It is a pernicious combination. Parking on the street is free in most of Berlin, and the city’s administration deficient – there is even a lack of clarity as to who is supposed to clear such wrecks. So that means Berlin is extremely slow to deal with cars dumped and rotting on its streets – there are at least 8000 cars parked up and rotting on Berlin’s streets according to BZ. The legal situation is also a bit of a mess as well – providing the car is fahrtauglich (road worthy) then there is little the Ordnungsamt can do to begin to remove it. Things demonstrating a vehicle is not fahrtauglich include it not having a valid TÜV (the TÜV sticker explained here), or having some sort of obvious defect that would prevent it being driven (like flat tires for example).
Once you have seen this problem, you cannot cease to see it over and over.
Today I had to cycle from Liegnitzer Straße in Kreuzberg to Eschersheimer Straße in Neukölln, and just decided to document every likely dumped car I encountered. The trip is 4.2km, and the detailed route I took can be found here.
This is what I found.
VW Passat
Covered in grime and leaves, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Nissan Micra
Covered in grime and leaves, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Ford Focus
Covered in grime and leaves, not moved in a very long time. I could not get to the back of it, so no idea about TÜV. But it looks fahrtauglich.
Audi A3
Covered in grime and leaves, wheels covered in splatters from rain, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Fiat motor home
Covered in grime, not moved in a very long time, and one tire is flat. Someone has scratched off the TÜV sticker, presumably to get the Ordnungsamt to act?.
Opel Astra
Covered in grime and leaves, advertising cards pushed onto the window, brakes rusty, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
VW Lupo
Covered in grime and leaves, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Renault Scenic
Covered in grime, bird poo and leaves, grime piling up under it, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Opel Meriva
Covered in grime and leaves, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Nissan Micra
Covered in grime, bird poo and leaves, grime piling up under it, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Renault Scenic
French plates. Covered in grime, bird poo and leaves, grime piling up on top of it, not moved in a very long time. I doubt the Ordnungsamt will act here as it is not German registered.
Chevrolet Kalos
Polish plates. Covered in grime, bird poo and leaves, not moved in a very long time. I doubt the Ordnungsamt will act here as it is not German registered.
Audi A4
Not the most grimy, but TÜV is not valid, so Ordnungsamt might act on this one.
Daewoo Lanos
Ukrainian plates. But the car is in a dangerous state – the window is broken. So I expect even the police, or if not the Ordnungsamt, to act on this one.
VW Polo
Covered in grime and leaves, weeds growing under it, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Peugeot 308
Covered in grime and bird poo, lots of splashes from rain and dust, brakes rusty, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
BMW 5 series
Covered in grime and leaves, grime piling up around it, not moved in a very long time. TÜV is not valid, so Ordnungsamt might act here.
Peugeot 206
Polish plates. Covered in grime, flat tire, and parked diagonally so blocking two spots. Not moved in a very long time. As it is not German I suspect the Ordnungsamt will not act here, even though it is not fahrtauglich.
Opel Vectra
Covered in a very thick layer of grime, and leaves, weeds growing around it, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
VW Polo
Covered in grime, and leaves, tires a little bit flat, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car is almost fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Mercedes E Class
Covered in a layer of grime and leaves, weeds growing around it, not moved in a very long time. But TÜV is valid, and car fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt will not act here.
Ford Transit Courier Van
Missing number plates, so Ordnungsamt has started to act by putting a sticker on this one. The sticker is dated 26 February (as far as I can decipher) so getting these cars moved is not fast!
Citroën Berlingo
Covered in grime, weeds growing around it, flat tire, not moved in a very long time. Car is not fahrtauglich, so Ordnungsamt might eventually act here.
Nissan Primera
Covered in grime and leaves, not moved in a very long time. TÜV is not valid, so Ordnungsamt might act on this one.
Smart
This one is falling apart – a part of the mirror was on the ground beside it, and it seems to have already been moved from a property where it was blocking things. Ordnungsamt will act on this one eventually.
