Buying a used car - Lost tax disc/ No NCT

stevie.enright

Hi folks,

Something ye kind people may be able to assist me on hopefully. I was looking at a used car this evening with a friend who is a DOE test mechanic. NCT is out for a few months but car is very good on the road and friend reckons from driving it and looking it over that it should pass NCT without any hassle assuming emissions are ok. I was shown plenty of receipts for work done recently, and tyres appear like new. I told the chap selling that I'd mull it over for the evening and get back to him tomorrow with something more definate.

First problem is that the tax disc is missing from the car even though it is taxed up until 03/10. The chap selling it is genuine when he says this as I checked it out in mywheels.ie after. Does anybody know the procedure in acquiring a new tax disc and how much would it cost? Would the car have to be in my name first I assume before I can do this? If such is this case does anyone know how long it takes for this to be done these days. If I am caught on the road without a tax disc displayed (even though car is taxed) is it a serious offence/ could car be surrendered from me?

Second question, does anybody know in general what the NCT waiting times are the moment, particularly in Limerick, Abbeyfeale or even Tralee? I would book NCT straight away, but would this booking if I kept it in the car cut it if I approached a Garda checkpoint given that I would only recently have acquired the car and assuming all is A1 on the car otherwise?

corktina

aHave you checked the chassis number matches the log book? One reason for the missing tax disc could be that its a clone....

stevie.enright

Haven't corktina, will do when viewing the car again. Thanks for the tip.

argosy2006

huge waiting list for nct's what are thousand of people to do, not drive there cars cause nct centers are few and far between and too many cars to cope with, typical ireland that,
my car out of nct, booked it in waited for few months, then it failed on wiper blades,!and hand brake travels to far,
i told him its attached to car, it has to travel with it

cloneslad

fr the NCT, ring the NCT helpline, don't use the internet, you will get it much easier if you ring around half 9 in the morning as people will have cancelled and you can take their spot.

also ring this number 01 413 5900 or 01 413 5994 instead of paying a premium for the 1890 number to get through to them (courtesy of our friends of saynoto1890.com)

stevie.enright

argosy2006 wrote: »

huge waiting list for nct's what are thousand of people to do, not drive there cars cause nct centers are few and far between and too many cars to cope with, typical ireland that,
my car out of nct, booked it in waited for few months, then it failed on wiper blades,!

Drat and there was me thinking that inroads were being made in the hugh backlog at the start of the year.

argosy2006 wrote: »

and hand brake travels to far,
i told him its attached to car, it has to travel with it

Haha, I admire your wit but doubt it cut it all the same!:p

stevie.enright

cloneslad wrote: »

fr the NCT, ring the NCT helpline, don't use the internet, you will get it much easier if you ring around half 9 in the morning as people will have cancelled and you can take their spot.

also ring this number 01 413 5900 or 01 413 5994 instead of paying a premium for the 1890 number to get through to them (courtesy of our friends of saynoto1890.com)

Thanks cloneslad. Not full sure if I'll buy car yet. There is another one I have arranged to look at tomorrow evening first. But will keep your advice in mind if I do take the plunge on this particular one!

Guy:Incognito

argosy2006 wrote: »

huge waiting list for nct's what are thousand of people to do, not drive there cars cause nct centers are few and far between and too many cars to cope with, typical ireland that,
my car out of nct, booked it in waited for few months, then it failed on wiper blades,!and hand brake travels to far,
i told him its attached to car, it has to travel with it

Nope, typical Ireland is to ignore the fact that an NCT is needed, then when the Gaurds say they are clamping down, everyone goes and tries to get it done at once.

If everyone was keeping up with NCT intervals up to now there wouldnt be a backlog.

stevie.enright

Stekelly wrote: »

Nope, typical Ireland is to ignore the fact that an NCT is needed, then when the Gaurds say they are clamping down, everyone goes and tries to get it done at once.

If everyone was keeping up with NCT intervals up to now there wouldnt be a backlog.

Which also begs the question if there was a whole lot of point in having the NCT up until then if it wasn't going to be enforced by the Guards for many years? Given the fact that so many obviously viewed as non essential up until the more active enforcement by the Guards it would appear and hence the backlog.

itarumaa

Book the NTC time using email, I had no issues there, good and fast service and no need to call to anyone, also I am not sure what is the point to buy that car op, too much hassle to my taste. It is buyers market now.

Berty

Try Abbeyfeale. They are not as busy as others.

