NCT after paying your VRT

G-Money

Hello,

Just wondering how long you have to wait for an NCT appointment after you pay your VRT? I know that once you pay the VRT you apply for the road tax disc and the NCT is after that.

How long does all of that take? What happens if you get stopped by the cops and they are wondering where your NCT disc is, and will they believe you if you tell them you're just after importing the car?

Also, do you have to go and apply for an NCT appointment or does it happen automatically after you apply for your road tax?

Cheers

Robbo

grandmaster wrote: »

Hello,

Just wondering how long you have to wait for an NCT appointment after you pay your VRT? I know that once you pay the VRT you apply for the road tax disc and the NCT is after that.

How long does all of that take? What happens if you get stopped by the cops and they are wondering where your NCT disc is, and will they believe you if you tell them you're just after importing the car?

Also, do you have to go and apply for an NCT appointment or does it happen automatically after you apply for your road tax?

Cheers

You need to go to your local NCT centre with your new VLC and they'll put it on the system. That takes about 5 working days and then you have to ring for an appointment.

If a Garda stops you, make sure you have the receipt from paying the VRT so you can explain things to them. They should be reasonable.

Captain Slow IRL

Robbo wrote: »

You need to go to your local NCT centre with your new VLC and they'll put it on the system.

When I went to put my last car on the system, they gave me a form to fill out, they wouldn't do it there - I had to send it to the galway office to have added to their system. Dunno if this applies in Dublin though.

Robbo

land9 wrote: »

When I went to put my last car on the system, they gave me a form to fill out, they wouldn't do it there - I had to send it to the galway office to have added to their system. Dunno if this applies in Dublin though.

Well I was in the Galway office at the time...

G-Money

How long goes it take for the VLC to arrive? I think when you pay your VRT they just give you a receipt with your reg details and you have to wait for the official certificate to arrive.

Any idea how long it takes to get an NCT appointment? Just wondering if I get around to booking it, will I have to wait weeks or months for an appointment.

Captain Slow IRL

You have to tax it with the cert the vro give you - they won't send out the vlc until you do.
I can't remember exactly, but I think it took just over a week for mine to come back to me - give them a ring to speed things up, tell them you were stopped by the guards!

G-Money

So if I understand this correctly, you pay VRT, then get the reg details and some sort of certificate which you use to tax the car. After taxing it, you get sent the VLC and this is then used to book/register for the NCT?

Captain Slow IRL

More or less.

You will have to get in touch with your local nct centre to register the car with their system - they might do it on the spot or you might have to get a form off them, fill it in and send it to a head office.

G-Money

Sounds straight forward enough.

Just out of curiosity. When you are actually doing the NCT, how long does the test itself take? Also, do you have to actually do anything whilst there or does someone there take the car and do the tests?

I know when you do the MOT here, all you have to do is pull up to the marks they tell you to and they ask you to put the lights on I think and thats it. You have to get out of the car and go and wait in a specific place while they do the rest of the tests. Just wondering if its the same with the NCT.

Captain Slow IRL

No, you aren't insured in the testing part of the center. You hand them the keys and take a seat til they're done. The test takes about 30/40 minutes although it could be more or less depending on how busy they are.

5500

You dont need the VLC

When you vrt the car you'l get the rf100 form,bring this to the nct centre and they can log your details on the system from that.As soon as there entered you can ring up and make an appointment.

I did the above about 3 weeks ago after importing,altho i got a cancellation booking for the test and had it done within a week of the car arriving

G-Money

Do they issue the RF100 form there and then or do you have to wait for it to be sent to you in the post?

nmacc

A little clarification:

The NCT test is due on the anniversary of the vehicle's first registrataion. So, if tomorrow you bring in a car that was first registered in May 03 (for example) it will be due its NCT next May. Exactly how you explain that to the Plod I can't tell you, but those are the regs.

One point to note: if the car was registered in May 03, then the NCT would have been due in 07, so if you NCT'd it upon importation in May 08, the NCT would only be valid until May 09.

G-Money

That's interesting. My car was first registered in September 01 so in theory, its not due for the NCT until then. Would be nice if I could wait until then too.

Esel

Don't NCTs start on the fourth anniversary of the car's first registration? So, your car would have been due in Sept 2005. Afaik, it will have to be NCTd immediately, but the cert you get will expire in Sept 2009 (multiples of 2 years from when it would have been due to start).

mthd

My car was first registered in October '02, dont know if i can drive for 4 months without NCTing it :mad: my valid MOT probably wont work :rolleyes:

harlem

AFAIK you're not covered on your insurance if your NCT is out as the cars not deemed roadworthy so I don't know if I'd chance waiting to NCT it.

I could be wrong on that or it might only be certain insurance companies - I overheard a lady in an insurers making a claim for her car which was burnt out in her garden, they insurers told her she'd need to present her NCT cert/disc to prove that it was NCT'd at the time :eek:

Any cars I've brought in I just went to the NCT centre with the RF100 and got it put on the system that way.

rebel.ranter

If your car is 4 years or older it needs an NCT full stop, irrespective of it's registration date. If you bring in a May 2003 registered car now it is due an NCT straight away. It will expire in May 2009, & it's due again then. You do not wait till May 2009 to NCT, even if it has a recent MOT.
Having said that I have two imports on the driveway a May 1996 that has had an NCT on evey odd year: 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007.
Also a 2002 registered car that has had an NCT in every even year: 2006, 2008. Dob't know how that happened exactly......

Cucullan

I'm bringing in an 05 Mondeo in july, will that have to do an nct test or will it be ok till next year when its 4 years old?

G-Money

Well I don't really plan on hanging around and delaying the NCT. I'd rather just get it out of the way as soon as I can.

Any idea how long the waiting lists are for an appointment? I'd probably be going to the Deansgrange centre.

rebel.ranter

Cucullan wrote: »

I'm bringing in an 05 Mondeo in july, will that have to do an nct test or will it be ok till next year when its 4 years old?

Hi, you are OK to wait till it's 4 years old.

G-Money

I assume if you go and pay your VRT and get the new reg, the insurance company will cover you even though you don't have an NCT yet? It would be a shame to pay VRT and get the new plates but have to keep the car off the road until the NCT date as the insurance won't cover you.

5500

Well i've been insured with quinn,hibernian and axa and all insured without a valid nct.

You get the Rf100 as soon as you pay the vrt in the office,then just go to your local nct centre with the form and ask them to put the car on the system,then ring up and take whatever booking they give you (even if its 6 weeks away)

They'll give you a booking reference number,you can then enter that online and view cancellations at your chosen centre and change your original booking to one of those that suits

JHMEG

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

No, you aren't insured in the testing part of the center.

No-one's insurance cert mentions "No cover in NCT test area"! Not that anyone would need to be driving in there anyway, but they would be insured if they did.

harlem wrote:

AFAIK you're not covered on your insurance if your NCT is out

boards myth #13

Robbo wrote:

You need to go to your local NCT centre with your new VLC

boards myth #19. You can phone them up with your new reg number and they will make the appointment for you over the phone. No VLC reqd. I booked my NCT the same day I paid the VRT.

G-Money

Can you phone/go to any NCT Test centre to get your car on the system or do you have to go to the one where you'd most likely be doing the test?

The way logistics are working out for me, I may end up wanting to register it elsewhere from where I'd be getting it tested.