I have noticed that most cars in Switzerland are very clean.

Where do they go to get their cars cleaned? Automated Car Wash? Valets?

I washed my car the other day and it took an hour, by the time I got the buckets, hose, not to mention the cost of the cleaning fluids out.

I ask this because in the UK, you get your car totally washed by hand for £6 in roughly 15 minutes. This has been happening for the last three years and is generally carried out by Eastern Europeans and has caught on so fast.

I was wondering of the feasability of setting up hand car washes doing this in Switzerland but gather the legislation (water wastage, chemicals etc.) would be a major issue.

Some buildings have a hose attachment in their underground garage, some outside. If you don't live in a place that has something you can look around for a car wash. I live in AG, formerly in ZH, and in both places there were car washes: either you drive into the stall and wash it yourself using the brushes provided, or there are also automatic ones. You just need to find them in your area.

It exists, but with the usual labour costs attached. For a mere 1500chf a year a local firm near here will pick up your car once a month and return it in pristine condition.

In fairness I believe they do a fantastic job. You need to be a bit careful of those cheap handwashes as the risk of scratches from too fast/dirty cloths is quite high.

Perso I prefer DIY.

Daniel

Would you like to come and clean our car Daniel. it is one of the most thankless tasks on this planet. An hour after being shiny and sparkley outside and fragrant inside, it looks like the morning after the Somme on the outside and inside as if a poltergeist has taken up residence.
Mainly because I end up driving through a lot of muddy puddles and we have a messy daughter. My fagging doesnt' help either I suppose

Sound like you have a 4*4... dont do those by hand, to big and too many protrusions. Thats jet wash city. I prefer massaging warm wax into my curvy sleek thorough-bred...

I find cleaning my car one of the most satisfying things - you get the chance to be alone (bit of peace and quiet), outside (bit of fresh air), doing some exercise and when its all clean and sparkly, the sense of achievement is a good thing.

However, the Swiss do seem to look at me as if i have two heads when im cleaning my car by hand, especially when i break out the waxes and various "lotions and potions".

Word of warning though - if you care about your car and dont want to damage the paintwork, then dont take it to an automatic machine as the brushes etc can inflict serious damage to your cars paint.

Yes - i am a car cleaning geek, but it cost me a lot of money to buy, i enjoy it looking its best and everything else in Ch seems to be spotless, so why not my car?

£6 is the best part of CHF14. My local drive through car wash with rollers and dryer is CHF10.50. If you go to high-pressure jet car wash CHF14 will clean about 5 cars.

The problem here with your idea is that you would have to pay more than the UK and as you see existing car washes are quite cheap...

I stopped using the automatic washes when one dumped a load of wax on the windscreen and it was not only hard to see through when dark and raining, but it was a swine to get off. A high pressure hot jet wash not only did the trick, but cost less than CHF 5.

I was spurred on to do ours earlier. I just went to our underground car park, turned on the hose (which is jet wash pressure), filled the bucket with water and some liquid detergent, turned on the iPod and got down and dirty. It was strangely satisfying seeing the mud come off. it isn't a 4x4, more an MPV and just driving through puddles gets sprays of mud up the side. It is fragrent too, I put a new airfreshener in it.

I know this may seem like a silly question to some, but where would one purchase items (soap, wax, nozzle) for self-car washing?

Bigger Migros and Coop have car washing stuff. Coop Bau & Hobby would have it, for example. We've also found car washing stuff in Jumbo.

I haven't found a good place to have my car valetted, so it's on to plan B -- time to polish the car myself (and time reinforce the neighbours' belief that I've lost my marbles).

Made me smile to read this old thread... £6 is the best part of CHF14. Heh, those were the days...

I've only seen one car wash in all of Basel and it's worthless; not even a full-service kind. I really want a full service place that will clean it up nicely. I'm about to the point of taking it to the dealer and asking them to clean and detail it. Surely there's an easier answer though.

in weil am rhein or haltingen to be more exac there about 6 "detail" shops next to each other they are all on the same road as aldi lidl.

i is at the side of the toyota dealer and another is a big drive thru wash place but has a seperate detailing room.

no idea on costs.

Well whatever you do, don't do what an acquaintance of mine once did.
After a very cold, grey week, the sun came out again and she decided to wash the family car on their ground in front of the house. What she hadn't thought of (coming from a wonderfully warm country (Northern England)) was that although the air was warm, the surface of the road wasn't. The water which ran across the road froze instantly and she spent the rest of the day in front of her hourse warning motorists!

PS: It was probably forbidden to wash the car without a special 'drain' for the possibly oily water anyway, but we'll let that pass.

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Longbyt

And you will find your paintwork is trashed because the same old dirty rag or sponge thats holding the grit from the last hundred cars is being used without getting washed through.


i avoid the drive thru "swirl o matic " for the same reason.

jet wash at worst or normally i wash it by hand with a sheepskin mit

"And you will find your paintwork is trashed because the same old dirty rag or sponge thats holding the grit from the last hundred cars is being used without getting washed through."

I agree.
What actually amazes me in the UK is that the waste water and chemicals just run into normal street drains and the government or authorities have never questioned this.

It's probably worth warning people about all the same.... Hubby decided to wash our car just after we'd arrived in Geneva (in a quiet cul-de-sac, so he thought he wouldn't be annoying anyone), the local cops 'just happened to be passing' and gave him a stern talking to, warning him that it would be a hefty fine the next time he was caught. The nearby drains apparently went straight into the river Arve, not to a treatment plant as he'd expected.
We've had the dirtiest cars in town ever since!