US car import - my experience

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Dear all,

I would like to share with you my experiences with I importing my car from the US to Switzerland. I relocated with my job from NJ to Basel in January 2016. Before moving over to Switzerland I started seriously considering importing my car (box standard 2012 Honda CR-V 2.4L petrol) as

I would lose lots of money by selling my car (I did not have much time to do so) Equivalent cars in Switzerland are approximately twice as expensive as in the USA

I did lots of research and the feedback I got ranged from “simple, I would do it again” to “certainly not worth the hassle and at the end it will be very expensive”. There are few companies specializing in importing cars to Switzerland but their services are rather expensive. Since I can speak some German I also did some reading on Swiss and German websites and I concluded that importing my car (direct import) should not be that difficult. And it was not indeed.

Here is what happened and things to watch for when importing your vehicle

If you have owned your vehicle for more than 6 months and it is part of your personal belonging (Übersidlungsgut) you won’t pay any import tax. I shipped my car together with all the household goods in the same container (40 ft) Make sure you get the form 13.20 with “Stammnummer” from the customs. This is a standard form and there was no issue of getting it (via my shipper) Make sure you get the copy of the Form 18.44 with the stamp from the customs. Again, it is a standard form you have to fill in, send to the local custom office (again, via my shipping company) and get a copy from the customs with the stamp. You will get only a copy. So I imported my car, got forms 13.20 and a copy of 18.44. Now the next hurdle was the car insurance. In order to drive a car in CH (as anywhere else) you need a car insurance. You can drive your car on a foreign plates for a period of 12 months PRIOVIDED the car is insured. Here’s the tricky bit – most of Swiss insurers won’t insure your car unless you have Swiss number plates. In order to get Swiss number plates, you need to pass a technical inspection (i.e. DRIVE your car to the test station) and then present the proof of your insurance to the local motor vehicle office (Motorfahrzeugkontrolle aka MFK). But how can you show a proof of a car insurance to get Swiss number plates when this insurance depends on the existence of Swiss number plates??? Well, I found in principle two workable solutions:

You can get a temporary car insurance from the local custom office. It is valid for a limited period of time (I believe 2weeks or one month) and it is rather expensive Contact NVC in Basel ( www.nvc.ch ). That’s what I did. This is a broker company with many years of experiences with insuring imported cars. They managed to insure my car via Zurich insurance, even though Zurich alone refused it. And the quote was actually cheaper that what I got from other competitors (e.g. Basler Versicherung). So there was no price increase when I went via this broker. Interesting, right?. So that was one big thing sorted – car insurance. I happily drove my car for the next three months on NJ number plates. The next challenge was to get the car registered in Switzerland and get Swiss number plates. I strongly recommend checking the requirement from the cantonal MFK (in my case it was Baselland MFK: https://www.baselland.ch/fileadmin/baselland/files/docs/jpd/mfp/import/cl_import-leichte-motorwagen.pdf ). This document tells you what documents are need for the technical inspection (Prüfung) and for the car registration and obtaining number plates (Zulassung). Fyi, I saw a very similar document at MFK in Zürich.

So, I copied my title, registration, forms 13.20, 18.44 and I also collated evidence that my car has a Swiss-recognized On Board Diagnose System (OBD), took a picture of the “ VEHICLE EMISSION CONTROL INFORMATION” shield, took a picture of my speedometer showing speed in both miles and km and sent it all to the MFK to arrange a technical inspection. I got the invitation the very next day and I thought everything was just fine. My only consideration were car’s headlamps and the orange light as I read on some posts that this may be a problem. It was not. The orange light did not bother the inspector. I also saw many cars with orange headlamps driving in Switzerland with Swiss number plates. It appears that real issue is only with Xenon lights.

But I failed. I failed the inspection because:

The inspector could not find the engine number and was not bothered to look more carefully The inspector said that although my “dossier” shows that my OBD system (OBD II) is indeed recognized in Switzerland, I was supposed to clarify it with the MFK UPFRONT and get a confirmation from the MFK “car expert” that my OBD is a recognized one. In reality all newer US cars should have recognized OBD systems. My understanding is that EU OBDs are based on the US ones. He could not see any document showing the top speed of my vehicle. Indeed, my Honda specification does not present this info and all my efforts showing him data from the internet confirming the top speed did not have any effect on him.

So I went back home cursing my luck but at the same time I was quite pleased that NO TECHNICAL (and expensive) MODIFICATIONS were needed!!! All I had to do was some paperwork. So I consulted the car manual, looked under the hood and identified the engine number. Check. I sent pretty much ALL the documentation I sent the first time to secure the technical inspection to another MFK department ( [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) ) and soon they confirmed that my car’s OBD is a recognized one. Check. Top speed of the vehicle. Now that turned out to be a really painful one in case of my Honda. US Honda customer service confirmed this info only on TWITTER (!) and refused to issue any formal document. My NJ dealer did not respond to my e-mails at all. I found the top seed of my car on various internet sites, however MFK insisted on an “official document”; Twitter communication with US Honda Customer Service and internet sources were deemed unreliable. Thank you very much US Honda Customer Service.

