Importing a car into Switzerland: what gets added

The same model with the same specification is valued differently across European markets. That has nothing to do with the quality of the car and everything to do with supply, demand and each country's tax logic. An estate with a large diesel engine costs more where it is in demand and less where the tax system penalises it.

For a buyer that means the comparison is worth making, but only with the complete sum. Putting two advertised prices side by side compares two numbers that do not mean the same thing.

Several items are added to the purchase price when importing into Switzerland. The exact rates are set federally and do change; the order and the basis of assessment stay the same, and those alone are enough to draw up a calculation.

The first is the certificate of conformity. Cars with European type approval are comparatively straightforward to register; without that document, or on a direct import from outside Europe, individual approval becomes necessary. That costs time and money, and on an older car it can swallow the entire price advantage.

The second is the emissions class in combination with cantonal vehicle tax. Several cantons assess the tax on engine size, weight or CO₂ emissions, and the differences between cantons are considerable. A car that is cheap to run in one canton is not in the next.

Take the advertised price, add transport, and add the three levies at the federal rates in force — those are on the site of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, the only reliable place for them. Add inspection, registration and a reserve for whatever the inspection flags. Only that total is comparable with the Swiss advertised price.

A rule of thumb that holds up: if the gap after this calculation is under roughly ten per cent, the effort usually does not pay — too many unknowns, too much of your own time. If it is clearly above that, it becomes interesting.

Ask the seller in advance for the certificate of conformity, the complete service book and part II of the registration document. Clarify whether the car has previously been registered abroad. And agree how you will pay: carrying cash across a border is subject to declaration rules, and a seller who insists on cash only is a reason to ask more questions.