Would you buy a car which doesn't have it's NCT?

PH01

A friend of mine has just bought a 1999 reg car which he has since discovered doesn't have a NCT (was due in August '03).
He bought it privately, and the seller didn't know about the NCT or whether the car had it or not.
He has since checked with NCT and they said that they didn't have a record of his car. So he'll have to get it done soon. And the seller said that they would pay for any short fall.

I said to him that he was stupid, and he knows it.
Is there any way out of this mess for him, or is it really that bad?

D!ve^Bomb!

what's the problem? just get the nct done..

the end

fletch

newband wrote:

what's the problem? just get the nct done..

the end

Agreed, its '99 so it shouldn't run into much trouble provided the mileage is not extreme and it hasn't been trashed

Kersh

I would buy a car without an NCT, and have done. I generally know what Im looking for, and in the place where I work, I have seen lads bring cars down for NCTs, nudge nudge wink wink, and the NCT is done - and in no way was the car ready for an NCT. So an NCT is no guarantee.....And thats the rule I use when buying a car. Buy on condition, not a slip of paper.

PH01

So it wouldn't concern you at all that the car which was due a NCT 13 months ago doesn't have one? Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill.
I thought you couldn't get your car tax renewed without your NCT or it being renewed?

Seth Brundle

It is probably fine and you have the sellers word that they will pay for any work to be done for it. Whats the problem?
By the way, if they get the NCT now it will only be valid for another 11 months, not two years (as the test was due 13 months ago).

Kersh

The test on one of my cars was due in Sept 2000. Its never on the road long enough to bother. Plus, I dont really trust the system. Its just a racket.

mike65

PH01 wrote:

I thought you couldn't get your car tax renewed without your NCT or it being renewed?

I belive the current position is that you CAN tax the car without an NCT.

Mike.

Canis Lupus

the nct is just a money making process... ive had friends and know about others who need to get the nct, bring it to a friendly garage who swaps all the bits needing replacement with secondhand parts off another car, car passes nct, all bits swapped back again... its a joke

The Muppet

While at its inception the thinking behind the NCT may have been for safety reasons IMO it has just turned into a stealth tax collection service for the Government.

My Car failed the test on a headlight alignment fault in May. I took it to a mat ina DCI test centre who put it on his machine and he said the alignment was fine , He made no adjustments to the light and off I went back for the retest and It passed. My mate tells me this is common practise in NCT centres.

Sorry for the Off topic but I needed to get that off my chest.



Mike is right since the NCT strike a few years ago you do not need the test to get taxed but you may run into insurance difficulties if you have an accident without getting the test or if your stopped by an officious Garda.

unkel

Kersh wrote:

The test on one of my cars was due in Sept 2000. Its never on the road long enough to bother.

So you didn't pay any tax then either? It is only recently that you can tax the car without a valid NCT

Wanton

has it not been possible to tax a car for 3 months only without an nct?

Victor

PH01 wrote:

He bought it privately, and the seller didn't know about the NCT or whether the car had it or not.

Which makes one wonder what else is missing from the paperwork trail. How are the ownership documents?

Tommy Vercetti

PH01 wrote:

And the seller said that they would pay for any short fall.

I'm sure they'll give him next week lotto numbers if that's what he wants to hear. I wouldn't be too bothered if a car didn't have a valid NCT provided there was a good reason; the seller not knowing about it strikes me as being pretty dumb. If it was a private sale and the deal is done, the seller is off the hook.

Victor

Tommy Vercetti wrote:

If it was a private sale and the deal is done, the seller is off the hook.

Actually there is specific legilation on this from the 1970s and IIRC the seller needs to prove that the car was in working order.

Tommy Vercetti

Victor wrote:

Actually there is specific legilation on this from the 1970s and IIRC the seller needs to prove that the car was in working order.

I assume that the guy who bought it would have taken it for a test drive, thus proving that it was in working order. If it subsequently fails the NCT, the private seller has no legal obligation to do anything about it.

Seth Brundle

surely it is sold as seen and therefore caveat emptor!

unkel

Just wondering why the car was not in the NCT system. Were ownership details (Vehicle Licensing Certificate) and tax / insurance in order?

Is the car imported?

kbannon wrote:

surely it is sold as seen and therefore caveat emptor!

Yes, if something fails on the NCT you rely on his word to pay for the repair, unless you have it written down in some form of contract