NCT - pure jokes

stewarpm

Wow.

I wanted to get my '97 Ka NCT'd in time for a driving test. As I was working on quite a tight timeframe I went to Advance Pitstop for one of their free pre-NCTs. I got a call about an hour later saying it would take about 900 yoyos on a load of things (1 new tyre, new wipers, allegedly two new bulbs (but which ones? they all work), two new wishbones in the suspension and some other suspension work, tracking and setting the lights, new break pad, new headlamp, and weirdly a ripped replacement fanbelt) just to get the thing through the NCT. I told them not to touch a thing and that I'd pick it up as I didn't have that money lying around.

Decided to take the thing through the NCT anyway as it was too late to cancel and I couldn't afford 900 on it. Thought I would have a definitive list of what needed done with no up-selling at least.

Even before I had gone to the pre-NCT I had known I would need to replace the rear n/s lamp lens so I ordered one on ebay. My old lens was in two pieces being held together with sellotape. The new lens had just about made it in the post and I went to fit it at the crack of dawn this morning. The idiot on ebay had mistakenly sent me the o/s lens. So the car had to go through
with the sellotaped split lens.

Everybody at the test centre else had polished fancy mercs, audi's etc. My car looked worse for wear as I hadn't cleaned it etc as I knew it would fail. Saw several fails. I was pissed off at having been got up for an 8am test that I 'knew' I would fail in order to get a report.

The geezer passed me.:eek:

He couldn't even nearly pronounce a single syllable in my fairly easy name but the bloke still passed me. What a legend.

Now perhaps some of that work would ideally be done but damn I went in for a pre-nct on a battered ten year old car, not to deliver a blank cheque. So I would avoid 'pre nct's' like the plague from now on. I didn't pay anything for the 'pre-nct' which is I guess why you are getting this rant and not them angrily down the phone...but I nearly paid out a shed load.

I'm so happy that I can do the test in my own car and not have to fork out for an instructor's car and car model-familiarisation lessons as I've already had enough tuition. BTW, Instructors in Dublin charge you MORE per hour to rent the car for the test than a normal lesson in the same car. While they have a coffee and read the paper.WTF?

How Strange

I'd be wary of those tyre, exhaust places in general.

I was driving someone else's car last year for a while and got a puncture so brought the wheel in to be repaired and then refitted. The guy told me that the whole tyre was shot and would have to be replaced.

If it was my car I would've known how long I had them etc but as it was someone elses I thought 'well it would be very cheeky to return the car with a flat tyre so get it done'. The owner told me there couldn't have been anything wrong with the tyre; it was less than 6 months old and the car had hardly been used in that time.

They didn't even fit the new tyre and left the spare on it :eek:

I saw the guy try the same trick with another guy who came in like me with a puncture. He told him the same thing but as the guy was drivng an audi the new tyre was much more expensive and he said he'd get a second opinion on it. Of course it was only in hindsight that I realised it might be a swizz.

I had an identical puncture on my car recently and the guy patched it up for me for €15.

I suppose they make their money on time poor people who go there because they can't go/don't have a local place and its close to where they work or whatever.

leeroybrown

stewarpm wrote: »

Decided to take the thing through the NCT anyway as it was too late to cancel and I couldn't afford 900 on it. Thought I would have a definitive list of what needed done with no up-selling at least.

The pre-NCT is a generally a bad idea. Why pay money to someone to unnecessarily replace parts of your car that may not fail with no guarantee that the replacements will pass. Turn up with a clean working car with no obvious problems then fix any issues that are highlighted by the test itself.

stewarpm wrote: »

BTW, Instructors in Dublin charge you MORE per hour to rent the car for the test than a normal lesson in the same car. While they have a coffee and read the paper.WTF?

Generally the extra money is for insurance purposes. They need to add you individually because they're not in the car.

Captain Slow IRL

leeroybrown wrote: »

The pre-NCT is a generally a bad idea

Not in all cases - it would have been a bad idea with the OP's car; with older yokes, it's more cost effective to put it through the test and work off the fail sheet - getting headlight alignment checked should always be done before an nct, bit of a p!ss-off to fail on just that and have to pay the retest fee.

Eoin

The NCT only tests for problems on the day, not really problems that could happen shortly down the road. A garage / service centre will look for those problems, and will obviously want to make cash. A bit of a generalisation there, but you know what I mean.

stewarpm wrote: »

I'm so happy that I can do the test in my own car and not have to fork out for an instructor's car and car model-familiarisation lessons as I've already had enough tuition. BTW, Instructors in Dublin charge you MORE per hour to rent the car for the test than a normal lesson in the same car. While they have a coffee and read the paper.WTF?

As was said, the insurance could be more, so that would explain it. It doesn't really explain why they don't charge less to instruct you in your own car under your own insurance though, which pissed me off at the time.

stewarpm

dupe message

javaboy

eoin_s wrote: »

As was said, the insurance could be more, so that would explain it. It doesn't really explain why they don't charge less to instruct you in your own car under your own insurance though, which pissed me off at the time.

They're charging danger money for getting into a car without the comfort of dual controls.

stewarpm

leeroy wrote: »

Quote:
Generally the extra money is for insurance purposes. They need to add you individually because they're not in the car.

Well I see what you are saying but then they seriously need to get together to cut a deal with insurers to allow car insurance that extends to official driving testers as part of their business...It is nuts if they are being charged more for that.

MercMad

I wouldn't bother with a pre-NCT test either, and the chances are that the headlight alignment that the pre-testers use wont match the NCT guys. That has happened and been reported on Boards many times !

I also brought my car about 3 months ago, the guy spotted the two new track rods and a scrubbed tyre. I had replaced the track rods, I did both, and did the tracking myself. He told me the car had failed as the traacking was off and proceeded to tell me that the dealer obviously fitted new parts but didn't do the tracking. I told him I did all the work and asked to see the test sheet at which point he informed me that the machine was wrong, he spoke in some foreign language to a colleague, dissapeared and returned with my Pass Cert !!

Its all just dodgey if you ask me !

rebel.ranter

I bought two new tyres for one of the cars 3 weeks ago, the NCT was last week, in the 2 weeks in between herself managed to take a nick out of the rim protector/sidewall of one of said tyres (and my alloy for that matter). NCT guys never spotted it.

I would not use the fact that a car passed the NCT as a reliable indication of the car's condition. As other posters have said they will not judge on potential faults, only those faults that were in place on the day. Again you are relying on one individual that may or may not be alert, most are bored to tears doign the same tests & checks, over & over again.
I plan to change that tyre as the potential for a blow out exists in my opinion.

Eoin

rebel.ranter wrote: »

I bought two new tyres for one of the cars 3 weeks ago, the NCT was last week, in the 2 weeks in between herself managed to take a nick out of the rim protector/sidewall of one of said tyres (and my alloy for that matter). NCT guys never spotted it.

I don't think a nick out of the rim protector will compromise the tyre too much? Same happened to me a while ago, and I bought it to a tyre place, and even they said there was no need to replace it (which I thought was pretty honest).