I thought so too, but this is not the case - at least in Canton Vaud:
The rule is that you cannot drive in Switzerland using your foreign license 12 months after arriving in Switzerland. If you get pulled over by the police, they could give you a fine.
You can still exchange your license after the 12 months have passed. As 1000000CHF stated, they will keep your foreign license. They keep it regardless of if you have exchanged it within the 12 month period or not. No plea was necessary. Just the usual exchange form for EU license holders.
This is the case for license from EU countries. For some other countries the license holder may have to take a theoretical exam or practical exam, or both…
I guess the easiest thing to do would be to call your cantonal authority to ask them.
I’d suggest a biggish (2l+) petrol toyota, used, not too many years/months old…
the brand is quite great as of quality/durability (maybe check the last TÜV reports), the used market in switzerland is soo great it does almost make no sense to buy new… biggish engines tend to never break…
I drive a Skoda Octavia Kombi 1.8 petrol. It’s a decent car with lots of space. It’s 6 years old and I bought 1.5 year ago for CHF 10k. It burns around CHF 10 per 100km (6.7 litre * 1.5 CHF). I haven’t had any maintenance costs yet, but this year it will be first because I crashed down right side on a parking lot and I don’t have casco. Probably, I’ll drive to Poland to fix this.
Its very very probable that you will have to do this, I was quoted 1000chf per element so I went to Poland and paid much much much less. Unless you live close to France or Germany It will probably be worth while to go to Poland. Also if this can wait just do it when you are visiting your Family.
I feel I can contribute well into this topic, as I have cheap motoring in Switzerland pretty much figured out.
Ground rules:
High mileage cars are good value. I’m thinking ~150000 km. Such a car still has 50% of his useful life ahead of it, but costs 25% of a new one. High mileage younger car is always a better choice than low mileage older car. Cosmetic flaws are very welcome. Price discount at no penalty.
Service at third party garages
If your garage allows, buy spare parts (oil, filter, brakes etc.) online yourself. Amazon.de is one of the best places for this. Autoteile-Meile.ch would be my second choice, then others.
Large wheels = expensive tires. Best bargain size is 195/65/R15. Never buy tires in retail. Order online. Here’s a useful link to compare prices: https://www.reifen-online.ch
It’s a bit like the stocks. Don’t be afraid of a crash. Buy a car for which you will be comfortable having minimum insurance (liability only).
And now for a real example.
My car is a 2005 Mazda 6 Diesel. I got it 4 years ago for 3900 Chf. I had two minor bodywork damages caused by third parties, both of which I’ve cashed in. This was 800 and 1700 CHF respectively into my pocket paid by the insurances. My cost to patch up was a can of matching spray for 25 EUR and plastic repair resin for 10 EUR bought of ebay. The car passed MFK without a single remark in spite of these repairs.
Servicing is not an issue as well. I never go abroad with this (I got burned once, but that’s another story)
A 5L can of genuine Mazda oil costs 35 EUR of Amazon:
Another 20 EUR for oil,air and cabin filters. Shipping for orders above 50 EUR is free. My mechanic has no issues fitting my own parts and I pay 60 CHF for oil service once a year.
Two wheel changes a year cost 80 CHF total.
I never save on safety, so my car has two new sets of premium tires (Goodyear and Continental) for <200 CHF each set (195/65 R15, of course). I also have new brakes, purchased from Amazon. Brembo brake pads cost 20 EUR each set, discs 60 EUR a set. 120 CHF to fit.
I plan to run this car for 6 years total and, assuming a residual value of 0 CHF, my estimated cost ex. insurance ex. petrol ex. tax will be a total 616 CHF a year (this includes the purchase price of the car). Without the two insurance “lottery wins”, the average would still be a nice 1000 CHF/year.
Diesel (12kkm annualy) + road tax + parking is another 2000 CHF a year. Still way cheaper than GA.
Diesel / age of car. Are we caring a bit about pollution or not?
Beware of what you do not repair after a small crash. Some part are meant to be destroyed after a crash, some other do destroy themselves but only internally. These work this way to disperse the forces that otherwise are directed to the passengers. What I’m saying is that sometimes is better not to save on repairs.
This is a tricky question. I guess there exist mostly brand related forums. They should be used for a wealth of knowledge about any car you might want to consider. With some research you’ll learn about less and more reliable engine versions, typical problems and solutions to these problems. There are no perfect cars.
I also don’t think there are any truly unreliable cars these days. Most of the ones you might see at the emergency lane have probably ran out of fuel or the user neglected prior warnings.
There will be ones that are less durable or less serviceable. For example, a car where headlamps get burned out more often than average will come out as electrically unreliable in statistics, but the bulb costs 3 CHF and takes a minute to exchange while another car may require the whole headlamp and the bumper to be removed for bulb exchange which will cost 200 CHF + 30 CHF and time lost to visit the dealer.
I’m perfectly satisfied with Mazdas so that’s where I’ll stay.
This is bound to open a can of worms .
Diesels were the greatest thing until the Dieselgate in 2016. As to age of car, I have a very strong sentiment against replacing cars or as a matter of fact any items which are still functional and serviceable.
Recycling the old one and manufacturing the new one plus all the logistics involved creates a major ecological footprint which should not be neglected. No recycling is 100% waste free and the energy used is never 100% clean. All this for a fractional reduction in emissions? I’m not buying that.
If an old car stays on the road its simply because it’s not used very much and therefore does not pollute very much. The time where it’s no longer economical to keep it on the road will come naturally.
