would you buy a car without an NCT?

tatli_lokma

Hi everyone - consensus please?
If you found a car that a mechanic gave the once over and said was mechanically sound, but has no NCT (just out)...
would you
a) walk away
b) take it at the right price
c) insist on a pre-NCT test in a garage


Would you even consider a car without an NCT or would it be discounted straight away?? again, bear in mind it is priced very well, so assuming even it failed NCT, if it was nothing major that caused the failure, and you could put it right easy enough, would you take the car?

I bought a car once with no NCT, but knew the guy, and he said if it failed he would either give me my money back or get it repaired as needed. So in that situation its fair enough, but if you were buying from a stranger?

Advice please (been a LONG time since I bought a second (third/fourth!) hand car so I am appreciative of any advice.....

cheers!

af_thefragile

If the garage dealer would promise to get it NCTed after I got it.

You'ld have to have a pretty good reason to buy a car without NCT.
I'ld prefer one with NCT but if I can't find what I'm looking for with NCT then I'ld consider looking at the ones without NCT.

tatli_lokma

its a private seller.
Said if it fails NCT on anything serious/expensive he'll take car back....but still, once I've handed over cash that might not happen.

The reason not NCT'd apparently is because he lost his job back in March, NCT expired in April, and he can't afford to keep the car. He doesn't have the money to spend on an NCT just in case something small causes it to fail. He says he is 99% sure it will pass, and mechanic says all looks well with the car, but as we all know with NCT, you can never be sure - something small could cause a failure. If he tests it and it gets a fail on something then I don't take it he has limited time to get it repaired, and he says he just doesn't have the cash to spend even €100 on it right now...which all sounds resonable, however as I say, I keep thinking.....but!

My idea was to pay AA or some such to do a pre NCT test - if they feel confident it will pass I will take the car,less the price of the inspection but I'll pay for the NCT. So basically splitting the cost between us. He said yes to that, so I think he is genuine and believes it will pass. I'm just nervous...

i dont sea the reason for your concern if a decent mechanic has said its ok, an nct is no huge issue for a decent car, might fail on something small, wouldn think any private seller would take a car back, to do a deal expecting them to do is a tad foolish, aa check is a waste of money for what they do. What sort of car is it ?

If the guy is that certain it will pass an NCT and he knows you will buy the car then for the sake of €50 why not get the NCT ?

af_thefragile

I'ld say tell him to get it NCTed first before you get it. If you can wait that long...
You won't be able to drive it legally anyway without the NCT...

af_thefragile

af_thefragile wrote: »

I'ld say tell him to get it NCTed first before you get it. If you can wait that long...
You won't be able to drive it legally anyway without the NCT...

Just to illustrate what a load of toss the nct is how much test was on the puma you bought ?

af_thefragile

RoverJames wrote: »

Just to illustrate what a load of toss the nct is how much test was on the puma you bought ?

The Puma's got NCT till March next year so no need to worry about till then. Though again have to agree the NCT is a poor reflection of the car's condition if you look at my dying Puma. But again I got it for like a grand less than most other models that were being sold by dealers so was expecting it to be less than perfect. Then again I have spent close to a grand in repairs on it so far as well though in retrospect I could have spent that money a bit wiser and got more done...

I will say the car's service history is a LOT more important than the NCT.
My Puma has zero service history and the reason the engine is dying is cuz the previous owner took no care of it, didn't get it serviced properly on time and such. If the car has a good service history then it should be in decent shape.

cheers for the honesty dude, op this really boils down to how good your mechanic is at checking cars out. It should be fine unless he is a total f tard or purposely misleading you.

johndaman66

My own thoughts are that I would certainly consider buying a car without an NCT. Would know a bit about cars and have friends who would even moreso, so I would be able to make at least a half well informed decision. The car would have to be priced accordingly of course considering you would always be taking a certain risk. No harm looking at last NCT readout if he has it and looking to see if there are any items just inside the tolerances. Might give you a small bit of an idea if there is a chance they will be outside the tolerances this time round bearing in mind the mileage covered since also. It might have just scraped through on emissions last time round for example.

