NCT madness..

CiniO

I imported a car from NI.
Paid VRT, registered it in Ireland.
Only thing I don't have yet is NCT.
I rang them today, and they told me, that there isn't any appointment available in my local NCT centre for the next 6 months.
She told me, that whenever they'll get anything, they'll post me a letter with appointment.

In my humble opinion, this must be some kind of a joke.

I'm legally required to have NCT before I can drive my car on the public road. For not having it, I'm risking penalty and up to 5 penalty points, and possibly some problems with insurance in case of an accident.

Even more - my car is absolutely roadworthy, and still has a MOT certificate until March 2011. But according to Irish government this is not valid (completely don't understand why, but know that's illegal according to European law).

Anyway, if I'm stopped by guards, only what I can do, is count on they good will. I don't even have a letter with appointment for NCT, so I can't show it to them.

So pretty much, I can't drive my new car legally for the next few months, even I've done everything I could to make it road legal.

This is some kind of a joke.

Only when I'll have some time, I'll sue Irish government to the European Commission, for not accepting test certificated from other EU members.

jimmycrackcorm

Well at least your NCT will be free. Got mine free after waiting three months. Two of those without a letter but the Guards weren't bothered about checking for NCT at any of the checkpoints I was stopped at. I reckon they know there are delays and don't even bother with it.

However I do think if you are a young lad with a souped up micra then you'll find they will be bothered....

djimi

Keep an eye on cancellations; most people get one within a few days.

Ricardo G

Spot on. Same situation all over the country tbh ! Have you tried ringing any other NCT centres within your county or even outside. Some may have a booking in the next 4 weeks. Yes i know its a pain in the neck having to travel beyond your own test centre but worth it if you can get it done. As for the guards i would not worry one bit about it, i'm sure there hearing the same story at every checkpoint every day. Its a shambles but its also Ireland:rolleyes:

Alun

Just do the booking online early in the morning (but after they've opened for business) and they've released any cancellations into the system. Both me and my wife managed to get appointments within one week at Deansgrange in Dublin this way.

robtri

ring the NCT crowd back..

tell them you have your booking for 6 months time, which is grand and that you want to confirm that it will be free.

this normally has the effect of you being transferred to another department, who miracously find you a date within 4 weeks..so they can charge u.

Anan1

This comes up over and over again. Register car with NCTS. Book test. Get cancellation. All doable within 72 hours.

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

This comes up over and over again. Register car with NCTS. Book test. Get cancellation. All doable within 72 hours.

How can I book test, if she told me there isn't any appointment available?

djimi

Take the next appointment they give you, even if its 6 months down the line. Then look to get a cancellation.

Anan1

djimi wrote: »

Take the next appointment they give you, even if its 6 months down the line. Then look to get a cancellation.

+1. Doesn't matter what centre, you'll be getting a cancellation anyway.

ger vallely

Apply for the test-even if it is 6 months away,then you will at least have an appointment letter to show if stopped. 'Tis a joke though, something very wrong with what should be a simple enough system.

GTE

If British cars that have a valid MOT can come off the boat or cross the boarder and drive on our roads then why cant you drive your car in the meantime considering the MOT you actually have on it.

I have a feeling you have something to argue your point with if stopped.

ttm

I went to book the test online nothing available, so phoned, got offered a date 3 months away, asked if it was free then told to ring another number, called that explained what had just happened and was asked if the car was ready to test, I said yes and was told I'd get a call or letter with an appointment in the next week got a call the following day for a test a week later. Thats how it worked for me

Anan1

bbk wrote: »

If British cars that have a valid MOT can come off the boat or cross the boarder and drive on our roads then why cant you drive your car in the meantime considering the MOT you actually have on it.

I have a feeling you have something to argue your point with if stopped.

Because he's an ROI resident, and because the car is ROI registered.

ABajaninCork

Same thing happened to me. Imported a car from the UK, paid the VRT, taxed it and couldn't get an NCT for 6 months (allegedly).