Very true. But as you can see by the payout amounts, my events were barely cosmetic. On the other hand, my wife was crashed into and her car was completely written off. Cost to repair it professionally wouldn’t exceed 2000 CHF in Poland.
To follow up on the topic, I have some real numbers from my last brake service.
Work done:
2 brand new brake calipers for the rear axle
new brake pads rear
new brake pads front
brake system flush including new fluid
exchange of handbrake line
Cost of parts 180 EUR (off Amazon and Ebay), labor 280 CHF.
I checked the costs of parts beforehand with my mechanic and only one single brake caliper from a Swiss distributor costs 290 CHF (netto, dealer price).
It feels good to pay fair prices for parts, but keep the work done at a local garage.
BMW X3 2006 D 2018PS
60000km to 150000km = 90000km
5.5 years (2014-2020) = 16400km/y
obtaining price 26000 chf
apprx. 65% decline in price = 18000 chf
Estim actual value 8000 chf
Total cost = 0.33 chf/km Excl Ins & Tax but Inc everything else, diesel, maut, price depr. etc.
Total cost = 0.44 chf/km Inc Ins & Tax & all others
Breaking down the total:
1/4-1/5 of the total cost is the Ins & Tax
1/4 the consumption of fuel
1/2 the price depreciation
1/4 all others such as services, parts, fees, speeding tickets, towing hook …etc
I have the same car but the engine was 1 generation older, before the above car, approx the same time and km and that took 0.52 chf per km
Premium brand cost premium in too however the little newer version was better in costs.
I have an Opel Corsa C in the past, that km cost was 0.26 chf including all but Ins&Tax.
That is about the half of the premium.
Now I drive electric. Premium brand. Only a year of experience, not too relevant for cost picture but I expect to be on the Corsa level in longer run.
Have you included the capital cost(2-8% er year or whatever your expected return or credit rate is) for the car and the place where you park your car? Ho do you keep track of parking costs away from home?
No, I didnt. 2 Reasons: Reason I.: it is up to your expected return, so mine one does not meant a lot to you. Reason II. Even the parking lot is the same thing, does not belong to the car itself. I mean it is not up to the car but up to your circumstances. I think I understand the reason you are asking for this but still I think it does not make a difference here. I was trying to give cost picture for the car keeping based on the class of the car(premium vs not premium).
Calculating full cost picture on anyones car it makes sense, you are right and makes a big difference doe to high prices of parking lots. I am also hesitating to guve the insurance and tax because that also differs a lot according to kanton and person.
About the parking away from home I do not need to care too much but it is included. I mean irregular parkings I just add to the cost file, the regular onse (working place etc) are free for me.
Bumping this thread to get inputs from forum members.
Wife and I have decided to buy a car.
Below are the hard criteria:
Type: Kombi
Fuel: Petrol or Petrol/Hybrid (not sure if the Hybrid option makes sense tho, glad to received feedback)
Transmission: Automatic
Budget: CHF 15,000 (max. CHF 16,000)
Only Japanese or German cars desired
Expected Use Case: Drive to work and back, approx. 13 kms per day and maybe once every 2 weeks for shopping to Germany. Once a month for a weekend trip. Approx. monthly usage is max. 500 Kms
Parking Sensors front and back
No need for a GPS (Gmaps is enough)
Isofix is a must (have a baby)
As a nice-to-have, would be good if the car has decent torque (pickup in 2nd and 3rd gear should be good)
Would be glad to get your view points on the cars which satisfy the above points.
We looked at Skoda Octavia/Superb and Mazda 6. Not sure if theres good feedback on these cars too.
Got a Skoda Superb as a company car and subsequently doing some km on it (less with corona but still). Really comfortable car, made for road cruising. The large booth (biggest of its class afaik) is practical.
However for a family of 4, I think the car is oversized for daily use. Car should be optimized for the daily commute + the irregular buying in Germany, so a small hatchback, style Ford Focus should be enough (first car which came into my mind, anything similar in the class should do). Since you do so less km a day, a hybrid or even full electric could make sense. Depends on how much you value the non-optimised situation (travelling abroad or similar).
Personnaly I have calculated that it is cheaper to buy the car for the everyday situation, and then rent a car or look for alternative transport out of that situation. However my personal situation might differ.
Bonus, the 6 km one way to work are easily done by bicycle in about 25 min top. I would say there is a real saving potential there. Especially a car does not like to be driven just 6 km and the motor will not appreciate. (And you might be quicker by bicycle depending on traffic situation in your area)
So I was in similar situation I actually had a focus kombi before the baby, but now we bought a Hyundai Ioniq (hybrid) and I could not have been happier.
bought last year for 18k (16k if you account for sale of old car) its from end of 2016 so still fairly new has all the accessories you can imagine, Seriously you want a car with android auto/apple carplay (displays your gmaps/waze/whatever) on the cars display
the tank is 45l and if I drive it it lasts for around 1000km or 800 (if my wife drives)
you get 5 years warranty and assistance for the car and 8 years for the battery I also have 5 years “free” service - it means you only pay for consumables but not for labor.
I pay 320 chf insurance annually in GVA (halfcasco)
But honestly from what you write you should get a nice e-bike and just rent car via https://www.mobility.ch/ or any of the discount rentals
take the 16k and for 2k you can get a nice e-bike that leaves you with 14k for rentals/SBB half fare and taxi/uber.
An annual subscription for a Combi costs you 170ch a year + Combi 3.00/h 0.80/km
probably yeah but since this is hyunday its not as bad as with other brands I can’t remember exactly but recent service (regular checkup with oil and filters change) was something like 150ish)
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