Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to our most frequently asked questions.

Car Selection

Once your Leasing Eligibility is confirmed, our car experts get in touch with Leaseacar’s trusted car sources and scrutinize the market to shortlist cars that match your preference. You can then go ahead with selecting and finalizing your future car from the pictures and details that our car expert has shared with you.

The moment you finalize your future car choice with our car expert, Leaseacar procures (buys) your car and executes the ready-to-drive process on it, to get your car delivered to you within 2 weeks.

Step 1: We process your leasing form to get your leasing eligibility within 48 hours.

Step 2: We scrutinize the market to shortlist cars that match your preferences, after which we share pictures, details, and car advice to help you make your final choice.

Step 3: We buy your car from our trusted sources and deliver it to you within 2 weeks.

Step 4: Our driver inspects the vehicle and drives it to our preferred car preparation partner.

Step 5: Here the quality control procedure is run on the car following which the partner reports back to Leaseacar.

Step 6: The car now reaches the Leaseacar office where the before-delivery quality control is executed.

Step 7: Our driver registers your car at the registration centre of your canton and procures the grey card.

Step 8: Finally the driver delivers the car to you ready-to-drive, anywhere in Switzerland.

Step 9: You inspect your future car and when satisfied you sign the delivery protocol. The car is now yours, ready to drive. Enjoy it!

No, Leaseacar is an independent multi-brand car expert, specialising in new and like-new cars. We commit to find the best quality car deal corresponding to your needs and preferences.

A like-new car is one that is between 6 months and 2 years old and has been driven for a maximum of 30,000 kilometers—a car as good as new but a lot cheaper to lease. Most of these cars come with a remaining balance of the manufacturer warranty. If in case there is no remaining balance, Leaseacar adds a warranty of at least 12 months.

An average new car loses up to 20% of its initial price in a year assuming it’s driven 15,000 km/yr. Leaseacar targets cars that are 2 years old and have a maximum of 30,000 kilometres. This has proven to be the best leasing deal condition for a like-new car.

Yes, Leaseacar’s trusted car sources also include new cars. There are times when certain brands offer very attractive prices on new cars, and the slight price difference between new and like-new makes it a better deal to opt for a new car.

The main trusted car sources include all independent garages, official country car importers, retail car dealerships, and companies owning their fleet of cars. Leaseacar’s team of car experts have been transacting with these trusted car sources since 2002. We are known pros in the car market—we do what we say and say what we do. A trusted car source is one that shares the same values as Leaseacar.

At Leaseacar your car is selected specifically for you and sourced from our trusted partners exactly as per your requirements and your desired specifications. Multiple quality checks are executed by our car experts to ensure your car is in neat condition and matches your requirements precisely. But if at the time of delivery you find the car is different from what is mentioned in the contract—colour mismatch, manual transmission instead of automatic transmission—you can, of course, refuse to accept it.
We say this with pride that none of Leaseacar’s vehicles have ever been rejected.

The Swiss car market is relatively small—roughly 300,000 new cars and 800,000 used cars are sold per year. Since Leaseacar operates at a national and international level, we always compare the car prices between the Swiss and European markets, and where it makes good business sense, we source cars from Europe.

Car Leasing

No. It is only the first installment payment that is made to Leaseacar. The remaining monthly lease payments are paid by you directly to the leasing company.

After you finalise your car choice, Leaseacar has to buy it from its car sources to prepare the car for delivery. Once you make the first installment payment to Leaseacar, our car experts procure your future car from trusted car suppliers and initiate the quality control process.

No. You can make your monthly lease payments using one of the following options—direct debit, standing order, monthly payment slip.

If early on in your lease you realize that you will be driving much more than you expected, you can contact Leaseacar to see if you can be allowed to revise the lease to permit a higher mileage. Most lessors do not allow extra kilometers to be bought mid-lease. Give us a call.

No, there is no refund if less kilometers are consumed. However, if the kilometers are considerably lower than the lease allowance, it means that the car could be worth more than the agreed residual value. Therefore this could be a good buy for you if you wish to keep the car.

In the event of early lease termination, the leasing company charges you a penalty. Your leasing contract contains a complete schedule of the month-to-month degressive penalty that you will have to pay if you opt for early termination of your lease.

Yes. Please contact Leaseacar when your decision of early termination is made. We will check the potential market value of your car and help you sell it to ease your early lease termination penalty. Give us a call.

Yes, you can. The current value of your car can be provided either by Leaseacar or the leasing company. If this value suits your budget you can proceed with the purchase. Contact our car experts for further details.

