Testing a Car (MFK)

I took the car for it's MFK in Basel this morning.

Very simple process, this is what happened.

1) received letter saying date and time of MFK

2) logged onto mfk website and changed the date and the time to 7am to ensure there were no queuing issues

3) printed the new form

4) arrived at MFK station and parked in the correct lane (they are numbered, and the appointment form has the number on it, PB2, PB4 etc)

5) walk to payment booth, give cashier appointment form and pay CHF60

6) she gives you the test inspection form

7) get back in car, man comes out, and beckons me to front (there was a taxi in front of me)

8) stop at the yellow line

9) get out of car and give the technician the inspection form from the cashier, the grey ownership form and the emissions booklet

10) go and sit down, they test the car

11) when it got to the end of the hall, he beckoned me to go to the exit, which is a side door by the entrance, outside are some bays and

some paperwork stations

12) they do a Dukes of Hazzard style lap of the building in the car

13) they come back, and in my case gave me the new ownership form with the new MFK date on it, I presume it could go the other way for

some people at this point

The whole process took less than 15 minutes, from arriving to departing.

And no, I didn't clean the car beforehand, but it had been serviced in August this year.

The only time there was any required communication was him telling me to stop at the yellow line and asking for the paperwork,

otherwise it was just pleasantries, so you don't need German at all.

So they didnt ask you to sit in the car and wiggle the steering wheel while he was underneath?

That would be very unprofessional for the money you pay

No they didn't. He got a colleague to sit in the car for the lights and shortly after for the wiggling of the steering wheel.

I've a friend who speaks German, and they didn't ask him to do it either, so I'm not sure if it is a language thing or they only ask you to do that if they are busy, or if they trust you're not a muppet.

I forgot to mention, I also arrived 10 minutes early.

By now you probably have been to the test. Anyway I hope you did. They are very good in testing brakes, suspension, etc and the light coming on does not say that the pads are failing. So their machines will test the brakes and give you a result. The car may pass or not. If it does not pass you change the pads and go back. Will cost you 30chf.

I do not get the people so stressed out for these tests. They are nice people and test your car on safety. Mandatory in many countries..

Fixed

the re-test will cost exactly 32 chf when you are in Valais or Vaud that is. Yes you have to repair the pads (but needed to that anyway)

I bought my car (2008 BMW) in Aug 2013 with a fresh MFK done by the car dealer, when should I expect the next MFK notice?

Anything up to five years was my experience when we lived there.

Hi Richard.

Thanks for your info. I have a car I am putting back on the road in Basel Stadt. It currently has no plates, no insurance and needs to go through the MFK newly. What is the sequence here. I understand I must have insurance for the MFK to be ok, but cannot insurance without plates etc. Car is not registered to me yet but I have the original document and need to register it. Any pointers, links on this would be very appreciated. Thanks.

Best, Richard

You can get day plates that have insurance, get the test & then you can get your own insurance & plates.

1) Get insurance

2) Get plates

3) Do MFK when they give you the appointment

4) In that order

Tom

Thanks Tom. Makes sense. I will do that. Best, Richard

Get it on the temp plates. Thanks. Guess this is the registration authority or does the MFK place handle this?

Why bother with temp plates?

Insure it, register it, and wait for the MFK invite.

Tom

Agreed. Sorry, was answering a post above which was not relevant. Thanks for your advice and I will actually do that. Best, Richard

You can get insurance using the Stammnummer of the car. You don't need plates for insurance but it's very likely the case you need plates to drive the car on the road.

Thanks for your answer. Useful! Best Richard

Dear All,

I will take my test next 21st of June in Zurich.

My car will be a 2 years old car with 8000 km only.

Do you think I need to take it to a garage first?

Claudio

No.

Tom