete importation"/Gesamteinfuhr).
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Completely separate, is the ability to simply to drive your car into Switzerland as a tourist and drive around however you like, untaxed, undeclared and maybe uninsured! If you didn't declare the car as part of personal goods on the day you transferred domicile, it may be a problem if you want to register it at some later date.
But obviously, it might make sense if you are spending a short time in CH and not transferring domicile e.g., moving for 6 months or something like that.
True, but I tend to get my head wedged against the door glass when I go to check my blindspot during the initial changeover period.
I often end up driving 5 or more cars which are a mix of LHD & RHD during the course of a single day. Although I only rarely get in the wrong side of the car, I do bang my head a bit.
I've not suffered that one. The one I have to concentrate on if I haven't driven a RHD car for a while is using the correct hand for the gearstick. It's an autonomous action which takes a bit of adjustment.
With my first LHD car I was constantly rapping the back of my hand on the window winder and it hurt.
I find regular swapping vehicles the best way, but it does sometimes get you. Last year I put a tractor into reverse when I was trying to indicate a turn.
No problem with not finding the shift... it is with one exception it is on the hump in the middle of the car. Reverse gear, and where the turnsignal switch is doesn't get me that all that often, but normal and fly off handbrakes....
Just my experience, in case it is helpful to you.
I had problems declaring my UK car at the border outside Basel. Was passed from pillar to post and wasted a whole load of time and in the end wasn't able to declare the car.
So I used it for a short time in Switzerland until my UK insurance ran out then took it back to the UK and sold it at auction.
In hindsight I wish I sold it in the UK prior to relocation and used rental cars for the last month in the UK and first month(s) in Switzerland.
So:
A Swiss resident must not drive a foreign-plated car on Swiss roads, with the exception established earlier in this thread (self-owned plus 12 month limit).
OP has a partner. Assuming they're not married, doesn't that create additional pitfalls as the swiss-resident partner would drive a not-self-owned foreign-plated car on Swiss roads?
A Swiss resident can drive a car for up to one year as long as the car is declared to customs and duty paid if applicable (source I have imported x3 and stopped by the police twice with UK plates)
It's difficult to insure the thing if you have been in CH for many years, but if you're just moving it's much easier.
I wouldn't import a 3008 Pug personally, if it was something rare or you intend to keep it until it falls to pieces yes otherwise no.
As someone has said Stuart Collins will insure you on UK plates for unlimited time in Europe, most UK policies will only cover for 3 months then you have to go back to the UK and reset the "clock" check the small print every insurer is different.
I would drive the thing over here stop at customs and declare it as household goods to cover the import/customs issue. I have had no issues doing this in Basel or at the customs office in Zurich. Then after 2-3 months drive it back to the UK and sell it. On exiting Switzerland you need to inform customs again you are returning the car to the UK for sale.
Then buy a LHD car, but initially it will help with the house move and allow you to buy crap in Ikea etc.
IF you do decide to import it do not leave everything to the last minute, the biggest problem is valid insurance, so if you trip over 12 months for whatever reason (Mfk being a pain) it becomes difficult to legally drive it to the test centre. It can be done but it's more hassle.
And yes only the person who imports the car can drive it until it becomes "Swiss"