NCT failed

Nabber

Hi Guys,

Not sure if this is in the right place.

I took my car in for it's NCT test. It failed on the front left side suspension, the ball joint.

I took the car to a garage to get it fixed, they said there was nothing wrong with the ball joint. I went to two more places and got the same feedback. So I rang NCT customer care and they told me to go back to the test centre. When I went back they changed it from ball joint to inner tie rood end. So I had this replaced, the mechanic told me there was nothing wrong with it, after he changed it

Today Was my re-test, now they have failed the car again, saying that this time it's the ball joint, where they had previously said it was no longer that. The guy at the NCT told me that they weren't sure so they had to pick something. Can I be failed for this on the retest? Should I only be failed on items that were only to be retested.

I'm pretty pee'd off over this, can anyone suggest anything. I paid for the tie rod for no reason?

Thanks in advance

MarkR

Problem is the NCT doesn't have to tell you what caused the fail, just what test failed. So sometimes a fault can be caused by a combination of things. No harm getting onto the complaints line to see about getting the fees waived. You might be lucky. :-)

Elessar

Thats a tough one alright. Ring the NCT and explain the situation to them. Ask for a free retest, explaining that you don't know what's wrong. This time, spark a conversation with the tester before you leave your car in and explain what was happening. He might be able to offer a more in-depth explanation once he looks at it.

If not, maybe get the ball joint fixed/replaced anyway and see if that works?

dudara

Better suited to the Motors forum. Moved accordingly.

dudara

foggy_lad

they must be hard up for funds if they are failing cars on parrts that would pass! is there legal recourse available?

cascade35

When a car fails a test and has the failure items repaired, its only supposed to be retested on those items, not a full test again.

TURRICAN

ring up ,complain that they cant do their job right .
you said they dont know whats wrong so they had to pick somthing.
omfg what a fuc*!^G clown.
thats safety alright,typical of what this country is like.

BostonB

[quote=Nabber;62281966...When I went back they changed it from ball joint to inner tie rood end. ...[/quote]

I don't think they can do this. If its not on the original sheet they can't fail you on the retest.

Someone in the family failed on a light bulb, went back and they wanted to fail her on the 4 bald tyres they hadnt spotted the first time. They couldn't under their own rules. That was a while back. Perhaps the rules have changed?

Voodoomelon

OP, theres probably a fair bit of play with your wheel in the 9 and 6 positions or the 12 and 6 positions. The mechanics probably couldn't spot any specific worn components, however that doesn't mean it was their fault your car failed.
Its up to them to find faults with the car, not to necessarily diagnose the cause of such faults, thats the job of your mechanic.

Fact is the car failed one of their tests and its up to you or your mechanic to rectify it. However it would be helpful if the NCT lads told you what the problem was in the first place and not give spurious suggestions.

Seth Brundle

cascade35 wrote: »

When a car fails a test and has the failure items repaired, its only supposed to be retested on those items, not a full test again.

BostonB wrote: »

I don't think they can do this. If its not on the original sheet they can't fail you on the retest.

Someone in the family failed on a light bulb, went back and they wanted to fail her on the 4 bald tyres they hadnt spotted the first time. They couldn't under their own rules. That was a while back. Perhaps the rules have changed?

Correct - the legislation explicitly covers this (search boards as I and others have quoted it before).

If it went from ball joint ot inner tie rod to balljoint again then they cannot fail you for the latter two - simple as!