Cincikchick wrote: »

He says he is 99% sure it will pass

Ha ha! the things people say about their cars or their other possessions for that matter and they are so bloody sure of themselves too! How did he arrive at the 99% certain figure I wonder and how come it wasn't 98% or 87%? What makes him qualified to make that assumption in the first place? There are too many unkowns that can go wrong to allow somebody, even a qualified mechanic just visually checking over a car to pick a percentage figure like that and settle on them odds.

tatli_lokma

johndaman66 wrote: »

Ha ha! the things people say about their cars or their other possessions for that matter and they are so bloody sure of themselves too! How did he arrive at the 99% certain figure I wonder and how come it wasn't 98% or 87%? What makes him qualified to make that assumption in the first place? There are too many unkowns that can go wrong to allow somebody, even a qualified mechanic just visually checking over a car to pick a percentage figure like that and settle on them odds.

yeah thats my concern also. My mechanic had a look-see and said that for its age the car is in good nick and mechanically sound. But as you have all said the NCT can be failed on a small thing. He said that the reason he has 1% doubt of passing is because like that there may be something small to fail it and he said straight out he just doesn't have the money and needs some cash so really just wants rid of the car - this being my bargaining chip.

It is priced about €600 less than the closest comparable car available, and in very good condition body wise and interior, as well as engine. the car has been looked after for sure. so unless any work was more than €600 I wouldn't be worse off.

I'll ask to look at last NCT report if he has it-but then again it was just over 2 years ago and a lot can happen in 2 years!
I think I'll push for him to book the NCT on the guarantee that if it passes I'll take it, no quibble on the price. If it fails I'd still be interested but only if its something small/easily fixed with a relevant discount on the price.

Thanks for all the advice - you all kinda confirmed what I was thinking, but I wanted to be sure that No NCT was not as big a No No as some people say.

(also, the longest NCT I have found on a similar car is 1 yr and it is almost double the price, one year older. Most are around 6mths NCT (because of yr obviously they are either 6mths or 18mths and haven't found one with 18mths in my budget at all) so really I have to decide if 6mths NCT with still no guarantee of passing is worth €600-800)

tatli_lokma

RoverJames wrote: »

wouldn think any private seller would take a car back, to do a deal expecting them to do is a tad foolish,

no he said he would take it back, I don't actually expect that to happen. Once its sold its sold. However if he is claiming to be willing to take it back, he is that confident, then he should be equally confident to NCT it, no?

Cincikchick

Cincikchick wrote: »

so really I have to decide if 6mths NCT with still no guarantee of passing is worth €600-800)

You know it's not, 6 months test and no test are much the same, if the car is totally fecked or if there is something small wrong with it the outcome is the same. What is the car and how much is he asking ?

tatli_lokma

well had a chat with him again, and explained my concerns. To which he has said that he will book the NCT on Monday, and if it passes, then no haggling on the price. If it fails (and he is fairly confident it will be on something small) then we can negotiate the price based on what needs to be repaired. I think that is fair enough, TBH. I'm not in a mad rush to get something now, this minute. I'm happy enough to wait for the NCT to be done and get the results.

As you say, 6mths NCT isn't worth much really, a new NCT would make this car a good buy (even if it is only for 1 year thanks to the new rules :rolleyes: )

thanks for the opinions guys - has given us something to ponder for sure....

Our man in Havana

The new 1 year NCT for older cars is not in force yet.

BostonB

If a seller can't be bothered to NCT a car, what else are they not bothered to do.

Our man in Havana

BostonB wrote: »

If a seller can't be bothered to NCT a car, what else are they not bothered to do.

Exactly.

Better check there is oil and water in it. I went to see a car once where the lady owner never lifted the bonnet. There was not a drop of oil on the dipstick. :eek: