03-07-2020, 09:37 PM | #23 | |
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03-08-2020, 01:08 PM | #24 |
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One of the biggest advantages when bringing the car from to the US is usually the fact that you don't pay import taxes (duties and VAT). Switzerland (unfortuantely) has low VAT @7.7%. If you brought the car to e.g. Hungary, you would gain 27% VAT and could sell the car after 2 years at break even or with profit.
I am fairly sure that you will need to register the car locally. US plates won't work. Insurance will be more expensive then in the US. These cars are 50-100% more expensive in europe so this shouldn't be surprise. Relocation specialist likely won't answer your questions about the car, i.e. whether you will need to do any modifications. These days most of the modifications may be done electronically via coding, e.g. headlamps for US market are downgraded so in europe you can really enjoy some of the features. I would encourage you to do the research yourself. These relocation specialist have very limited knowledge. At least this is my experience. I relocated from europe to the US 8 years ago (for 2 years only ). If I would relocate today from the US to Europe, definitely i would bring X7 with me. |
03-08-2020, 02:27 PM | #25 |
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There will be daily headache with parking in EU. As fact parking slots are suitable for small and midsize cars. Couple years ago faced with this problem driving MB Viano.
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03-08-2020, 03:22 PM | #26 |
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X5 and X7 have the same width. My wife's 530 is bigger than my X5. X5 (and similar suv) and tons of 5 series are on the european market for a long time. Sure, it is not ideal. But parking situation is not ideal for suv even in the US in big cities.
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03-08-2020, 04:52 PM | #27 |
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X7 is 13cm wider and 20cm longer than 5er. It is not a big difference, but will make sence in tiny parking slot, even sometimes parking of Skoda Octavia was a bit tricky. Anyway in EU I didn't seen too much full size SUVs.
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03-08-2020, 10:06 PM | #28 | |
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Thanks for pointing out possibility of parking issues. I am going to check into this. |
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03-08-2020, 10:39 PM | #29 |
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Correct. You won't pay 7.7% VAT. I was not clear enough. My point was that you are not gaining as much as you would in other European countries where VAT is much higher.
I don't think parking is really an issue. It will require more effort than when driving vw golf. But com'n, you will be driving like king in X7. |
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03-09-2020, 09:46 AM | #30 | ||
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See item 13. Here it says only one year... which works out great for me because I bought it almost exactly a year ago. Also I believe they came me a separate document that they had me sign regarding exporting. |
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03-09-2020, 11:01 AM | #31 |
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Coincidentally, I am also considering importing my X7 to Switzerland for work.
A couple additional questions and thoughts: 1. Anyone know what the tax is for a car like the X7 on an annual basis? Isn't there a tax each year for just having a car with such a big engine? I can't seem to find what the actual rate is in Switzerland for the X7. Just trying to get a sense of the carrying cost. (I have a 40i) 2. Is premium petrol readily available in Europe? Or will it be tough to find? 3. Just FYI - my employer will be paying for a warranty in Switzerland because I'll lose the BMW NA warranty. |
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03-09-2020, 11:26 AM | #32 |
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#2 of course it is available
#3 technically, you should be covered by European BMW warranty, which should be 2 years and unlimited miles. At this least this was the position in the EU. Since, Switzerland is not part of the EU, maybe it works differently. |
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03-09-2020, 01:19 PM | #33 | |
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I know it's available - but is it a pain to find? Given that most vehicles are diesel in Europe (I believe?). I'm pretty sure a North American BMW warranty is not valid outside of the United States. I can't go to EU for service, a separate warranty is necessary to obtain service in Europe free of charge. |
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03-09-2020, 01:24 PM | #34 | |
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I'll be only a stone's through from Germany and France.... so that would be great! |
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03-09-2020, 01:57 PM | #35 | |
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It is not pain to find premium gas. I believe this is as available as any other gas.
Re warranty - are you sure or just guessing? I talked about it with BMW in Europe a couple years back. I received a written confirmation that they will provide 2 year / unlimited mileage coverage. I was planing to take my X5 back to Europe. Of course, it makes sense since at the end of the day, BMW AG and not BMW NA is covering the costs. Quote:
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03-09-2020, 02:47 PM | #36 | |
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"New Vehicle Limited Warranty for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks — 2019 Models (Valid Only in the U.S.A. including Puerto Rico)." https://www.bmwusa.com/explore/bmw-v...nty-books.html |
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03-09-2020, 02:58 PM | #37 |
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It is not a question what you see in the US service book. That's correct that you won't get US warranty coverage in Europe. The question is whether BMW in Europe with accept a warranty claim. I mentioned this already - I discussed this with BMW in Europe and got the confirmation that they will provide European coverage. I hope this is clear message.
