UKC

Has the business of an EU citizen hiring a car in Switzerland (new ruling earlier this year) and then not being allowed to drive it across the border been resolved? I see that some (?all) car hire companies are registering some cars in EU countries so they then comply. What have people's experiences been this summer?

In reply to CPH:

If you hire outside of Switzerland you require a vignette to enter Switzerland which must be firmly affixed to the inside of your windscreen when crossing the border The current price is CHF 40. If you leave Switzerland and re-enter you will have to purchase a new vignette every time.

In reply to CPH:

We rang the car hire at the airport and they said they had cars with swiss and with french plates. They wouldn't take an order for one with french plates but said we should ask at the desk. They not only provided one but it was a free upgrade to a much more expensive category. Not much use to you I realise. Otherwise we were just prepared to take the risk and try to cross borders on minor roads! Good luck.

In reply to Trangia:

No you don't, its 40CHF for the year as long as its on the same car......

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

Thanks for that.

It explains why a French friend was forced at the border to affix the vignette to the inside of his windscreen. They wouldn't allow him to just hold it against the screen. The adhesive is so strong you can't re-use it on another car (in this case his wife's car!)

In reply to Trangia:

They are a pain to get off, i have 5 of them stuck on mine.....

In reply to Trangia:

The whole point is they're not meant to be transferable/reusable.


Also you aren't forced to buy one to enter Switzerland, only to use the motorway network. If you stay off the motorways you can drive around without one (but this is often more hassle than its worth so I'd recommend getting one).

They're a pain to get off but I found the easiest way is to use a plastic disposable razor and scrape them off from the inside. We get one every year and it was getting a bit silly with five in a row so I did some research.

As to the OP, we had two sets of friends visit us here in France in the summer who came via Geneva and hired cars on the Swiss side. They didn't experience any problems taking the cars out of the country (and more importantly, returning them).

In reply to CPH:

We hired from Avis at Geneva for the Tour and they simply gave us a German registered car. No wahalla.

In reply to CPH:
To the OP,
I hired in the summer from geneva airport, and drove in france, germany, austria and switzerland. No problems whatsoever.

In reply to CPH:

By the way the problem had nothing to do with the Swiss motorway vignette.

Some people were buying cars in Switzerland then taking them out of the country, I suppose because the tax is lower in Switzerland. French Customs were stopping Swiss-registered cars randomly at the border and insisting the driver paid French duty on them.

In reply to CPH:

The vignette is worth the 40chf if you want to go into Italy via the Gothard tunnel and return.

In reply to CPH:

The vignette is much easier to remove if you stick it to your fleece before placing it on the windscreen.

In reply to Cellinski:

To get it off easily, choose a hot day or pour some hot water over the outside of the windscreen then put a hot water soaked towel onto the windscreen. Use an old style razor blade or stanley blade to cut between the vignette and the glass.
Put some clear sticky tape over the vignette if you want to get it off in one piece if you collect them like postage stamps.

In reply to Cellinski:

Or indeed to cling film, a bloke in the pub told me

In reply to Trangia:

As stated by others, it has an annual validity. For getting to France if you drive through Geneva itself you don't use an autoroute and so do not need a sticker. But if you go round by the semi motorway that goes through the customs to get onto the French motorway around Saleve you do and you are liable to get caught because of the customs post.