Swiss Honda Importer could not help either as this model – CR-V 2.4L engine – is not being imported into Switzerland. German Honda importer was a bit more helpful and referred me to few Honda offices that could help. So I contacted one dealer after another but all I got was a negative response. Then, after 2 weeks of researching and e-mailing, one German Honda dealer referred me to a SWISS company - American Automobile and Mr. Alex von Haller ( [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) ). So I did sent them my desperate e-mail and on the very next day they phoned me and suggested a brilliant and a cheap solution. They recommended to get the top speed tested at the local TCS (Touring Club of Switzerland) garage. So I called the TCS, they confirmed that they can do it and it their documents are accepted by the MFK. The speed testing cost was 80 CHF.- Then I sent the document with the top speed back to the MFK and they confirmed they will accept this document!!!! Check, check, check!

So I went for the technical inspection again and all I did was showing all those E-MAILs from MFK car experts confirming that all the data meet Swiss requirements. They also measured the noise level of my car and that was it. I passed. Two days later I went to the MFK office, showed the technical report, again all the forms, proof of insurance (sent directly to the MFK by the insurer via e-mail) surrendered the title, registration and NJ number plates, PAID the fee and got my brand new Swiss number plates!

From my side the key take away points are:

If you own your car for more than 6 months than you pay zero import tax and duty. Make sure you get from 13.20 with “Stammnummer” and a copy of 18.44 from the custom office Confirm prior to the technical meeting that your OBD is a recognized one and you don’t have to do (expensive) exhaust gas/CO2 emission test Get that bloody top speed of your vehicle on a piece of paper. Either from the local dealer or boys from the TCS will do it for you. Unless you have xenon lights or some exotic modifications your car is very likely to pass the technical inspection Make sure the inspector can find the engine number (it is not the VIN number) Sort out your car insurance via nvc.ch (there may be other companies but I tried all big Swiss insurers and only this one worked with foreign number plates) Now how much did it cost me?

Import tax and duty: 0 CHF 1. MFK inspection: 250.- CHF 2. MFK Inspection: 120.- CHF Vehicle speed test: 80.- CHF Registration and plates: 629.- CHF Total: 1079.- CHF

Of course, It would have been less without the speed test and/or the second inspection.

The final verdict: Would I do it again? Certainly.

I hope you find this info useful.

2
What a GREAT third post! I admire your tenacity and problem solving skills. Is this your first rodeo overseas?

3

I'm thinking ISta is going to take to Switzerland like a duck to water! Well done ISta.

4
When I imported my wife's Fiat from Germany, about 25 years ago, my problem was the engine type had never been imported before. The MFK at Fribourg told me to ask my garage to write to Fiat in Italy, and get the pollution figures for the engine type, which they did. The car then passed the MFK with a fresh pollution control document.

I imagine if your local Honda dealer was co-operative he could have written to Honda in Europe, and asked them for the rated top speed.

You didn't mention the CoC (Certificate of Compliance) which has stumped other members.

However, well done ISta and thanks for a comprehensive report.

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Awesome post.

The "top speed" issue is also a great example of John Lennon's "There are no problems", only solutions" quote. It might require a bit of perseverance in some cases...

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Very detailed. I am sure it will help someone else at a later date.

Concerning the xenon lights - "It appears that real issue is only with Xenon lights". You had the pop-up spray system already on the car? You didn't say. I understand that you have to have the washer system or they will not pass the car.

And one other thing to keep in mind. You can not sell the car within one year or they will come back to you for the import duty and taxes.

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Hi all,

Thank you very much for the positive feedback. I hope my story will help other people importing their cars from the US.

There were some additioal questions posted by other members so I try to address them in this post.

Xenon lights. No, Indo not have them installed on my car. Yes, thebkey issue is that one needs to have washers installed when importing a car with xenon lights. This xenon matter made me do some research (and worry) about the orange light in the high beam that is a standard in the US. But it turned out to be absolutely ok, the only thing MFK technicians checked (they seem to control it for ALL vehicles, domestic or imported) was the light intensity.

CoC (certificate of conformity): it was not needed; however they needed other evidence of "conformity", i.e. engine data (incl. that frickin' top speed), VEHICLE EMMISION INFORMATION shield, demonstration that the odometer shows the speed also in km/h and headlight intensity. All of this can be found in the document I showed in my original post ( https://www.baselland.ch/fileadmin/b...motorwagen.pdf ). It is in German though....

BTW in my new technical id card ("Fahrzeugausweis") I have a big fat "X" in the "EG-Typengenehmigung" field.

I trust that helps.

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Hi...

One thing I don`t understand, Are you driving this car on NJ license?

Thanks...

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Yes,

one can use a foreign driver's license for a period of one year, than one needs to replace it with the Swiss one. Please see the link below:

https://en.comparis.ch/umzug-schweiz...n-schweiz.aspx

I believe also in the US there is a 1-year period applied to foreign driver's licenses.

10

Did you read his post?