In the end, I pestered the call centre, and got a cancellation for two weeks later. Menawhile, I had a copy of the appointment letter in my glove box just in case I got a pull. Once you have proof an NCT has been applied for, then I don't think the Gards will bother you too much. Even taxing the car was a nightmare as the original log book had been lost and I had to do the same thing - drive around with a copy of the form signed by the Gards until a new one came in the post.

If I were you OP, I'd do the same. Yes, it's a pain when you still have a valid MoT, and frankly I cannot understand why a valid certificate of roadworthiness issued in another EU country isn't counted as valid here. I think it's all a scam TBH...

Anan1

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Yes, it's a pain when you still have a valid MoT, and frankly I cannot understand why a valid certificate of roadworthiness issued in another EU country isn't counted as valid here. I think it's all a scam TBH...

AFAIK, the MOT is a lot easier to pass than the NCT.

ABajaninCork

Anan1 wrote: »

AFAIK, the MOT is a lot easier to pass than the NCT.

Depends on the tester. Yes, there's some who'll give a cert on a 'nod and a wink', but most are VERY through and will fail the car on the slightest thing! In any case, ANY roadworthiness test will only tell you the car was roadworthy AT THE TIME IT WAS TESTED. So, you could have your exhaust drop off 100 yards down the road, but hey! You still have an MoT/NCT!!!

cloneslad

When I was in Ireland and living in Monaghan I tried Monaghan, cavan, louth, and sligo (g.f is from sligo) all were booked up for 3 months ended up going to Leitrim for it. I had a 2 week wait.

I was able to ring and get the retest done in Monaghan two days after the phone call.

bmstuff

Anan1 wrote: »

AFAIK, the MOT is a lot easier to pass than the NCT.

Yeah and you can even buy it in the UK if you know the guy. This is what some guy I bought a car from did, I can tell you, the MOT was a week old, the car was not roadworthy...
It is not government run in the UK, any garage can be a MOT test centre if I am not mistaken.
Period our NCT here means far more than a MOT in UK. Even in France you can buy it from a friendly mechanic, same as UK, anyone registered garage can issue official roadworthy certificates...

ABajaninCork

bmstuff wrote: »

It is not government run in the UK, any garage can be a MOT test centre if I am not mistaken.

Not true. The garage has to be accredited by the Dept of Transport. This means that the garage, inspectors and equipment has to be tested to DTP standards on a regular basis...I believe there are also certain tests the actual inspector has to pass.

GTE

Anan1 wrote: »

Because he's an ROI resident, and because the car is ROI registered.

That shouldn't matter given that under its old registration in the UK the car held a valid MOT. Given the time frame we are talking about the owner should be eligible to a grace period of sorts to account for waiting times of the NCT as long as the national car test of what ever country its coming from is still valid during that waiting period.

It's a daft situation that the OP is forced into because the crowd who do the NCT cant keep up with demand.

Anan1

bbk wrote: »

That shouldn't matter given that under its old registration in the UK the car held a valid MOT. Given the time frame we are talking about the owner should be eligible to a grace period of sorts to account for waiting times of the NCT as long as the national car test of what ever country its coming from is still valid during that waiting period.

It's a daft situation that the OP is forced into because the crowd who do the NCT cant keep up with demand.

What waiting times? As has already been pointed out, an NCT slot can be got within a couple of days.

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

This comes up over and over again. Register car with NCTS. Book test. Get cancellation. All doable within 72 hours.

How can I book test, as I was told today, that she can't provide me with any booking as there's nothing available within 6 months. She doesn't make any booking further in the future. That's it.

Anan1

CiniO wrote: »

How can I book test, as I was told today, that she can't provide me with any booking as there's nothing available within 6 months. She doesn't make any booking further in the future. That's it.

There's nothing available anywhere, or just not at your local test centre?

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

There's nothing available anywhere, or just not at your local test centre?

I asked only about my local test centre, and 3 closest ones...
So in total nothing available in 4 centres.

Anan1

CiniO wrote: »

I asked only about my local test centre, and 3 closest ones...
So in total nothing available in 4 centres.

