NCT Making it up as They Go

zuutroy

I had an old Toyota Sera off the road for a couple of years, during which time I swapped out the old 1.5 auto for a 1.3 Turbo and a manual box and did various other bits and pieces.
As soon as I'd finished last January I took it to get NCT'd and was pretty shocked and proud of myself that it passed first time as there were some iffy points like wiring that had to be extended to accommodate a change in some sensor position, tight fitting custom exhaust etc.

So because the anniversary of the cars registration was this month I had to get it done again (after only 7 months). This time it failed. Although everything mechanical was fine, he picked out 4 or 5 visual items that the last guy allowed fine. For example due to space restrictions I have a cone filter thats basically nestled in the engine bay and he said it needs to be secured. He even failed it because some speaker wires under the parcel shelf weren't tied up properly, and the exhaust which admittedly is a bit tight on space is now 'fouling the fuel tank'.

I tried to tell him that all this stuff passed the last time and all he could say was 'yes, yes' (foreign guy). I wish they were consistent one way or the bloody other!

biko

It seems to be a "lucky on the day" operation.
On the other hand you didn't complain when the first guy passed the car with things you knew needed fixing.

Wibbs

biko wrote: »

It seems to be a "lucky on the day" operation.
On the other hand you didn't complain when the first guy passed the car with things you knew needed fixing.

Doesn't negate the variability though. Meh at this stage I consider the NCT just another tax and a relatively cheap way to have my emissions, brakes and suspension checked.

BrianD3

Well there is an element of subjectivity in the visual tests. The NCT testers are not robots and can't be expected to act as such. It's the same in most jobs. Judgement calls need to be made and things are often not black and white.

Its not practical to have a measurable test for everything eg in the case of your speaker wires, would you expect the testers to measure how loose the wire is and if it is hanging down say 100 mm it fails and anything less it passes?

Owen

The two centres in Cork seem to have different criteria too. You can fail in one, and if you'd brought the same car to the other centre you'd pass. I'm not saying which one though in case they change it based on this post

zuutroy

biko wrote: »

It seems to be a "lucky on the day" operation.
On the other hand you didn't complain when the first guy passed the car with things you knew needed fixing.

Well imo they didn't 'need' fixing. They were untidy, but in no way could the be construed as a safety hazard which is what the test is meant to be about is it not?

BrianD3 wrote: »

Its not practical to have a measurable test for everything eg in the case of your speaker wires, would you expect the testers to measure how loose the wire is and if it is hanging down say 100 mm it fails and anything less it passes?

I know they're not robots but they should be trained to such a degree that they all, within reason will identify the same defects as criteria for failure. The fact that the guy in Jan had zero and the guy earlier this month had 5 is a bit too big of a discrepancy. I dont think hanging wires in the boot really warrant more than a recommendation from the tester tbh.

Del2005

zuutroy wrote: »

Well imo they didn't 'need' fixing. They were untidy, but in no way could the be construed as a safety hazard which is what the test is meant to be about is it not?



I know they're not robots but they should be trained to such a degree that they all, within reason will identify the same defects as criteria for failure. The fact that the guy in Jan had zero and the guy earlier this month had 5 is a bit too big of a discrepancy. I dont think hanging wires in the boot really warrant more than a recommendation from the tester tbh.

The car has been driven since January. When you went for the 1st NCT everything was nice and shiny with no wear marks, your exhaust can now be seen to be fowling the petrol tank while in Jan it may have looked OK. Also your exhaust could have moved since the last NCT, have you looked at it yourself?

Did you really think it was a good idea to have your air filter unsecured in the engine bay? It could do a lot of damage if it moved too much.

Your where lucky in Jan that you passed, as you said yourself, and now that you've been rightly pulled up for 2 serious issues you're complaining.

zuutroy

Ah its hard enough to explain without being able to show people, but I know every nut and bolt in the car virtually and I am full sure that everything which was pulled up is identical to how it was in the first test. Whether or not it should pass is not relevant, the inconsistency is my problem.

Philsopher

I've twice failed an NCT with the same car (once for emissions, once for headlight alignment. Both were the "buzzwords" at the time of the test). On both occassions I did absolutely nothing with it for the re-test and it passed both times. After completing their lenghty, and frankly bullshít, appeals process I was told in each case that "the computers don't lie".

On the other hand, I know someone personally whose car has passed the NCT three times yet the shocks are gone for the past 6 years or so!

vincenzolorenzo

zuutroy wrote: »

So because the anniversary of the cars registration was this month I had to get it done again (after only 7 months).

Why would you do that?

Seth Brundle

because its the law!

quarryman

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

Why would you do that?

:rolleyes:

go read the rules on the NCT.

vincenzolorenzo

But surely he could get a form off the cops to say the car had been of the road for x amount of time and then NCT from that new date onwards? No?

sentient_6

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

But surely he could get a form off the cops to say the car had been of the road for x amount of time and then NCT from that new date onwards? No?

No the NCT due dates are calculated from the date of registration only. He had to get NCT to legally put it on the road in january but the next date is still the next date by the reg.

Philsopher

Philsopher wrote: »

On the other hand, I know someone personally whose car has passed the NCT three times yet the shocks are gone for the past 6 years or so!

If they are not leaking visibly and they are equally poor they may well pass if they don't yield really low N measurements.