Getting the Tax Disc will not be too hard. Get him to request a new one. Its not your responsibility. Then get him to sign the log book over to you when you have ALL the documentation.

BTW, What car, how much?

R.O.R

For a replacement tax disc the form RF134 needs to be filled out and signed by the Gardai.

If you head in to the local tax office with €6 and the completed form, they'll do it there and then for you. Might need the VLC as well, can't remember for sure.

Not sure if you'd be able to do it, probably best if the current owner does it before you buy the car.

celt2005

I booked NCT in fonthill on web, had my choice of dates ... picked two weeks from booking to allow me to fix car up.

grudgebringer

stevie.enright wrote: »

Which also begs the question if there was a whole lot of point in having the NCT up until then if it wasn't going to be enforced by the Guards for many years? Given the fact that so many obviously viewed as non essential up until the more active enforcement by the Guards it would appear and hence the backlog.

Well if anything happens to your car and you need to involve the insurance company and they get wind that the car is not certified then you may see why it it important to have this :cool: In general it is not enforced but it is still important to have this certificate .... just went for mine today ... of all things to fail on mine failed on Headlight Alignment .... 28 quid for then to recheck my headlight alignment now ... :mad:

DarasBB

Sorry for off topic, but I'm hoping someone might explain something to me.

I bought a car with blown engine in July 2009.
Fixed the car within a month, visited NCT website, and got an appointment for NCT test (in December 09).

I took my car for the test today which passed with flying colours.

The problem is they gave me NCT valid till 30 of June 2010 :eek:

I mean WTH??? Why only for a half a year???

30 June 1998 is the first registration of the car.

I knew that new NCT would not be valid till 12.2011 but only till 30 of June 2011. That would be a year and a half, not only a half.

How does it work???

Harcrid

NCT is first done when car is four years old and is due on the date of registration which in your case would be June 2002. It would then be due every two years after this. You can only do the NCT up until the next time it is due which means June 2010 in your case. It would have last been due in June 2008 but obviously it was not done on your car. Because of this you can only NCT until June 2010. If you then NCT it again in June, the car will be NCT'ed until June 2012.

It does not matter how far into the two year cycle you are when you test it, it will always expire on the two year anniversary of the registration.

DarasBB

Celtxx wrote: »

NCT is first done when car is four years old and is due on the date of registration which in your case would be June 2002. It would then be due every two years after this. You can only do the NCT up until the next time it is due which means June 2010 in your case. It would have last been due in June 2008 but obviously it was not done on your car. Because of this you can only NCT until June 2010. If you then NCT it again in June, the car will be NCT'ed until June 2012.

It does not matter how far into the two year cycle you are when you test it, it will always expire on the two year anniversary of the registration.

Does it mean, that if I'll get another appointment due to, lets say, 25 of May 2010 I'll receive NCT for a month only????

If I knew this before I wouldn't take the car for NCT now but move the appointment till June :mad:

What about if car is sitting in the shed for 3 years after last NCT expired. Will I have to pay 50 for missed 2 years another 50 for current time lapse so NCT will be valid for one year?

That's a rip off I'd say.....

slimjimmc

DarasBB wrote: »

Does it mean, that if I'll get another appointment due to, lets say, 25 of May 2010 I'll receive NCT for a month only????

No, you can test up to 3mths early, so your cert will be valid until Jun 2012 even if you test in Apr 2010.

If I knew this before I wouldn't take the car for NCT now but move the appointment till June :mad:

It's not as if it's a secret, all the info is publically available on their website. If you put off doing the test until June then you increase the risk of getting caught with no NCT. Don't assume the Gardaí don't check it, they do, I read convictions almost every week in the local rag. If stopped, you would get away with a month or two but any more is pushing it for the sake of €50.

What about if car is sitting in the shed for 3 years after last NCT expired. Will I have to pay 50 for missed 2 years another 50 for current time lapse so NCT will be valid for one year?

No. You don't pay arrears, it's not a tax. You only pay for the test you booked, not ones you didn't. In your example, you would pay €50 for year 4.

That's a rip off I'd say.....

LOL. so just because you didn't understand something makes it a rip off. The NCT is cheap, many other EU countries charge higher prices and require annual checks which means you pay every year not every two.

stevie.enright

Berty wrote: »

BTW, What car, how much?

It was a 1995 Honda Accord 2.0L petrol and was being sold for 450E. Don't have a link or anything as its advertised in a local newspaper.

