Suppose it's pot luck, did not clean the engine either.

Did you seriously just quote yourself??

MFK - The Swiss psyche in a nutshell

naah, that would be "if it is dirty, hire a foreigner"

+1 Do not jet wash a engine, or steam clean it unless you have to.

Many modern cars have a lot of delicate electronics and you will screw up your car.

I've heard many tales along these lines.

Agreed on electronics. I was told never to steam clean a modern engine!

I have just arrived here (yeterday) with a Belgian Landrover with no leaks anywhere. But there is mud etc all along the underside, what with it being a car. Do I really need to get this washed before taking it for a test?

I have never encountered a car wash that cleans the vehicle underside before - is this a sensible precaution to take? Where can I find one near to Wiedikon in Zurich?

Thanks

like many said before use a self service jet on the Landrover....
The reason for cleaning it is so they can see components like shocks, control arms etc . and to see if you have leaks.


Also In Bulle where I used to be they had a self service carwash, in one of the bays they had a lift that lifted the car above your head. was pretty neat for just that

I found a Manual car wash at the weekend but not where I could get my car on a ramp. Is there a place in Zurich anyone can recommend for me? Will they be open after work hours?

I have a full expedition roof rack on my car at present which is unlikely to play nicely with a conventional car wash.

So to summarise I am looking for a location as central in Zurich as possible where I can jet wash the underside of my car. To do this I need to elevate the car on a ramp.


Thanks,

Andy

Last time I visited, the Autop in Volketswil has 1 self-wash bay with ramp...
Do note that the place gets very busy so you need to time your visit well.

Link: http://autop.ch/standorte/volketswil

That will do nicely, thanks. You don't have a hot tip for me on a place that will competently do wheel allignment do you?

So before the MFK you wouldn't bother getting the motor cleaned?

Got one coming up and was just thinking of getting an under chassis wash as part of a a normal car wash. Don't really want to lift the hood though and do anything there. What's the general consensus here on getting the motor cleaned pre MFK?

Dunno about general consensus, but I'd suggest that the most likely answer may be found if you simply read all the previous replies here.

Just do a jet wash, there is probably a sticker saying it's against the law to clean chassis or motor so do it in France . There are a few garages with a lift where it is allowed, one is in Dallikon near ZH.

One of our cars went through the test today - control tecnique in the FR part here.
Car had a pre-test early Sept with chasis clean but nothing more since then, engine, body, interior.

Passed with no issues.

Quick feedback, had the MFK the other day. Didn't bother with the motor wash and it passed with flying colours, guy said the car was as good as new. So there's a tip where you can save yourself 120 bucks next time (unless of course your motor is filthy).

I had my MFK in the last week, and it isn't filthy but the idiot who changed my oil last spilled oil and it came down on the underbody, and they told me I need to go power wash it off before it can pass an inspection. I had two minor things to correct and notations to clean the motor off.

So either your guy missed something, didn't care, or if it is different from one vehicle to the next, it can't be said that it doesn't help to wash it.

Ok, I should add that I opened up the bonnet of the car and everything looked pretty good down there. Of course if there'd been a load of spilled oil then I'd have done something about it. Also had a car wash with under body clean done in the last month but that only costs about 15 chuffs.

So new advice, open up bonnet and apply common sense. If it looks dirty then get it cleaned. If not you can save yourself 120 bucks.

I think it depends if it's (moderately) dirty or oily.

If they see what looks could be an oil leak, they won't pass it. If they see dust / salt but it's dry they probably won't care.

I didn't clean the underside of mine prior to the last test; it wasn't particularly clean but it was clearly oil-free.

I would suggest getting the obvious fixed then taking it for the test and see what they say. Having taken my vans for pre tests and many expertises it depends on the technician's mood as much as anything. I was quoted 2000chf to prepare a van for expertise but the points raised on the test were totally different and I did it myself for a couple of hundred (won't go back to Iveco in Meyrin again)

Good luck

MFK here is easy. Just get the engine pre-cleaned at any garage, and then drive the car to the test yourself. Waste of time getting a garage to do a pre-check, because they will invariably find something that needs to be fixed. Better to just wait and see what the test centre says.

I always found the people at the test centres very friendly and helpful. Helps if you try to be friendly and make some small talk.