Should garages that service a car which fails the NCT pay for the re-sit?

mike65

The question is the the threadline!

With the NCT getting heavy on previously "advisory fail"
issues like headlight allignment should a garage which services your car with passing the NCT in mind be compelled by law to pay the cost of the re-sit and also whatever needs re-fixing/re-adjusting?

It seems many cars tested today have failed on the highlights having supposedly had the lights correctly adjusted by a dealer/garage. It seems either some small leway is required in the test or that the garage should pay...

Mike.

Capt'n Midnight

Oh yeah I can see this working

If you avail of our €300 service + parts + extras
we Guaranteed NCT pass or give you €30 quid back....*

*in the form of a discount voucher on your next service.

The real rip off is the Orange indicator bulbs.
These are not fit for the purpose they are intended for since most of the paint wears off long before the bulbs burn out. they cost about three times the price of unpainted bulbs.
If you have ever seen beer bottles - it's very easy to make coloured glass.

Silvera

I believe that the headlamp test is going to be a major bone-of-contention in the coming weeks/months, now that higher standards apply.

I wonder how accurate headlamp test devices really are (in NCT centres AND in garages)?
Are they calibrated on a regular basis ?
(I doubt it somehow !)

The difference between passing and failing on the headlamp test seems to very very small and will cause a lot of problems for drivers going for the test in the coming weeks.

Borzoi

I got my car NCT'd 6 weeks ago, and put it in to the mechanic for a once over beforehand - well it needed work anyway. But I got into a conversation with him regarding the lighting alignment issue.

He has a machine to help align the headlights that gives results to within 5% of the standard,which he bought for NCT purposes, however the NCT people test to within 2%, so he can't gaurantee his pre check unless he spends a further few grand on a better machine, which is unlikely!

Secondly he knows an NCT instructor on the lighting machines, who used his own car for a lesson. Set it up day one with a group of mechanics, all good. Came in the following day, and the lane he had used was busy, so he set up in another lane, brought the machine over to the car, tested his own car that yesterday passed, and it failed.

So the moral is that I doubt anyone would touch any sort of NCT guarantee with a bargepole, if this is the sort of thing that goes on.

Victor

There was actually a bit of comment when the brough in the new regulations about 6 months ago (there was a lead in time). Apparently very few garages had the light testign equipment.

Why do people go for pre-NCT check-ups anyway? Let them do all the checking for the small fee and then get the work done.

K2

I think Victor has hit the nail on the head. If you are going for an nct the car is a few years old, I'm not saying its not worth spending money on looking after it as the nct has improved the state of the countrys fleet of cars, but why shouldn't you use it to find out what needs sorting and then bring it to the garage. I had to do a re test for emissions on my last car, got thro it the 2nd time but no way was I going to spend my hard earned cash trying to predict what might need fixing!

A normal service will not cover much on the nct, and the onus is on the owner of the car to make sure all is right with the car. Modern cars should sail by the nct if they have been looked after.

mike65

Why do people go for pre-NCT check-ups anyway? Let them do all the checking for the small fee and then ge the work done.

Here Free Fit Exhaust do a pre-NCT check and it costs more than the test does. The only advantage of pre-checking is time to fix whats wrong, while you do have a few weeks grace from the NCT you may for whatever reason not be able to get all the work done in time. So a check 8-10 weeks before hand is proberly wise...

Mike.

Da Man

Given the somewhat random nature of the NCT, garages doing a pre-test will probably end of fixing things that don't need to be fixed.

Capt'n Midnight

IMHO - unless your car is due for a service or has obvious problems it's probably not worth going to a garage for a Pre-Test.


If you are going for an NCT Do all the simple stuff first
You should check all the lights (esp make sure indicators are ORANGE)
make sure all the fluids are ok - oil / water etc.
Check the wipers
Check all the electrics / doors / windows

Check for funny noises (exhaust etc.) while driving - have amate drive the car (check insurance ) just to see if any problem has arrived gradually

Then do the NCT - a retest costs less than almost any unnecessary work/parts from a garage.. and more important you will be able to tell the garage - exactly what needs to be done - non of this "ya'll have ta change the gromet-flange otherwise they'll fail you so they will, I could probably geh ya one for €300 plus fittin..."

If your car is rusty or has other major flaws - then sort out that before the NCT test - otherwise they will really grill the car for similar faults on the retest.

It's worth buying the NCT test manual from Govt Publications Office - it was £5 when I got it a few years ago - well worth it.

dudara

I don't see the point of taking your car to a garage first, unless there is some obviously and seriously wrong.

Most of the pre-NCT tests seem to be over-priced and ineffective. Imagine the garages when they see a woman bringing in her micra/fiesta etc for a pre-check. They must be rubbing their hands together. I've never had to do that as thankfully my dad owns a garage, and taught me loads when I was a kid. I had to replace the taillight on the car recently as some little fecker put a hole in it one night. So off I went to the dismantlers and got the piece and a lot of weird looks as well.

To avoid being ripped off, women, and men too, should learn just a bit about what's under the hood. Just use the NCT as a diagnostic, it's cheaper than an hour's labour at a garage.

mike65

http://www.nct.ie/Inspection_list.htm gives a run down of checking points.

Mike.

Seth Brundle

Originally posted by mike65
Here Free Fit Exhaust do a pre-NCT check and it costs more than the test does.

without wanting to have the thread taken over by a conversation about Fast Fit / Kwik Fit or whoever, these places will find faults with your car that do not exist just to sell parts (tyres/brakes/exhausts/etc.)
If you dont believe me than do a google groups search through uk.rec.cars.misc & uk.rec.cars.maintenance