used car: NCT after purchase?

JHolt

Hello,
I called a dealership about a used car and asked about the NCT date. He told me that the dealership pays for the NCT(and any repairs) AFTER the car has been purchased. Has anyone heard of this before? Is it common? Is there anything I should watch out for?
Thanks for any help.

Anan1

It's quite common for back-street dealers to say this, somewhat less common for them to actually honour it. Buy elsewhere.

seamus

It's possible that he's just too lazy to get it NCTed himself, but you'd want such a guarantee to be written down, otherwise you'd have no leg to stand on.

Alanstrainor

Wouldn't touch a car from a dealer with a promise for an nct after you buy. He probably knows the car will fail, hence refusing to do it himself.
I'd walk tbh.

rebel.ranter

I would not be in a rush these days to hand over cash before the car goes through the NCT. A friend of mine in the trade always says "there's always another one".

The garage is probably confident enough that the the car will pas the test but it will get a little inconvenient if there is work that needs to be done. The garage may be very reputable & honour the agreement without quibble. Its the inconvenience I would be most concerned about.

Maybe the dealer could not get a date for the NCT in time? Let them put it through before you hand over your cash.

Oh, just remember the NCT is not the be-all & end-all to tell you that a car is good. It merely tells you that it has met the minimum standards as set out by a government appointed company. Components could still be worn in the car & it will still pass the NCT. For example two worn out shocks (on same axle) as long as they are equally worn out will pass the NCT.
It is always advisable to get a mechanic or knowledgeable person to check the car out too.

OldmanMondeo

If you really want the car, sort the price and give a small deposit, but tell them that you will only take the car once it is nct'd. This is what I have done in the past and would continue to do so. Any Dealer worth their salt will have no problem doing this for you.

dade

i had a garage offer this and when the NCT time came around he wouldn't Honor repairs, i bought it in the august and couldn't NCT it til November because of the registration date, car was first regiseterd in Dec 98 I was the first owner in ireland and NCT wouldn't allow me to NCT it until november.

I tried to sort it out with the dealer nicely, he refused and fobbed me off for months so the small claims court sorted out the additional cost of the repairs.

unkel

OldmanMondeo wrote: »

If you really want the car, sort the price and give a small deposit, but tell them that you will only take the car once it is nct'd. This is what I have done in the past and would continue to do so. Any Dealer worth their salt will have no problem doing this for you.

I was going to suggest the same. Make sure you have the deposit receipt with the terms & conditions in writing and signed by both parties. This will make it easy for you in the small claims court if you have to go there

Dazzy

I got caught on this with a dealer before. NCT was not due for a couple of months when I bought but the salesman said they would cover anything in the NCT. On the day of the NCT I flipped the back seat forward to clean behind the seat and I couldn't get the seats back up! Seat was stuck down as the seat belt locked. Obviously I failed the NCT and went back to the dealer who refused to fix it. Ended up having to fix it myself in the end.

mikemac

Very, very common to come across this.
If they want you to buy and gurantee a test pass, get it in writing!
That deposit idea is good too

With this buyers market I'm sure you can find a better option....without a possible legal battle if the dealer denies everything

Darragh29

This again. OP, would you buy groceries in a supermarket that were out of date??? It amazes me how any outlet that tries to sell a car without an NCT expects to be taken seriously???

cashmni1

Can you wait 2 or 3 weeks for the car? If so let them NCT the car. If not put a deposit on the car and wait until the car has an NCT. - with the sitpulations mentioned above.

I would seriously doubt if ANY dealer in the country is too busy to NCT a car.
There is seriously no reason NOT to have the car NCT'd when a buyer is looking at a car. Don't let them tell you either that there no point getting the car through the NCT when sitting in a forecourt. The car has to be NCT'd every 2 years after the first 4 years of the cars life and those dates stand, whether or not the car is owned by a dealer or not.

unkel

Darragh29 wrote: »

This again. OP, would you buy groceries in a supermarket that were out of date??? It amazes me how any outlet that tries to sell a car without an NCT expects to be taken seriously???

Agreed.

But the car could still have a valid NCT that is about to expire in a few months. That said, an NCT can be done up to 3 months early, so there is no reason for the dealer not to NCT a car without an NCT or with an NCT about to expire

I've booked Mrs unkels car in for next week even though the NCT isn't due until the end of February

L-M

I don't really understand the problem? The car could be booked in for the NCT and the date could be a few weeks off. In this case the dealer will either have the car in stock, and NCT it when the time comes, or sell it and pay the costs for the NCT.

Often done this, with no problems. I can't see an issue for major concern, unless it's a small time dealer etc. etc.

If they say they will stand over the costs of the nct, well then let them stand over it. Get it in writing, then you'll have a fresh NCT with anything needing fixing done.

bazz26

While it sounds good on paper that a garage will stand over any NCT failures, some places will just fob you off, tell you they cannot do the work for weeks or tell you call back a number of times. This ends up costing you time off work and causing you nothing but frustration. Alot of times these things are harder to chase once money has already changed hands too.

Given the choice at the moment of second hand cars most which will have lengthy NCTs, I would not go through this hassel to be honest.

Darragh29

Limerick-man wrote: »

I don't really understand the problem? The car could be booked in for the NCT and the date could be a few weeks off. In this case the dealer will either have the car in stock, and NCT it when the time comes, or sell it and pay the costs for the NCT.

Often done this, with no problems. I can't see an issue for major concern, unless it's a small time dealer etc. etc.

If they say they will stand over the costs of the nct, well then let them stand over it. Get it in writing, then you'll have a fresh NCT with anything needing fixing done.

That's all grand until there's a problem and every week someone is posting here with a problem with a dealer and an NCT or something that was supposed to be fixed but subsequently wasn't. If the NCT is due or overdue it should be done in my opinion, given the current market situation. If it is within 3 months of its due date, it sholud also be done. Potential customers are often so paranoid of the industry that when they see a car for sale that isn't NCT'd, they can get it into their heads that there is possibly something wrong with the car...

unkel

Darragh29 wrote: »

Potential customers are often so paranoid of the industry that when they see a car for sale that isn't NCT'd, they can get it into their heads that there is possibly something wrong with the car...

And they are paranoid rightly so. If I were a dealer with a car for sale that was out of NCT or to be out of NCT within the next 3 months I would either:

1. NCT the car (early). FFS it only costs €49 and at that it's the best value bargaining tool ever

2. If you know the car won't make the NCT - pass it on as a trade sale

Darragh29

unkel wrote: »

And they are paranoid rightly so. If I were a dealer with a car for sale that was out of NCT or to be out of NCT within the next 3 months I would either:

1. NCT the car (early). FFS it only costs €49 and at that it's the best value bargaining tool ever

2. If you know the car won't make the NCT - pass it on as a trade sale

I don't blame them for being paranoid at all. It's little things like this that p*ss me off about the industry. It's obvious that there is still a collective denial going on within sales departments around the country. Again, I said it before on another thead, the SIMI should now be coming up with minimum service standards and encouraging and enforcing them across the industry.

Seth Brundle

unkel wrote: »

2. If you know the car won't make the NCT - pass it on as a trade sale

But it many still end up for sale without an NCT like the OP.
Unfortunately there are still too many cowboys out there who chance their arm with too many punters still too eager buy!

Darragh29 wrote: »

Again, I said it before on another thead, the SIMI should now be coming up with minimum service standards and encouraging and enforcing them across the industry.

Ha Ha Ha - Dream on!

ninty9er

Got that guarantee on my first car, not that they would put it through, but they would see it passed.

It failed the first time, so they did the necessary and paid for the retest.