 Poster: A snowHead
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@intermediate, I may be wrong but I thought Basel airport was actually in France with an optional exit into Switzerland
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Does it even have an exit directly into CH?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I just looked it up. There is a 1.5km "customs road" leading in to Switzerland. A bit like the road from the terminal to Ferney-Voltaire at Geneva Airport.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just managed to get hold of 'Dollar', the car hire company and they have assured me that there will be no issue taking their 'swiss plated' hire car into France. When I asked about the waivers for not being responsible if impounded, or no insurance, he told me their company had not taken that stance...
I guess it's gonna be 'suck it and see' on Monday then...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@johnE, there you go 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Holiday Autos said there was a problem with all this when I asked them, so I changed my booking from the Swiss side at GVA to the French. I don't know if it's linked with all of this, but Budget on the French side were hopelessly overrun with hardly any cars , although I did pre-book. What with a queue and a wait for a car, we were delayed by an hour. On the bright side, though, the one remaining car turned out to be an upgrade and had a vignette - and was £30 cheaper than our Swiss booking. It is weird driving back to the French side and you do need to be prepared with maps etc (and the upgraded car had sat nav)but it was an interesting thing to do and perfectly possible with a bit of planning. I think I might go for the French side next time, although I'd be interested to hear whether they're normally a bit quicker and more efficient than they were this weekend.
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@legalista, one of the things you need to check is the opening hours of the French side if you have a late flight. Certainly in the past the Swiss side has stayed open longer but if you arrive late and the French desks are shut, the Swiss side have not honoured the French booking and you've had to pay on the spot.
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| snowdave wrote: |
There is already a recognised albeit slightly cumbersome process in place for temporary cross border movement of high value items such as cars, that eliminates the risk of import duties that would otherwise be payable. It's the carnet de passage, and I believe both France and Switzerland are signatories. http://www.iccwbo.org/chamber-services/trade-facilitation/ata-carnets/how-carnets-work/
Traditionally this is more relevant for developing nations with big import duties - if e.g. You are driving overland through Africa such documents are essential to ensure you don't sell your car en route without paying the import duties. |
my colleague uses this to and from the USA. I'm always in Asia. Never a problem.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I am both a British and Australian citizen. If I hire a car on my Australian passport am I in theory exempt from this bureaucratic nightmare?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@J9, looks like it.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@J9, i think, residence, not passport is what is important...
Anyway, just ignore it, it's not going to be a functional problem
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Rented from Swiss side at the end of May and was not stopped at border - though there were no border guards visible anyway. Going to risk it again in a week's time. The sign i saw at the hire desk was in French only but stated that you could only drive to France in a non EU car if you were going back to your residence. I interpreted this as saying if your are holidaying in France (EU) and hiring a car make sure you hire in France (EU). Perhaps they are having a go against the Swiss who voted in a referendum in 2014 to restrict immigration from EU countries (but not yet implemented as the EU refuses to even discuss it - topical!). On another forum I was pointed to an official document of 500 or so pages but could find nothing about cars. Confusion reigns.
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You know it makes sense.
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As of yesterday Avis/Budget Geneva had moved some cars round from the French side and put vignettes on them. But, they have limited supplies. They did not say what would have happened if they did not have one. The established firms, at least, are trying their best. They cannot flout this law until or unless they know it is not being enforced, and they will simply replace their fleets with EU vehicles. The main place of enforcement is border posts of course. The penalty is French TVA at 20% on the cost of the vehicle, which is slightly illogical if you can produce a rental document. The penalty should really be 20% on the rental contract value. I noticed that the cost of renting from the French side is currently the same as the Swiss.
Essentially, they are making all of the rental companies buy their vehicles in the EU rather than in Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI on the license plate) where the tax is low.
I'm surprised Leave has not seized on this one!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| 22 dropout wrote: |
| I'm surprised Leave has not seized on this one! |
Perhaps because it demonstrates that being outside the EU can cause problems if you want to do anything inside the EU?
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Poster: A snowHead
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It would make as much sense as some other recent "leave" arguments.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Last week I picked up a car from Sixt on the Swiss side.
I asked at the counter if this cross-border issue was an ongoing problem.
"For some companies" he replied.
"Which ones?" I asked.
"Most of them"
"And not for you?"
"No, all our cars are German so it's not a problem."
"Are any of the other companies OK like this"
"Avis have some German cars."
I had no trouble at all.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Anyone any idea if there have been similar problems between Norway and Sweden? We intend to fly into NO, rent a car and drive into SE.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just picked up a hire car from Hertz on the Swiss side of the airport. The hire staff denied any problems with taking a Swiss car to France and even mentioned that it had breakdown and theft insurance for France. The collection and drive out of the airport was a fair bit more hassle than the French side involving a transfer bus and multiple traffic lights but otherwise no problems (with the exception of being flashed by speed camera leaving Chambery). I will report back when this little holiday is over.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@johnE, Good to hear re Hertz - so far it seems that people have had good experiences with Hertz, Avis, Budget, Sixt and Dollar- this seems to be something of a non-issue now.
re car collection on the Swiss side- it's only about 5 mins walk to the car park unless you have a lot of bags, this is generally faster than taking the bus, which seems to go via Lausanne 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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"this seems to be something of a non-issue now. "
... As predicted 
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| Quote: |
The collection and drive out of the airport was a fair bit more hassle than the French side involving a transfer bus and multiple traffic lights
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The transfer bus business is a bit of a pain, but the drive out along the Swiss motorway at Bardonnex doesn't involve any more traffic lights, AFAIK. You just start the journey a wee bit closer to that big T junction. I did it on 22 June. From the airport out to the motorway is invariably pretty easy, IME.
But, like you, I found that renting on the Swiss side, this time, was far cheaper than France. And it's nice to have the Swiss vignette automatically - I have driven through Geneva in a French rented car but have sometimes encountered very annoying traffic - and I don't know Geneva well enough to look for short cuts and rat runs.
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I also heard about this problem.
3 weeks ago i arrived at Geneva Airport and had to go to Meribel, which is in France.
I found on google this company www.swisscarrental.ch and everything went perfect. They delivered me the car to the airport and found the solution for getting with the hired car to France without any problem.
I highly recommend this company. I tried many times Europcar or Hertz but it's sooooo complicated with them.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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What is the latest with this issue ?
I am flying into Geneva in a couple of weeks time and planning to head down to Chamonix. I would rather use the car rental on the Swiss side as I have done this before and know the lie of the land.
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| pe123 wrote: |
| I tried many times Europcar or Hertz but it's sooooo complicated with them. |
Really? You must be doing something wrong. I've had a few rentals since this 'storm in a tea cup' broke last summer. Never been an issue - mentioned it at the car rental desk and the answer has always been "no problem", including with Hertz who in my experience are always hassle-free.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I've hired with Hertz, Alamo, Sixt & Europcar from Geneva recently with no problem. The car rental company can't give you immunity against the law, but what they can do is confirm that you will have insurance, roadside recovery etc. The Avis T & Cs (last time I looked) said that you could not take the car into France, but the desk staff say that you can.....
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| JoyZipper wrote: |
What is the latest with this issue ?
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Appears to be no longer an issue now judging from ours and others recent experience.
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I'm late to the party, but I think this article has more facts in than most, ie the actual wording of the EU Regulation. But still it's from June 2016 and I don't see clear updates.
http://lenews.ch/2016/06/01/new-eu-customs-rules-create-cross-border-car-tax-confusion-in-switzerland/
It strikes me that the main defence against the intention of the law (stop smuggling and tax fraud), even if not the letter of the law, is the rental contract. You don't rent a car, from an international provider, that you intend not to give back but to sneakily sell. That's why poor Grandad in the story above got fined, he didn't have documentation to disprove their allegations.
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You know it makes sense.
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Europcar from Basel to Germany was OK as well.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I have had 3 car hire from Geneva Swiss side driving to France in the last 6 weeks & no problem at all. All 3 different car hire companies knew I was going to France & never said anything. The Swiss boarder guys are more interested in making sure you have a valid viennet.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
But, like you, I found that renting on the Swiss side, this time, was far cheaper than France. And it's nice to have the Swiss vignette automatically - I have driven through Geneva in a French rented car but have sometimes encountered very annoying traffic - and I don't know Geneva well enough to look for short cuts and rat runs.
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Yes, we noticed that Swiss side was coming up cheaper than French side at the moment too, but just decided to take the hit. (we've got two bookings in the bank). We've done the drive to/from Ferney so many times now that I know all the little routes through Geneva better than any other city, including the one I live in 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| pe123 wrote: |
I also heard about this problem.
3 weeks ago i arrived at Geneva Airport and had to go to Meribel, which is in France.
I found on google this company www.swisscarrental.ch and everything went perfect. They delivered me the car to the airport and found the solution for getting with the hired car to France without any problem.
I highly recommend this company. I tried many times Europcar or Hertz but it's sooooo complicated with them. |
first and only post recommending a company and slating the opposition. SPAM?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I spoke to Enterprise and they said all their cars are registered in germany / austria so even though they are based in switzerland they can cross the border with any issue as they are EEC registered .I am now going to get that in writing .
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I am renting one off Sixt from Swiss side to go to France and received following email today:
You have a booking with us this Friday from our Geneva airport office.
Due to new custom regulations and in order to plan the right car, we would like to know if you will only stay in Switzerland or if you plan to cross the border?
Sounds like they are going to give me an EU registered vehicle.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I received an answer from Enterprise customer services who quoted me a bland HQ statement which was very vague , i.e there might be some restrictions for EU residents crossing borders and i needed to speak to the local branch to find out what the local restrictions might be . This is what has since been sent to me .
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The Enterprise GENEVA INTL AIRPORT location has responded with a more detailed answer.
There might only be some restriction for crossing the border if you are living in the European Union. The EU changed its customs regulations on 1 May 2016. According to this, it is possible that customers who are domiciled in the EU might not be permitted to undertake cross-border journeys in a Swiss rental car. But the authorities are using this regulation only sporadic.
So our customers are allowed to drive into 28 countries in Europe. Exceptions are clients who booked a higher category than Intermediate and the rare case that the authorities are refusing EU-citizens to cross the border in a Swiss rental car.
Our cars are equipped for Switzerland so if you drive into another Country, you have to buy a Vignette by your self if you take the high way. Just to cross the border there will be no additional costs and the insurance will be the same as you choose for Switzerland.
********************************************************
Still not a definitive answer but maybe just a little clearer , it depends on whether the borders guards are having a good day or not http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I collected my hire car on Friday and was Swiss registered.
Crossed the border no problem.
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| craigjbarker wrote: |
I collected my hire car on Friday and was Swiss registered.
Crossed the border no problem. |
This^ and no questions asked.
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Has anybody heard of any EU officials stopping / fining / anything non-EU hire cars? Seems to me to be a badly drafted law that was designed to stop tax avoidance and is being ignored when it comes to hire cars.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Drove my Swiss-registered hire car through France (Chatel, Abondance etc) on my way back to Geneva yesterday (scenic route). Nobody was interested (in fact there was nobody at the border into France, and I didn't even notice the border when I re-entered Switzerland). Does all this make me a fugitive from justice?
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| Matt1959 wrote: |
| Has anybody heard of any EU officials stopping / fining / anything non-EU hire cars? Seems to me to be a badly drafted law that was designed to stop tax avoidance and is being ignored when it comes to hire cars. |
I haven't been able to find anyone that has been stopped, or even anyone that knows someone that has been stopped.
I think this problem only exists 'on the internet'.
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FAQ
