Can I Continue Leasing a Car in Switzerland After Moving Abroad?

Hi. Just a question regarding leasing. I am leasing a vehicle from Cembra Money Bank. I live in Geneva and am considering moving to neighbouring France but will still work in Geneva. How does this affect my lease? Will they allow me to register the vehicle in France?

Hi there,

Each leasing company has its own terms and conditions, but these general tips apply to car leases from Swiss lessors:

1. Swiss banks and other leasing service providers generally include a clause in the terms and conditions of lease agreements which gives them the right to terminate the agreement ahead of schedule if you move your place of residence outside of Switzerland. The reason for this is that it is more difficult for Swiss lessors to collect debts or repossess vehicles from lessee's who are not resident in Switzerland. In this case, lessors reserve the right to charge a penalty equal to the remaining, unpaid lease payments across the full leasing term as per your agreement. Depending on the total value of your lease and the remaining term, this penalty can amount to a lot of money.

Cembra Money Bank includes such a clause in its leasing terms and conditions which authorizes it to immediately terminate the lease when a lessee moves their residence outside of Switzerland and to recalculate total lease payments to match the new term and charge the lessee the difference.

However, Swiss lessors may make exceptions for cross-border workers who are employed in Switzerland. Consider contacting the lessor directly and explaining your situation.

2. You do not own a leased vehicle. The vehicle is owned by the lessor (Cembra Money Bank in your case). You will not normally be able to register the vehicle outside of Switzerland because you are not the vehicle's owner.

Cembra Money Bank's leasing terms and conditions state that if you use the vehicle abroad as a cross-border worker and are required to pay customs duties on the vehicle, this must be done with the full agreement of the leasing company. Here too, contacting the lessor and explaining your exact situation is recommended.

3. Terminating the lease ahead of schedule is always expensive because you must pay the total remaining lease payments which would have applied had you held your lease across the full leasing term. If the lessor does not allow you to keep your lease after you move your residence abroad, it may allow you to find a new lessee with residence in Switzerland to take over your lease agreement. Many Swiss leasing service providers allow this. Finding someone who is willing to take over your lease can help you avoid paying penalties. in the worst case you or the new lessee will may pay a relatively small fee for the transfer of the lease. You can then lease a vehicle in your new country of residence. In addition to looking for a new lessee within your social circle, you can also look for a person willing to take over your lease by posting classifieds in newspapers or classifieds websites (Tutti or Anibis, for example), or specialized lease classified websites like lease2lease.ch. In some cases, the leasing company may help you to find a new lessee.

Best regards from Moneyguru

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