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03-09-2020, 03:06 PM | #38 | |
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03-09-2020, 03:35 PM | #39 | |
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That's fine with me. Say what you want to say. You are just speculating. I put some more effort into this and I checked this (and received written confirmation). It is not rocket science.
If I would be moving to Switzerland, I would contact BMW Switzerland and clarify this. There are more challenging things involved into moving between continents than checking warranty coverage. Quote:
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03-09-2020, 05:21 PM | #40 | ||||||
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I wouldn't worry about this paragraph but I'd look closely at the other signed documents if they had you sign another one. Quote:
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03-10-2020, 08:52 AM | #41 |
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When living in Europe, I bought multiple US-spec BMW's through the BMW military sales program. Dealers honored all new vehicles brought in for service according to the local warranty, regardless of origin/spec, including US.
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03-10-2020, 09:34 AM | #42 |
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Where about are you moving in Switzerland? I've been living in Zurich for several years now, and have bought and owned a few BMWs here. Currently have an M135i and an X6 M50d, with an X5 45e on order (more for novelty factor than much else). If the X7 had come in 45e variant, I probably would have gone that route.
Advertised prices are high (around CHF150k for a loaded X7 40i here), but there are good discounts to be had. Many of the big corporates (with many expat workers) here have fleet discount details with major German brands, so getting 25-30% off can be done. Leasing is also much more common than buying outright here. In Canton Zurich, an X7 40i will be around CHF900 in vehicle taxes per year. The formula differs from canton to canton, in Zurich it is based on engine capacity and car weight - here is a calculator (in German - note weight is the gross weight ie. max weight capacity): https://stva.zh.ch/internet/sicherhe...VArechner.html 3rd party vehicle insurance is compulsory, and then there are various add-ons to get up to fully comprehensive (including insurance for damage caused by martens chewing up your vehicle engine bay - https://www.thelocal.ch/20180504/car...hewing-martens). You are probably going to pay around CHF2,500 per year for fully comprehensive vehicle insurance. It is extremely likely that, to get insurance here, you will need to have your vehicle locally registered and on local plates. I do not know if there might be a premium on a foreign-specced vehicle. Not winter tyres are not legally compulsory; however, if the insurance company believes your claim incident was caused by not having winter tyres, then they can reject your claim. So almost everyone here runs with proper winter tyres during the season. 'Gas' is commonly available in 95 and 98 octane variants. Price has come down a lot in recent weeks due to the 'virus and the Saudi-Russia handbags. But typically, you will look to pay around CHF1.75 per litre, so a full tank (80l) is around CHF140. Keep in mind Switzerland and Europe are relatively small, and distances between items of interest are not large compared to the US. So you may pay more for fuel, but likely to travel less distance on a day-to-day basis. To this foreigner, there is much less 'peer pressure' on car ownership in Switzerland than I expected. I imagined that car owners would be frowned upon, and if you had to have a car, it must be a 3-cyl diesel hatchback. But in fact, quite the opposite, perhaps given the high average wealth in the country. Quite a few Teslas and eTrons here, but also many straight-sixes and V8s. SUVs in general (including X3s and X5s) are very common, and there are a few X7s around. Roads are likely going to be quite a bit smaller than you are used to, and they are shared with trams, buses, bicycles. So may take a little time to get used to (and you may avoid certain tighter parking garages), but definitely not a deal breaker. However, do consider where you might live (apartment, stand-alone house, in the city or in the suburbs), and factor in the need for (suitably sized) parking. I don't know much about regulations around import and operation of foreign-spec vehicles, and any adaptation legally required for Swiss roads. These folks might be of service: https://www.autociel.ch/service/import-a-car/ Might also be useful, as previously suggested, to reach out to a local BMW dealer this side and see if they are able to service a US-spec vehicle. If you're moving to Zurich, I can put you in touch with my dealer if you'd like. |
03-10-2020, 11:37 AM | #43 | |
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I will be in Basel area. Thanks! |
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03-14-2020, 01:31 PM | #44 | |
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