car fails NCT... Is it mechanics fault?

positivenote

Hi guys,
brought my mam-in laws car to be NCT'd this morning and it failed as the alignement was off on the front by 2mm. The lad doing the test said that he noticed that there were new bushels (?) fitted. I told him that the mechanic servicing the car yesterday fitted them only last night. He said that he should have checked the alignment after they were fitted. Now she has to fork out another 28euro to get it retested and get the alignment fixed on it?
should this have been done by the mechanic in the first place? and if so what can she say to him... bearing in mind she's in her mid 60's and hasn't got a clue when it comes to cars and she's only put 17k on the car since she bought it 5 years ago.

DublinDilbert

positivenote wrote: »

Hi guys,
brought my mam-in laws car to be NCT'd this morning and it failed as the alignement was off on the front by 2mm. The lad doing the test said that he noticed that there were new bushels (?) fitted. I told him that the mechanic servicing the car yesterday fitted them only last night. He said that he should have checked the alignment after they were fitted. Now she has to fork out another 28euro to get it retested and get the alignment fixed on it?
should this have been done by the mechanic in the first place? and if so what can she say to him... bearing in mind she's in her mid 60's and hasn't got a clue when it comes to cars and she's only put 17k on the car since she bought it 5 years ago.

Chances are the mechanic was rushing and didn't get a chance to do an alignment on it... some times you'll get away with it, depending on what was changed... I would get the mechanic to sort out the alignment, then book in for a retest.

If it only failed on this, and the mechanic does the alignment, i'd probably pay the €28 myself just to have it over and done with.

The mechanic may not have tracking equipment, although most have the rod yokes from yesteryear, I would bring it back to him with the NCT report and see what he says. If he didn't offer to track it you couldn't really argue with him. Also there are many bushings he could have changed that would have no effect on tracking. I wouldn't imagine that he will track it or pay the retest fee nor would I expect him to to be honest.

Not what you want to hear, apologies.

wexford28

If your Mam brought the car to him and asked for him to get it through the NCT the you can go after him for the retest fee as if he was a good mechanic he would have checked it, if she brought it to him just to do the bushers then it's in your hands to do it

The tracking could have been perfect leaving the garage, no way of knowing really. Very few if any mechanics / garages will cover the retest fee or free tracking in these circumstances.

Seth Brundle

wexford28 wrote: »

If your Mam brought the car to him and asked for him to get it through the NCT the you can go after him for the retest fee as if he was a good mechanic he would have checked it, if she brought it to him just to do the bushers then it's in your hands to do it

I don;t think anybody can guarantee that you will pass the NCT when the car goes through - if they do then they are opening themselves to potentially huge costs

sean1141

just ask him did he track it or check if its on the bill. not every mechanic has a way of doing this and as you said he done it last night im guessing it was a nixer so he was probaly working from home. if he said he would track it or charged for it then he chould cover the cost of the re-test but i dont think any mechanic will guarentee to get your car past because they dont have all the stuff for checking like the nct do.

mickdw

If he didnt track it, and didnt charge for tracking, well you will have to pay for tracking & retest fee.
This is a good result really from an nct test... a minor detail.
A mechanic cannot ever say for sure your car will pass so none would usually agree to pay retest fees.
If you think he is generally good and trust him, dont go arguing with him. If you dont trust him, leave him. Either way, I cannot see him paying for anything.

wexford28

THat is where I'm comin from, if he has charged for tracking ie. if he changed bushers that would affect tracking then he should have done the tracking, if he didn't, he didn't. you get what you ask for with most mechanics! my tyre fitters have tracked my car free a few times even when they haven't changed front tyres

wexford28

wexford28 wrote: »

if he changed bushers that would affect tracking then he should have done the tracking, if he didn't, he didn't.

Best of luck if that's your view on it. BTW it's bushings.