NCT question

Hi guys,

I was hoping to get some info from people on the board as to how to proceed. My car was originally used in ireland (by family) and then moved to England for a couple of years. It returned to Ireland where i've used it on and off where necessary. I'm not good with keeping records but it came back around 2010/2011.

I haven't had it NCTed since it returned. I'm the kind of person that waits for letters to come in to remind me what to do and NCT doesn't seem to work like this. Off the shock and advice of some colleagues, I looked into the NCT process and found out about the backdating and the possible penalty points and fines.

I'm sure a lot of you will want to drill into me for going years without NCT and I want to say that I get it and while I didn't actively avoid it I realise this makes no difference to the regulators/gardai. I'm looking for advice on what to do now.

Once I get the car checked and serviced and booked for NCT will that be the end of it? Will the NCT center have to take any further steps (re: penalty points/fines) or will they simply backdate the NCT and i'll be up to date?

I'll not be using the car until this process is done but I need to drive to the garage and center etc. Between the servicing fees and NCT backdating I'm wondering if the costs will be worth more than simply getting a new car. In addition - is a car with this much of a backdate to NCT even sellable? If I sell and inform the purchaser about the missing time of NCT, will they be able to get it done or have problems that come back to haunt me?

Any advice or knowledge would be very welcome. Looking to sort this out in the least expensive and most appropriate manner.

Thanks,
Tackster