Classic car courses in Switzerland

Why a course is worth it

A classic forgives little half-knowledge. If you can set your own carburettor, read a wiring diagram or judge a patch of rust, you save workshop hours and see faster, when buying, whether a car is a project or only needs care. And an Oldtimer drives differently from a modern car. Without ABS, power steering and assistance systems, it is worth learning the limits of your own car once on a closed site rather than on a mountain pass.

Courses do not replace a specialist garage. They help you do the work you can do safely yourself, and ask the right questions about everything else.

Upcoming courses

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Which courses exist

Welding and sheet metal

The most common start for people who work on their own cars. In basic courses you learn to prepare panels and to weld cleanly with shielding gas (MAG) and oxy-acetylene. Follow-on courses move into panel forming, shaping repair panels. For structural parts on the sill, chassis rail or floor, this still holds: that belongs in a workshop competent with sheet metal, also with an eye on the MFK. How you recognise structural rust is under Recognising rust.

Electrics and ignition

Many breakdowns on classics are electrical: earth problems, corroded connectors, a tired alternator. An electrics course covers the basics, reading wiring diagrams and fault-finding with a multimeter and a test lamp. Typical subjects also include converting from 6 to 12 volts, or battery care, which matters before winter storage.

Engine, gearbox and carburettor

This is about construction and function: how a manual gearbox works with and without synchromesh, how you recognise damage, and how a gearbox is taken apart and put back together. Carburettor and maintenance courses add to that, alongside the subjects under Fuel and standing still.

Interior and leather

Short courses on cleaning leather, small repairs and recolouring. Useful when the interior should stay original, because originality counts towards value.

Driver training for Oldtimer and Youngtimer

You drive your own car on a training site, with instruction and at your own limit: braking without ABS, avoiding, behaviour on a wet road, manoeuvring. Ideal before a first rally or pass run, and for anyone who has bought a car they do not yet know well.

Vocational training: vehicle restorer

For professionals from the motor, bodywork or paint trades there is the federal professional examination as a vehicle restorer, with a federal certificate, in the specialisms of automotive technology, body panel work and body painting. The requirement is a federal vocational qualification in the motor trade, or an equivalent qualification. It is not meant for hobby mechanics.

Providers in Switzerland

If you are looking for longer panel and restoration courses, they also exist just across the border, for example at the Fahrzeugakademie Schweinfurt of the Chamber of Crafts of Lower Franconia, which offers multi-day Oldtimer seminars. And many marque and model clubs organise workshop days for their members. It is worth asking.

What a course costs

Half-day and one-day courses on a single subject in Switzerland sit roughly between 250 and 500 francs per person, and multi-day practical seminars around 700 francs. Driver training costs, depending on the provider and membership, about as much as a one-day course. Materials are usually included, food often is not. For comparison: a single workshop hour on a classic quickly costs more than 100 francs.

What you look at when choosing

• Group size: good practical courses rarely have more than 12 participants. Otherwise you stand and watch more than you work.
• Share of practice: ask how much time you spend yourself on the workpiece or the car.
• Who teaches: experience with old vehicles counts for more than a general mechanical background.
• Your own car: on driver training you usually drive your own car. It has to be safe to use, and you clarify beforehand how it is insured during the course (see Insuring an Oldtimer).
• What to bring: work clothes with long sleeves and safety shoes are almost always required, and on electrics courses often your own multimeter.

Common questions

Information as of October 2026. Prices and dates come from the providers and can change. Correct a detail or report a course: info@classicguide.ch.