Tomorrow I am going to be driving around between Zurich and Luzern looking for a used car. I did a little bit of looking around this evening and found that the situation is basically the same as in Canada - you can buy something highly expensive from a manufacturer dealership, or you can go to a sketchy used lot where you may or may not be buying a stolen/accident car.
With all of this said, I want to buy something for around 6000-9000CHF in cash. Preferably a VW, Skoda, Honda, Toyota, or potentially a Hyundai. When it comes to the "sketchy" used car dealers, has anyone had any luck with a specific lot that I can go check out? Perhaps you bought a car there and trust the owner?
I suspect in that price range you'll be better off buying privately. http://www.autoscout24.ch for any specific model will give you a better idea of the relative costs.
Have you checked out the online options -- e.g. http://www.car4you.ch/ and http://www.autoscout24.ch/de/auto ? If you tailor your search by specifying the make, age and mileage of the sort of car you're after, you'll get a list of results that is bound to include several dealers, some of whom will be main dealers (i.e. reputable, offering full warranties).
For example, if you want a small car, there's a 2014 VW Up (stupid name for a car) with 18,000 km available from AMAG (the biggest dealer in Switzerland, I think) for less than CHF 9,000.
Thanks guys, I've definitely had a look at those sites and will continue looking.
I think it's a bit tough because I want something automatic and a little bit bigger for picking up family and friends from the airport and going on roadtrips, which limits me a bit. I also find that a lot of the stuff at the used car lots isn't posted online, which is why I'm headed on what may turn out to be a wild goose chase
comparing the different sites will give you a pretty good overview of the market. I managed to buy my car from a private person for almost 20% less to any dealer offer.
I don't know if you bought a car yet, but I recently bought one (2001 Mercedes A190, automatic, 2000 CHF) using www.comparis.ch . The main thing to keep in mind (outside of making sure the thing runs) is the last MFK. You don't want anything with an MFK older than 2013 (I would recommend late 2013 so you can drive it longer) so that you can register and drive it immediately. I hope you find (or have found) what you are looking for!