The Mitfahrzentrale is a place that allows you to find someone travelling to somewhere that you want to go, eg. in a car, and to travel with them in return for paying part of the costs. Alternatively, you can offer to take someone with you in your car and reduce your own costs.

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ADAC stands for Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club e.V, which is Germany’s largest automobile club.

It has around 15 million members and is best know for it’s Gelbe Engel, or yellow angels, a term that refers to the yellow fleet of cars, motorcycles and pick-up trucks that help motorists in trouble.

There are several types of membership according to your status (eg. Student) or the amount of cover you require (eg. European).

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Today in German Words Explained we explain the word “Hauptuntersuchung“.

This is the test that cars have to go through every two years to make sure that they are roadworthy, once they are at least three years old. It is commonly called the “TÜV”.
At the same time, an emissions test (“ASU”) is carried out.

If the tests are successful, coloured discs are stick on the number plates of the car to show the date of the next tests.

Most areas of Germany have their own testing stations, and most car dealers and repair centres also offer this service.

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Today in German Words Explained we explain the word “Parkscheibe“.

This is a blue and white disc that you place in the windscreen of your car to show your arrival time when you use certain parkings spaces that require this.

A sign will tell you how long you can park for, using the Parkscheibe. Usually this will be 30 minutes, an hour or even two hours. There are even some stations offering four hours using this method.

It is important to understand that you set the disc to the arrival time, and if you arrive between the half hours, then you set it to the next half hour.
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Today in German Words Explained we explain the word “Zulassungsstelle“.

This is the office that you go to in order to register a car.

The exact procedure can vary from area to area, but in general you will need your ID card or passport and proof of address, the car documents which come in two parts and proof of insurance.

If you are registering the car in the same area as the old owner, then you will normally keep the same number plates, otherwise you will have to dismount them from the car and have new ones made with the new number.

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