Exporting a car from CH

[Gerwetu]

Dear All,

I am thinking of buying a used car for personal use in Switzerland and exporting it to the UK. This is for a few main reasons, first that I want an LHD, second that Swiss cars seem to be very well maitained on average (something about the Swiss mentality ) and third that, earning in £s the Euro is very expensive at the moment but the CHF isn't as bad.

I have an European base on Lago Maggiore, so Switzerland is more comfortable for viewings than Germany, which would be the default location for this type of activity (Euro notwithstanding).

Anyways, I heard that the procedure is not that simple and was hoping somebody could shed any light on what it is. Links to relevant sites, personal experiences, local contacts, anything would be good.

Thanks for your help!

PS: Also if anyone is selling an older Boxster please let me know.

[smilerbaker]

eh??

used cars are waaaaay cheaper in the UK! cars here are silly money, also the £ is almost at an all time low, hovering at 2chf, last year it was 2.4chf to the £ so thats nearly 20% more before you start!!

exporting a car to the uk would be no different then from anywhere else, take it there, go to your local dvla office and bob's your uncle. you'll need to change the headlights but thats about it, the tuv is much much sticter then the uk's mot so you should have no issues there.

On cars I have looked at here and in the uk, the price difference can be as much as DOUBLE here, so I'll stick to buying cars in the uk for now

[Gerwetu]

Yes, apart from the small fact that cars in the UK are Right Hand Drive and in Switzerland are Left Hand Drive... As mentioned in my original post I need a Left Hand Drive...

[smilerbaker]

Gerwetu said:

Yes, apart from the small fact that cars in the UK are Right Hand Drive and in Switzerland are Left Hand Drive... As mentioned in my original post I need a Left Hand Drive...

LHD cars are cheaper then RHD cars in the UK

if you want a lhd 911 check our 911 virgin, they seem to get the regularly.

[Gerwetu]

Indeed, my last 911 was an LHD one, bought in the UK and eventually sold to a Swede and exported accordingly. Unfortunately these days there seem to be few LHD cars for sale in the UK and the ones that come up are quite far from what I want in terms of condition and spec.

Anyways, the decision to buy in CH is a well pondered one after months of keeping an eye on the markets in UK, CH and Germany. Now the question is whether its feasible or not in terms of export etcetera.

Thanks for the replies though.

[smilerbaker]

a very quick search on autotrader brought up 9 lhd boxsters in the uk from 7k

a search on http://www.autoscout24.ch brought up similar age and milage for 34,800 chf, the cheapest being 24,900 chf (with high KM and crap colour)

so uk one 7k gbp, similar swiss one £11.8k gbp

Sorry I'd buy the lhd one in the uk and have 5k spare to play with.

but its your money

[JMGS4]

Gerwetu said:

had questions.

Gerwetu, BEWARE!!! Switzerland is not in the EU therefore you'll have to pay import duty and VAT and that on the actual value in GB, not on what you paid for it! If you bought within the EU, you've none of that hassle!!! Have a lot of people here (in SW Germany) who've tried it, and usually backed away from it, due to the hassle. LHD to GB roads could be expensive! John

Edited by JMGS4 on Monday 26th May 15:41

[Gerwetu]

smilerbaker said:

a very quick search on autotrader brought up 9 lhd boxsters in the uk from 7k

Yes, but they are all from LHD Porsche which, as anyone will tell you, are not the best company to deal with. They do not own the cars, they merely take a deposit, go and buy it and then its up to you to register. Trust me on this one, I HAVE been doing my homework. Furthermore, something I have not mentioned yet, I am also looking for a car for my mom, a W124 E class estate.

[Gerwetu]

JMGS4 said:

Switzerland is not in the EU therefore you'll have to pay import duty and VAT and that on the actual value in GB, not on what you paid for it!

Thanks, do you know what the import duty would be?

Also, as it happens, for the Mercedes (and maybe the Boxster too) the equivalent RHD car in the UK would cost less, does that mean I pay VAT on the smaller amount?

[JMGS4]

Gerwetu said:

JMGS4 said:

Switzerland is not in the EU therefore you'll have to pay import duty and VAT and that on the actual value in GB, not on what you paid for it!

Thanks, do you know what the import duty would be?
Also, as it happens, for the Mercedes (and maybe the Boxster too) the equivalent RHD car in the UK would cost less, does that mean I pay VAT on the smaller amount?

Sorry I'm not up to date on GB duties, however in Gemany they take 20% and then our 19% VAT on the total. I'm sure a quick question on a customs website would get you an answer there:...

AFAIK the VAT is due on what the customs officer on the day decides is the value of the car. I had a friend who got a low "invoice" to show the customs, they ignored it and said "this car is worth xxx" and charged hiim on thaeir asssesment. It appears that Customs and excise are a law to themselves!

However you do it, best of luck....

[smilerbaker]

IIRC as long as you have owned the car for 6 months in the exporting country, you wont have to pay anything to import it to the uk

(this was the case a few years ago)

[Gerwetu]

Thanks for the replies.

It would be great if the HMC&E person takes that view as in the case of the Mercedes (the first car I would try out the export with) its certainly worth much less in the UK than I am paying for it.

I think the 6 months law only applies if you are moving back to the UK, while in my case I have not left the UK (even though I am a foreigner).

The joys of infinite iterations of the law...!