Just take any date, in any centre. It makes no difference, as you'll be getting a cancellation in your local centre. You just need a booking.

GTE

Anan1 wrote: »

What waiting times? As has already been pointed out, an NCT slot can be got within a couple of days.

You can't count on cancellations all the time and you shouldn't have to be in the situation where you have to rely on them to get a test within a reasonable amount of time. The OP has proved this. As have I. Reading a confirmation email I got on April the 1st I got a test date of the 21st of May in Fonthill and I did look for cancellations. I didnt mind as my NCT was due in April/May anyway.

Anan1

bbk wrote: »

You can't count on cancellations all the time and you shouldn't have to be in the situation where you have to rely on them to get a test within a reasonable amount of time. The OP has proved this.

You're probably right, but they're still available for the following day. I'd just get the car tested and move on with my life.:)

Eoin

ABajaninCork wrote: »

In any case, ANY roadworthiness test will only tell you the car was roadworthy AT THE TIME IT WAS TESTED. So, you could have your exhaust drop off 100 yards down the road, but hey! You still have an MoT/NCT!!!

What's the alternative - they fail you because the car might fail in a week's time? Can you imagine the uproar!

To get back on topic, my wife got a test within a week after accepting cancellations and asking if it was free if she didn't get a test within a month, or whatever that clause is.

mb1725

Imagine the waiting lists when they bring in the annual nct next year for older cars!!!!

Anan1

mb1725 wrote: »

Imagine the waiting lists when they bring in the annual nct next year for older cars!!!!

AFAIK the reason for the current congestion is that people didn't bother NCTing their cars until threatened with large fines and points. Given the small numbers of 10+ year old cars on our roads (and the fact that the NCTS know they're coming), I can't really see there being a problem.

donegalgirl28

My car is due it's NCT next week, tried booking online but I can't find my car's registration certificate to know when it was first registered. Have emailed them but no response.

Is there anyway I can find out when it was first registered so I can make the booking?

TestTransmission

What date is your NCT due?

donegalgirl28

20th July.

soups05

just to let you know op, about 5 years ago i brought a car in from the north. i sorted the vrt and tax then booked my nct.

I was fully confident because i bought the car on a saturday and it had been MOT'ed on the friday.

two weeks later it failed the NCT !!! they found some "wear" on a rubber cover in the front wheel. I went to a local garage and had it changed at a cost of around 100 euro then had it retested.

failed again!! this time on the wheel alingment. i had driven from the test centre to the garage and back. :mad:

and the wheels had been fine in the frist test

just a big scam. why do you think its 5 points for no nct? but what about speeding,drunk driving etc. less points for them afaik.

CiniO

soups05 wrote: »

just to let you know op, about 5 years ago i brought a car in from the north. i sorted the vrt and tax then booked my nct.

I was fully confident because i bought the car on a saturday and it had been MOT'ed on the friday.

two weeks later it failed the NCT !!! they found some "wear" on a rubber cover in the front wheel. I went to a local garage and had it changed at a cost of around 100 euro then had it retested.

failed again!! this time on the wheel alingment. i had driven from the test centre to the garage and back. :mad:

and the wheels had been fine in the frist test

just a big scam. why do you think its 5 points for no nct? but what about speeding,drunk driving etc. less points for them afaik.

What you were saying, was probably track rod. 100 euros to change it is extremally dear, unless it was some kind of extra expensive car.
Anyway, if after changing track rod, they didn't set wheel alignment, i'm not surprised it failed again.
That's actually perfect example how you can't trust Irish garages. In this case with NCT everything is fine.


IMHO 5 points for not having NCT is fine.
When I moved to Ireland i was told by many, that NCT is extreamally strict, and barely any car can pass it.
I didn't know the truth, untill i went to NCT with few of my recent cars.
And it's nothing like that. They've got a list of everything they are supposed to check and they stick to it. On the list there's nothing special. Just all the things which are responsible, for safety and ecology mostly. So in this matter I think NCT is very good thing and it should be big penalties for driving without it. It really good to keep bangers off the road.

