Reply to: German car wash £35 !!!

[Mich the Tester]

Here in Holland if you buy a new or used Mercedes from the dealer you can use their carwash for free for as long as you own the car.

Wouldn´t suprise me if it´s the same in Germany.

[Sysman]

I pay 5 EUR for the local car wash, the most expensive one would be about 16 EUR.

It could be that the 35 EUR means you get washed and polished personally by a car cleaning "professional", not in an automatic car wash. Though I suspect the report is just completely wrong.

It seems to be Germany bashing season in the UK media at the moment. A couple of years ago it was Switzerland's turn.

[Sysman]

I like where you're coming from Actually every time I take my car into the dealers they have one of those car valeting firms onsite and they do it (and it don't cost) even when there is no need

Mine gets the full valet treatment at each service. It's not an itemised extra. The surprising thing is that unlike the UK I've never really had that "HOW MUCH???" moment when presented with a bill for a service.

They also let you take the car away without paying on the spot, and send the bil through the post. Very civilised.

[SueEllen]

I paid 10 EUR yesterday for "der beste"

Cheapest one is 6 EUR

Where you the one who phoned into the beeb and told them that it was actually 6 EUR?

[Spacecadet]

I use this guy

Threaded

[darmstadt]

I paid 10 EUR yesterday for "der beste"

Cheapest one is 6 EUR

I like where you're coming from Actually every time I take my car into the dealers they have one of those car valeting firms onsite and they do it (and it don't cost) even when there is no need

[ThomasSoerensen]

I paid 10 EUR yesterday for "der beste"

Cheapest one is 6 EUR

[darmstadt]

Yep, you can't wash your car in the street here (although I have seen people do it) and its mainly to do with environmental causes. All that soapy water with its detergents gets washed down into the drains and is a bugger to filter out. Car washes here are pretty good and well used, some are massive and very good. The one I go to costs me €18 which gets me a couple of guys who pre-wash it first and then a full over-under body wash. I can then pay a bit more and a guy will do the interior and then give it a good polish.

There are quite a few rules and regulations here which seem mad to people moving here but are actually quite good. Mowing your lawn on a Sunday is a no-no, DIY at certain times is also a no-no but being able to have big booze up party sessions in the street with no aggravation seems to be okay

[gingerjedi]

Why can't you wash your car in Germany?

I'm not sure but it probably has something to do with a lefty government and environmentalists, they don't want a soapy water table unless you pay the relevant tax.

[Doggy Styles]

They said on the BBC news this morning that it's illegal to clean your own car due to environmental impact and a pro with the correct license and facilities charges £35.

How far off the mark is this? Can't be true can it?

I heard an interview with someone on the radio this morning pushing for regulating people-powered car washes. He was going on about minimum wages and the cost of disposing billions of litres of effluent.

It didn't sound as if the standards were actually in operation, and he sounded like he was p*ssing in the wind, but I wasn't paying 100% attention.

If he wanted a load of new regulations against cleaning your own car he must be a Labour politician - they love tying everyone up in red tape - so it's just as well he's not in power to implement it.

[swamp]

Why can't you wash your car in Germany?

[shaunbhoy]

I pay 5 EUR for the local car wash, the most expensive one would be about 16 EUR.

It could be that the 35 EUR means you get washed and polished personally by a car cleaning "professional", not in an automatic car wash. Though I suspect the report is just completely wrong.

I suspect there exists, somewhere, a hockeystick graph detailing the relative costs of Teutonic Car Washing.

[BlasterBates]

I pay 5 EUR for the local car wash, the most expensive one would be about 16 EUR.

It could be that the 35 EUR means you get washed and polished personally by a car cleaning "professional", not in an automatic car wash. Though I suspect the report is just completely wrong.

[PRC1964]

I just don't wash my car.

[Sysman]

They said on the BBC news this morning that it's illegal to clean your own car due to environmental impact and a pro with the correct license and facilities charges £35.

How far off the mark is this? Can't be true can it?

Apple and oranges. What price is a car valet in Blighty?

As Mitch says, a self service jobby is far less, though I stopped using those after one dumped a thick layer of wax on my windscreen. I now use a place which has the appropriate brushes, sprays and driers to do the job myself. It's kinder on the paintwork and costs less than a pint in the local pub.