We have all seen the moans and compaints about how expensive this country is - whether you agree with it or not!
But I am fed up with what I call the "creating jobs that are not necessary to keep the economy going!"
Last year I had to take my 3yr old Peugeot for its yearly check-up at the canton registration place (I am obviously not a car-person, but i suppose its the swiss equivalent of roadworthy-check). No problem with this, the cost was minimal and its important to have cars on the road that are not dangerous.

What i do object to is, the fact that I was meant to wash the cars engine beforehand! I mean...what???????? He actually noted it down as a negative and said "this time I'll let it pass, but it should have been cleaned". What, You can't look at a dirty engine? Its not even dirty by real standards - you should have seen my old datsun engine from Uni days. This seems like the old "creating jobs for the sake of it" logic at work. Why not just charge an extra few bucks and someone clean it at the place if its crucial to being able to inspect the car? Whats the big deal? Then today at my garage where I got its annual check-up for a small amount of CHF900, after i had just had some emergency repairs last week for another CHF650, I asked about the cost of doing this for my upcoming inspection in Sep, and the answer is a cool CHF235!!!!! To wash an engine???????? This is ridiculous!!!!!!!
Just mechanics who don't want to get their hands dirty!

Ever wondered if your job is one of those??

No...but I am now


Seriously though, whats with the pre-check before the check and this clean engine business about?

They want you to clean the engine (and compartment) so that the inspectors can properly inspect your vehicle. Besides, it doesn't cost much to have it done and you'll have a little more appreciation of your car the next time you pop the hood to check the oil.

I tell you, to see your mate smear dirt on a car so the rust (or the actual hole) does not show, puts things in perspective... as for the repair cost... if you don't know what needs doing, they will charge you accordingly - could this be a universal truth? obviously this turns out even more expensive in Switzerland.

As for the check up - they do their own (apart from the washing) before you go in... or do you want to repeat it X times? That's my understanding of it anyway... better luck next time!

I haven't received this request for my car, is it compulsory ? the car has been serviced each year at the garage and had its recent emissions test past by the garage also, but all we have received from the canton is a tax bill for about 500 francs at the start of the year. the car is about 4 years old, a CRV.

thanks

Mike

It's compulsory, but only upon invitation from the "Strassenverkehrsamt/Service des automobiles et de la navigation" (http://www.san.vd.ch/). So, just wait and see what happens.

We got our first summons after 6 years. Supposedly the first time is supposed to be at 5 years, but the canton was/is running behind.

The government will let you know.

I don't consider CHF230 "not much" - I consider that a reasonable sum of money!!!!

My father taught me to be wary of a used car with a recently cleaned engine. I would think that it should apply to inspection; a car with no problems will have a dusty and bit grimy engine bay, but a car with a slow oil or coolant leak at the head for example will show up clearly.

A just-cleaned motor will look good until a few days or weeks later when it shows its true colors again.

Some inspection stations are known for being bigger ball-breakers than others.

then save yourself some money and clean your car, simple! If its really dirty a steam clean will bring up it like new, otherwise some oil remover and a jetwash will do the trick, just be careful of your electrics.

We just got our uk car swiss registered and where told in no uncertain terms it had to be 'swiss' clean, we paid the local garage to do it, they spent a day on it cleaning the engine bay and underneath, and to be fair it came back looking like new, not bad for an 8 yr old car, and is passed the swiss registration first time.

When my car is checked I prefer that it is clean so the engineer can clearly see any potential problems, particularly with brake pipes etc, and I’m happy to pay my local garage to prepare it for the test.

So Blonay bear, do you also pay about CHF230 - is this the going rate?

depends how long it took them to clean it!! most garages charge by the hour, so roughly 100chf per hour thats just over 2 hours to get your engine bay and underneath spotless, sounds about right.