Bucher Classic Cars

One American classic, rented out from Thun

Bucher Classic Cars rents out a single car: a 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, collected in Thun or Hünibach by Thun. It is a small, personal business run by Jonas Bucher, who calls the car love at first sight, with Anna-Liesa Kreis on customer support. Weddings are one of the four reasons the site gives for hiring it, alongside a gift for a retirement, a round birthday or an anniversary, a discount for anyone born in 1972, and no reason at all. For a couple who want to drive themselves to the ceremony in something unusual, with prices published up front, it is a refreshingly straightforward offer.

The car

The site describes the Monte Carlo as an upper-midsize coupé that belongs to the American "Personal Luxury Cars" class, while its V8 engine places it in the muscle-car era at the same time, which the site sums up as "einzigartigen Luxus-Muscle-Car" (a unique luxury muscle car). The paint is deep blue, combined with a vinyl roof, and the site calls it a real eye-catcher. It pitches the hire as a chance to cruise around Lake Thun (the Thunersee) or through Swiss town centers with the V8 sound, and speaks of the driving feel of the wild seventies. For wedding photographs by the lake, that is exactly the appeal.

A few facts on the page are worth passing on. The Monte Carlo was deliberately not badged to look like a Chevrolet, so that buyers felt they were getting something completely new. Chevrolet sold 439,393 of the first generation, built from 1970 to 1972, and the site estimates that fewer than 10 of the 1972 model remain in Switzerland today. There is a Swiss thread, too: the page notes that the Swiss racing driver and engineer Louis Chevrolet founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company with William C. Durant in 1911, and that Chevrolet models, the Monte Carlo among them, were assembled by General Motors Suisse in Biel between 1936 and 1975. The site's tagline for the car is "das Schweizer Original aus den USA" (the Swiss original from the USA).

The wedding offer

On weddings, the site says that with flowers and wedding decoration the Monte Carlo turns into "das Hochzeitsauto deiner Träume" (the wedding car of your dreams), and it frames the hire as something friends or family can give a couple to make the day more memorable. The FAQ includes the question "Können wir den Chevy selber schmücken? (für Hochzeiten)", whether couples can decorate the car themselves, but the answer is not shown on the page, so what decoration is allowed, and whether the business supplies any, should be confirmed.

Both published offers are self-drive ("für Selbstfahrer"). The FAQ also lists "Ist ein Chauffeur dabei?" (is a chauffeur included?), again without a visible answer. A couple should therefore plan on one of the two of them, or a friend, being at the wheel, and ask directly if they want a driver.

Prices, hours and insurance

The site publishes its rates:

• Chevy Monte Carlo für Selbstfahrer: 12 hours, from CHF 650.
• Chevy Kurztrip (Mo-Fr): 2 hours on a weekday, from CHF 198.

Both are without a mileage limit ("OHNE Kilometerbeschränkung"). The standard hire window is 08:00 to 18:00, and the car is returned with a full tank. For a Saturday wedding the 12-hour offer is the relevant one, since the short trip runs Monday to Friday only.

Insurance is chosen during booking, after picking the date. There are three options: an excess of CHF 8000, meaning the renter covers damage up to that amount; an excess of CHF 950, which the site calls the most popular option; and a zero excess, which costs somewhat more. For a wedding day with guests, confetti and an unfamiliar car, the middle or zero option is the sensible choice.

The discount for people born in 1972 is 7.2%, with the code CHEVY1972. The site does not mention any wedding-specific discount.

Booking and collection

Booking is online: choose a date in the calendar, and all the information, explanatory videos and details arrive by email. Enquiries are promised an answer within 24 hours. At collection in Thun or Hünibach, the page says, "Wir trinken einen Kaffee und schauen uns das Auto gemeinsam an" (we have a coffee and look at the car together). During the drive the team can be reached if questions come up.

The page invites special requests: hire times outside the standard window, a different pickup location, or a viewing of the car before booking. That makes a pre-wedding look at the car easy to arrange, and it means delivery to a venue is at least something the business will discuss. Contact is by phone or WhatsApp on +41 78 725 52 20 or by email to info@bucherclassic.ch.

Two customer reviews appear on the homepage, both from nearby towns. Heidi from Hilterfingen compares the drive to a trip back to her youth, helped by a Creedence cassette, and Dorothée from Steffisburg describes the car as stable and smooth in corners, comfortable on country roads and an eye-catcher in town.

What the site does not settle

Several FAQ questions are listed without answers on the page: how many seats the car has, whether it is easy to drive, what happens in bad weather, how long it can be booked for, where pickup and return happen beyond Thun and Hünibach, and what to do in the unlikely event of a breakdown. All of these matter for a wedding, so they are the first things to ask about.

The site is published in German, in a friendly informal tone, and does not say whether English is spoken. It also does not say whether the car may be driven outside Switzerland.

Who it suits

Bucher Classic Cars suits a couple marrying around Thun and Lake Thun who are confident drivers, or who have a confident friend, and who want a single striking car rather than a fleet. The published prices and insurance options make it easy to budget, and the personal handover is reassuring. It suits less well a couple who want a chauffeur as standard, need to move more than the couple and perhaps a witness or two, or are marrying far from Thun without a pickup arrangement agreed in advance.