Though the car is yours to drive, legally the car is the property of the leasing company for the duration of the lease term.

You need to share your new address details with the leasing company. If the canton in your address stays the same, you only have to order a new grey card from the registration center. If you change canton you will have to re-register your car in the new canton and change your plates.

A car residual value is the worth of the car at the end of the lease term. The residual value is also the amount at which you can buy the car at the end of the lease.

Leaseacar buys the car to be leased from its trusted sources the cost of which the leasing company reimburses to Leaseacar. As the lessee, you pay the monthly lease payment to the leasing company. Once the lease is over Leaseacar is obliged to pay to the leasing company the agreed residual value of the car. If at the end of the lease you want to buy the car, you can pay the car’s residual value to the leasing company and own the car.

Leasing Eligibility

It’s an easy digital 3-step process that takes you towards leasing your future car.

Step 1: Share details of your car preference and budget.

Step 2: Fill the leasing form to get leasing eligibility.

Step 3: Finalize your future car choice with our car expert and have it delivered within 2 weeks.

To fill the leasing form you’ll need to keep handy your passport, Swiss residency permit, and your last 3 salary slips or your working contract. Filling the form takes about 5 minutes.

Yes, but this depends on the quality of your credit history. Many customers opt to make a down payment to reduce their monthly lease payments.

There are four conditions that need to be fulfilled before applying for a car lease:

  • You should be 18 years old or above.
  • You should hold a valid driving license.
  • Your employment history should be steady and clean.
  • And your credit standing should be favorable.
  • Your work contract duration should be as for long as for your desired leasing duration.
  • You should be living in Switzerland in order to qualify for a lease.

It is the leasing company that has to carry out the credit check and provide approval.

Leaseacar works with Cembra Money Bank and Alphera for its leasing needs. A leasing contract is a tri-party agreement between three separate entities—the lessee, Cembra, and Leaseacar.

We work with Alphera and Cembra Money Bank AG. Both are leading Swiss provider of consumer finance products and services. Their product range includes personal loans, auto leases, and credit cards. Cembra has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2013.

Yes, a low credit score would mean you have to pay a larger down payment. In some cases, you could also be denied a lease because of the low score. At Leaseacar we help you through this challenge by offering you a less expensive car model that could fit your credit score.

Not being able to provide proof of your work status could reflect on your inability to meet your lease payments on time and in full.

Yes, your last 3 salary slips are used by the leasing company to assess and calculate your credit score.

Yes, it lowers the monthly lease payment. The maximum car leasing tenure is 5 years and the minimum is 1 year. It is common for clients to opt for a lease of 3 years and above.

To lease a car you need a good credit score and a steady job. Most 18-year-olds have not had enough time to build credit and a lot may still be in college and unemployed. In such a case a practical option is to allow a co-signer to take responsibility of the payments.

Car Warranty

A manufacturer warranty is a promise by a car manufacturer that it will repair or replace defects in your car for a specified period of time. Each brand has its own period of warranty depending on kilometers and other conditions.

For new cars, the manufacturer warranty period starts the moment the car is registered. For like-new cars, if the remaining manufacturer warranty is less than 1 year, Leaseacar adds an extended 12 months/20,000 km along with a 5-star warranty from Quality1.

Quality1 AG is a 100% owned subsidiary of Allianz Switzerland and is the leading Swiss supplier of automobile guarantees in the field of cars, boats, agricultural machinery, and motorcycles.

The 5-star extended warranty covers 100% of the labor and material costs with no deductible—the best product of Quality1. This warranty coverage is valid on cars that have run under 100,000 km.

For car repair services and maintenance, Leaseacar recommends that you visit any dealership that deals with your specific car brand.

Every like-new car goes through a stringent 40-step quality control process that begins at the garage and ends at the time the car is delivered to the Leaseacar office. This quality control process depends on the car configuration and make. Leaseacar ensures that the car is delivered to you exactly in the condition as agreed upon in the contract.

The before-delivery quality control list includes about 35 checkpoints, that are carried out at the Leaseacar office. Here our car expert verifies all paperwork and carries out some additional checks on the car. This is to ensure that the car delivery happens flawlessly.

New cars come with new summer tires. For like-new cars we change the summer tires when the tread depth is below 2mm. The legal tolerance is 1.6mm, but for your safety and peace of mind we change the tires before the minimum tolerance limit is reached.