The only problem is organisation.
First of all waiting times of couple of months is a joke. Besides they are making people to drive without NCT, as it's not possible to do it as required. Also the expiry date of NCT 2 years of car registration anniversary not 2 year of a test is a scam.

I work shifts, different every week. While I'm booking my NCT couple months ahead, I can't know if I'll be working on that day. That makes me to take extra day off just to do the NCT. This is also sick.

How it should look like, is that I just could drive into NCT centre and have test done straight away. Of course I understand there could be a queue, for half an hour, or maybe even few hours. That's fine. That's how it works in most other countries.

But situation when I have to book it couple months in advence is sick.

CiniO

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

20th July.

So most likely your registration date would be 19th, 20th or 21st July.
You can find a year on your number plate.

Anyway apply for a copy of your reg cert, as it's pretty much only document proving that car is yours.
Without it you can't sell a car, or drive it abroad.

Eoin

CiniO wrote:

Also the expiry date of NCT 2 years of car registration anniversary not 2 year of a test is a scam.

I presume they do that in order to not give people an incentive to delay their test.

TestTransmission

CiniO wrote: »

So most likely your registration date would be 19th, 20th or 21st July.
You can find a year on your number plate.

Anyway apply for a copy of your reg cert, as it's pretty much only document proving that car is yours.
Without it you can't sell a car, or drive it abroad.

What he said

soups05

ok cinio i will take your word for it re the track rod. i think they called it a bushell? had not thought of them removing the wheel and messing up the tracking. not a mechanic so aside from the basic maintance i know nothing about cars.

not an expensive car though. it was a 95 savanna. (think ren 21 with estate body and 7 seats) best car i ever drove. i had three in total and still miss them. bloody zafria is no match in terms of space and comfort :mad:

think i better head back to AH before all you car experts tell me how bad it was lol

Anan1

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

My car is due it's NCT next week, tried booking online but I can't find my car's registration certificate to know when it was first registered. Have emailed them but no response.

Is there anyway I can find out when it was first registered so I can make the booking?

I've rung the NCTS for it before. Alternatively, it'll be in your service book.

ambro25

Anan1 wrote: »

AFAIK, the MOT is a lot easier to pass than the NCT.

bmstuff wrote: »

Period our NCT here means far more than a MOT in UK. Even in France you can buy it from a friendly mechanic, same as UK, anyone registered garage can issue official roadworthy certificates...

Being in the somewhat unique position of having had the same (originally UK) car go through the UK MOT (2001-2004), the Irish NCT (2005-2006) and the French Contrôle Technique (2007-2008) (and now again the UK MOT, same UK petrol station-garage as years before) at various times in its life, I can vouch that there is virtually no difference at all between them - for the legitimate, consciencious and honest car owner, that is.

You want a toughie, try Luxembourg (same state-run, centre-based system as the Irish NCT - but one centre for the entire country!) I swear they'd fail you just because you didn't to wash the car less than an hour before rolling into the centre :pac:

CiniO

eoin wrote: »

I presume they do that in order to not give people an incentive to delay their test.

Instead of this, what would work is that Garda would strictly check NCT and really give this 5 penalty points to anyone without it plus some high financial penalty.

But before this, we would need a working system that would allow you to book for appointment in couple of days max (or even on the same day).
And also the system, that would accept test certificates issued in other EU member states.

CiniO

soups05 wrote: »

ok cinio i will take your word for it re the track rod. i think they called it a bushell? had not thought of them removing the wheel and messing up the tracking. not a mechanic so aside from the basic maintance i know nothing about cars.

not an expensive car though. it was a 95 savanna. (think ren 21 with estate body and 7 seats) best car i ever drove. i had three in total and still miss them. bloody zafria is no match in terms of space and comfort :mad:

think i better head back to AH before all you car experts tell me how bad it was lol

No one said it was bad.
I only said, that garage must have not been the best one, if they changed element of steering or suspension, and didn't bother setting the wheel alignment.