As it happens I didn't take the plunge in the end. Reason being is because I rang up insurance yesterday and my premium was going to be severly loaded if I changed over to the Accord. Was a bit surprised as have being driving a 1.6 petrol for years at this stage without an claim never had an and pretty much have a full ncb. Guess maybe its the category the accord falls into but thats another story. Ah well, shame though as the Accord seemed to be a really sweet car.

stevie.enright

slimjimmc wrote: »

LOL. so just because you didn't understand something makes it a rip off. The NCT is cheap, many other EU countries charge higher prices and require annual checks which means you pay every year not every two.

To be fair just because DarasBB didn't understand it does not automatically mean its not a rip of either. I do understand the way it works and see it as a con and a rip off. If the car is being certified as road worthy as at a particular point in time why can't it be certified for 2 years like any other car getting a full two year certificate and subjected to the same test criteria. This date of aniversary crap is a money making scam as far as I can see

DarasBB

stevie.enright wrote: »

To be fair just because DarasBB didn't understand it does not automatically mean its not a rip of either. I do understand the way it works and see it as a con and a rip off. If the car is being certified as road worthy as at a particular point in time why can't it be certified for 2 years like any other car getting a full two year certificate and subjected to the same test criteria. This date of aniversary crap is a money making scam as far as I can see

That's what I meant Stevie.enright, thank you.

Now I have to ring booking office again to get an appointment for anothet test in March or April. I wanted to sell this car, and with 2 year NCT would me much easier.... I visited NCT web and it says: "You don't need NCT test now.":mad: I'm not going to start booking in march, as the next available date might be in August or September because of backlog. ....:(

Thanks lads for all your answers.

corktina

annoying isnt it...they back date it to the date it was due.....

stevie.enright

DarasBB wrote: »

That's what I meant Stevie.enright, thank you.

Now I have to ring booking office again to get an appointment for anothet test in March or April. I wanted to sell this car, and with 2 year NCT would me much easier.... I visited NCT web and it says: "You don't need NCT test now.":mad: I'm not going to start booking in march, as the next available date might be in August or September because of backlog. ....:(

Thanks lads for all your answers.

To be fair they do seem to be clearing the backlog considerably by this stage DarasBB. I was looking during the week on the website and there were lots of slots available for the week starting 13th of December, in Limerick anyway. They be working up until 9:00pm or later also so for people like me who work 9 to 5 hours it is accomodating.

You are allowed book the NCT up to six weeks before hand AFAIK. So in you case if the date on your NCT cert is 15th of June (for argument sake) you will be allowed take the test from 15th of March onwards and it will then be tested up until 15th of June 2012 (assuming it passes). But you would be allowed to book the test from the start of February onwards or thereabouts (pretty certain this is the case regarding making bookings but somebosy else might clarify this).

exsting

Don't buy a used car just from anywhere mate, it could be a stolen car.
I bought a car once from this guy who lives a few blocks down from me, and
I didn't realise it was stolen untill cops came knocking at my door one morning I came
In my pijamas opened the front door and the next thing I realised I was in handcuffs.
Why? Because the car police was looking at told me was stolen!

stevie.enright

exsting wrote: »

Don't buy a used car just from anywhere mate, it could be a stolen car.
I bought a car once from this guy who lives a few blocks down from me, and
I didn't realise it was stolen untill cops came knocking at my door one morning I came
In my pijamas opened the front door and the next thing I realised I was in handcuffs.
Why? Because the car police was looking at told me was stolen!

Thanks for advice exsting. I would never buy and car if I thought there was anything dodgy about it in that regard. As well as sussing out the car I would also suss out the owner and wouldn't buy from somebody I reckoned to be a shady character. I wouldn't be inclined to hand any money over until I see registration documentation.

That must have being some fright for you. What happenend in the end. Were you out the cost of the car?

DarasBB

stevie.enright wrote: »

To be fair they do seem to be clearing the backlog considerably by this stage DarasBB. I was looking during the week on the website and there were lots of slots available for the week starting 13th of December, in Limerick anyway. (...)

Thanks again, stevie.enright. Unfortunately I'm from Greystons Co.Wicklow, so I have a choice between Deansgrange in Dublin or Arklow NCT Test Centre (considering petrol costs). In both of those places backlog is 3-4 months.

But I will contact them by phone to get an appointment as the web won't allow me, as I said before.