Winter tires are not included in the lease. The cars come with summer tires. If you wish to buy winter tires, Leaseacar offers attractive discounts on tires. We can also have them mounted on your car if the car delivery happens during the winter time. Consult our car experts to explore options and prices available.

Car Insurance

For cars under leasing it’s compulsory to purchase a Full Casco coverage. The average cost of insurance for a car that costs around 50,000 is roughly CHF 2,500. For a car under CHF 20,000 it might be around 1,600 CHF, and can be as much as CHF 3,500 or more for a CHF 100,000 car.

Partial Casco covers a combination of a wide range of risks: theft, damage from natural events, fire, vandalism, collision with animals, glass damage, etc. Full Casco covers damage to the vehicle caused by the driver. It is supplemental to Partial Casco and is compulsory for cars under leasing.

No, the insurance cost is not included in the lease.

Yes, our partner www.myswissinsurance.ch can provide you with insurance quotes. While filling the leasing form, all you need to do is check yes to receive the insurance quote or ask our car expert about it.

Apart from being multilingual—English, French, Italian, and German—myswissinsurance.ch assures quick service via email with quality service at competitive prices. The teamwork between Leaseacar and myswissinsurance.ch equals time saved for you.

You need to provide your personal details, such as name, residential address, nationality, birth date, employer name, Swiss resident permit, or passport details.

Most car insurances cover roadside assistance. For some car brands, it’s included by the manufacturer. You can discuss this with your car expert when making your final car choice.

Car Delivery

Yes, we do. Leaseacar will hand over the keys of your car at the doorstep of the place of your choosing, anywhere in Switzerland.

Yes, it is.

If you prefer to personally collect your car from the Leaseacar office you’re most welcome to. We are very close to Lausanne.

Yes. Our dedicated drivers drive to the registration center in your canton (region) with all the necessary documents to register your future car. We also offer you the first vignette so you can easily drive on Swiss motorways.

Yes, the car is delivered ready-to-drive—registered and with all related paperwork in place. You take the keys and enjoy the ride.

Our dedicated drivers hold a general train pass. This pass allows them to board any train in Switzerland to head back to their home.

Car Return

Leaseacar sends a driver to your location of choice anywhere in Switzerland to recuperate the car and de-register it.

It is Leaseacar who is responsible for carrying out the car check at the end of the lease term.

Yes, we check for damage and excessive wear and tear of the vehicle along with the total number of kilometers consumed. All items that came with the car at the start of the lease are also checked. Some of these items may include the second set of keys, original floor mats, spare tires, etc.

If the kilometers on your car exceed the limit by a big margin, you will need to pay for the extra kilometers consumed. This is because the residual value of the car is calculated based on your kilometer allowance. When you exceed the limit, it affects the residual value—your car’s worth at the end of the lease term.

Leaseacar majorly deals in like-new cars and specializes in preparing and fixing these cars on a regular basis. Because we receive quotes from our partners directly, we aim at easing the extra cost of car damages for our clients.

As your lease term nears its end, you have 3 options. You can extend your lease term or buy the car at the pre-agreed residual value indicated in your lease contract. You also have the option of ending the contract. Leaseacar is obliged to buy the car, and not you, at the end of the lease.

Expatriate Information

Yes, it is possible to drive in Switzerland with a foreign driving license for the first 12 months. But it is mandatory to apply for a Swiss driver’s license within the first year itself.

A new license can take around 6 weeks to process. For licenses issued by non-EU or EFTA countries, a test drive is required. Licenses issued in countries, such as Australia, USA, Canada, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore, require only additional documentation to be shown to procure a Swiss license.

You have to pay an annual road tax for your car. The amount of this tax differs depending on the canton in which the vehicle is registered. Though registration (procuring plates and grey card) of your car is a one-time process, the road tax is an annual expense invoiced at your address by the registration center of your canton.

Yes, it is. Every registered vehicle needs to pay a road tax.

No. As per law, the car must be in appropriate shape in accordance with the weather and the condition of the road. This holds especially true in the case if a car with summer tires meets with an accident during winter. In such a situation, the insurance company does not cover the damages.

In Switzerland there is no pay toll for motorways. The vignette (motorway sticker) is itself the toll and costs 40 Swiss francs per year. Leaseacar offer you the first vignette when we deliver your future car.

You call your roadside assistance number and they tow your car to the nearest garage that deals with your car brand. Your car warranty is valid across Europe.

The car registration process includes procuring the car plates and the grey card (car registration document). This is done at the registration center in your canton (region). Leaseacar takes care of this for you, so that you receive a ready-to-drive car right at your doorstep at the time of delivery.