Anan1

CiniO wrote: »

Instead of this, what would work is that Garda would strictly check NCT and really give this 5 penalty points to anyone without it plus some high financial penalty.

+1

CiniO wrote: »

But before this, we would need a working system that would allow you to book for appointment in couple of days max (or even on the same day).

The backlog is being cleared as more and more people get their cars NCTd. Given the fact that cars can be tested up to three months in advance, coupled with the easy availability of cancellations, I don't see any excuse for untested cars being on the road. I'd give a couple of weeks for fresh imports, no leeway otherwise as they have the 3 month window already.

CiniO wrote: »

And also the system, that would accept test certificates issued in other EU member states.

I wouldn't have much faith in an MOT myself.

Nuttzz

Anan1 wrote: »

+1


I wouldn't have much faith in an MOT myself.

If it has a valid UK MOT then it should get a NCT cert til the end of the MOT period.

The irish driving test is easier than the UK one but the Irish licence can be exchanged for a UK one when you go to live there,

Swings & roundabouts really

CiniO

Nuttzz wrote: »

If it has a valid UK MOT then it should get a NCT cert til the end of the MOT period.

The irish driving test is easier than the UK one but the Irish licence can be exchanged for a UK one when you go to live there,

Swings & roundabouts really

That's obvious.
The same case was in Poland.
Until recently they didn't accept test certificates from other EU countries for imported cars.
Someone made complaint about it to European Commision, and Polish government was asked to change a law. Finally they did (it took probably about 2 years from the time of complaint) and now all imported cars with valid test certificate, has this certificate rewritten to Polish one to the end of it's expiry date.

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

I'd give a couple of weeks for fresh imports,

You'd give. They don't....
Couple weeks anyway is not enough, as I described earlier, they told me there's no appointment available for the next 6 months.

Beside backlog being reduced ??????
Every time i try to book for nct backlog is bigger. In 2007 they gave ma appointment in 3 weeks. In 2009 it was 2 months and I manage to get cancellation earlier. Now they didn't give me anything.

I wouldn't have much faith in an MOT myself.

Mayby you wouldn't. But it's official certificate issued by one of EU member states. The same all tourist cars from UK have it, and it's enough. The same way after importing, it should be valid to the end of it's expiry date

Anan1

CiniO wrote: »

You'd give. They don't....
Couple weeks anyway is not enough, as I described earlier, they told me there's no appointment available for the next 6 months.

Beside backlog being reduced ??????
Every time i try to book for nct backlog is bigger. In 2007 they gave ma appointment in 3 weeks. In 2009 it was 2 months and I manage to get cancellation earlier. Now they didn't give me anything.

Ah look, how many times do we have to go over this? One last time: Get a booking for any centre, any date. Get a cancellation. You'll have a test within a few days.

CiniO

Anan1 wrote: »

Ah look, how many times do we have to go over this? One last time: Get a booking for any centre, any date. Get a cancellation. You'll have a test within a few days.

Even if I manage to do it, it's still few days too much, as I can't legally use my car on the public roads for these few days. Beside I need to know the trick with booking anything and getting cancelations to do it. I'm lucky enough to get on this forum. Many other people aren't

donegalgirl28

CiniO wrote: »

So most likely your registration date would be 19th, 20th or 21st July.
You can find a year on your number plate.

Anyway apply for a copy of your reg cert, as it's pretty much only document proving that car is yours.
Without it you can't sell a car, or drive it abroad.

It's about the house somewhere in Donegal but I'm in Dublin for the next few weeks. Tried entering those dates, but alas no avail.

Anan1 wrote: »

I've rung the NCTS for it before. Alternatively, it'll be in your service book.

Finally rung them and she gave me date of 29th July. Posting the letter out soon I hope, cos I can't be arsed dealing with a 5 point fine.

Should I go for a pre-NCT test or just do it and then if it fails fix what's wrong with it? car's in reasonably good nick, just a bit of rust here and there that's all really.