It says " Two days later I went to the MFK office, showed the technical report, again all the forms, proof of insurance (sent directly to the MFK by the insurer via e-mail) surrendered the title, registration and NJ number plates, PAID the fee and got my brand new Swiss number plates! "

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Why were the MFK inspection costs so high? Was it a special inspection?

From my experience of modding my RHD lights to LHD they seem to only check the height adjustment. I did wonder if I could pass the MFK with a flat headlamp pattern using the adjuster for foreign driving but I made the mod to LHD before the test anyway. For the full-beam I believe the requirements are quite lax. I believe it might be the case that they simply can't be too low.

BTW, what was the max speed?

12
This is an incredibly helpful post, thank you. I apologize in advance if I missed these details but:

1. How do you prove ahead of time with MFK that your OBD is recognized?

2. So, your Honda passed emissions tests? I am thinking of bringing a Honda 2011 CRV. We love this car -- it is "just right" for us. Is there anyway to know ahead of time whether it would pass emissions standards in Switzerland?

Thank you, Mike

13
Very informative post indeed!

One consideration though: if you are to sell the car later in Switzerland be prepared to take a big hit on price vs Swiss or even EU spec cars. So you should not make your calculations based on average price in web - US spec cars are not on top of buyer wishlist although better than RHD

Of course if half the price in US probably still makes a lot of sense financially...

14
Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times for this post!! We are in the process of importing our car from NJ to Zurich (it arrives next week) and I have been completely confused about what to do when it gets here. After tons of frustrating hours of googling, your post is by far the most helpful resource I have found. Thank you!

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I also imported my US-spec BMW 335D in 2011. Also, countless people said "don't bother", "not worth it". Simple experience for me. I would certainly do it again if I could. I would probably do it with a 911 turbo and save some real money!

My previous post: https://www.englishforum.ch/transpor...ng-bmw-us.html

Regards,

Ed

16
After importing 3 vehicles from Florida, these were my experiences...

1st car I imported in 2005 was my bog standard 2003 Honda Civic LX (which I still drive, 165,000 miles on the clock, ye cannae beat a HONDA). As I was moving here it cost me absolutely very little as it was part of my "belongings". My orange lights were however required to be killed off, reason I was told by the SAN that's because on that particular model they face FORWARD, had they faced sideways (like a present day BMW or Volvo) that would be no problem. My rear red indicators (turn signals) were accepted. It cost me $1,000 to ship it to Belgium where I picked it up from and drove here with, on Florida plates.

Regarding car insurance in this case, as you are sent the original registration papers once the car has been cleared by US customs, I went to Ferney Voltaire Douane where it is easy to get car insurance for foreign cars, this particular insurance they offer comes in 1, 2, 3 or 4 month portions. It is not cheap, but well worth it if you did like my parents...

which was to bring their car over and leave it here over 4 years as their summer transport for Europe. As already mentioned, if your car is still legal in the country of registration then it poses no problem to do this. One FYI though, Florida is one of the few 1 tag states, meaning only the rear number plate is required. This often caused a few arguments when crossing into Spain, France and Italy where the border guards would argue that it was illegal, they were explained that it was legal in the place of registration and they would have to respect that. They did but did not like it. So, this car was never actually "imported" but simply shipped over to be used for a few years. It is now back in Miami.

My 3rd and final import was the worst. I bought a 2nd generation BMW Z4 3.0i from an auction in Atlanta, had it shipped here for $1000 and went to pick it up in Belgium again. I had just gone through the first French péage ...Arras I believe, when I was stopped by mobile customs police. I explained I had just picked it up and was heading back to Switzerland with it where I lived, and sure, here are all the papers and documents.

Do you have the T1 document I was asked? Should do I said, it must be amongst those papers comprising of purchase record, US registration papers, shipping documents, US customs documents, Belgian customs clearance documents, Swiss car insurance, proof of where I reside. He looked...no T1 paper.

In short... "A T1 is a transit document used to transport goods from the customs office at the place of departure to the customs office at the destination without paying customs duties and taxes within the territories of the countries included in the transit agreement." I believe you pay so much to get T1 and it is then reimbursed when you arrive at your destination, at least I seem to remember it being like so in 2013.

The police said I could suddenly decide to sell it en-route home and end up paying no taxes to France. I had in fact been (very wrongly) informed by the shipper that I did not require one if I had proof I lived in Switzerland and was going directly there(outside the EU), furthermore Belgian customs never asked for it and cleared me to leave with the car.

The story goes on a lot further (impounded car, 1 week in Arras, almost a 7,000 € fine...) but all I wanted to draw your attention to was the dreaded T1 document, should you decide to pick your vehicle up at the port of arrival and drive it, just ask if it is still a requirement.

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I have never even posted before, but dug out my old login info just to say thanks for this v useful OP and thread!! I am helping a friend who's relocating to ZH and is asking about their car and this was just the ticket. Also, as a n00b, I couldn't tell how to say "thanks" on the post without actually writing a reply. If there's something to click, I couldn't find it.

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The "Thanks" function doesn't appear until you've got 10 (I think) posts under your belt.