NCT and Car Dealers

Veloce

I have bought a car last week and as its an '07 it is due an NCT so the dealer has put the car through the NCT ahead of me collecting it later in the week.

I have read here somewhere previously that cars that are put through an NCT by a dealer are more likely to pass or that the NCT tester is more lenient on items that would normally be failed.

Can somebody give me some insight as to whether or not this is the case?

Senna

I wouldn't not buy a car because the dealer put it through the NCT.

Veloce

Senna wrote: »

I wouldn't not buy a car because the dealer put it through the NCT.

Yes I agree. I was just curious as to if the car is more likely to pass with a dealer putting it through ahead of a sale.

DublinDilbert

I would agree 100% with this.

I saw a car with non working reversing lights (number plate light out too) sail through the nct when a dealer put it through.

mondeo

DublinDilbert wrote: »

I would agree 100% with this.

I saw a car with non working reversing lights (number plate light out too) sail through the nct when a dealer put it through.

Maybe they have their preferred testing centre where they know the boys working there!

Plug

I'd be rich if I was working for the NCT.

mondeo

Plug wrote: »

I'd be rich if I was working for the NCT.

Have a little cosey relationship with the dodgy dealers, 50 quid per passed bangar! This conversation never happened kind of thing:D

Atlantic Dawn

If the dealer does get it through make sure you get the NCT printout of test results, usually this goes sailing in the canal where it's a cover up operation if you know what I mean .

Plug

mondeo wrote: »

Have a little cosey relationship with the dodgy dealers, 50 quid per passed bangar! This conversation never happened kind of thing:D

My car passed when I bought it and it was a death trap. It passed all the emissions test and big stuff though:)
She's on the mend now.

bladespin

DublinDilbert wrote: »

I would agree 100% with this.

I saw a car with non working reversing lights (number plate light out too) sail through the nct when a dealer put it through.

Saw something very similar to that happen when I brought mine for the NCT, mechanic skipped the queue :mad:, handed keys and paperwork to the tester who, nod, wink etc, straight through and passed - the guy left the centre in front of me, only one brakelight working.

Veloce

bladespin wrote: »

Saw something very similar to that happen when I brought mine for the NCT, mechanic skipped the queue :mad:, handed keys and paperwork to the tester who, nod, wink etc, straight through and passed - the guy left the centre in front of me, only one brakelight working.

Why I am not surprised to read this!

Atlantic Dawn

bladespin wrote: »

straight through and passed - the guy left the centre in front of me, only one brakelight working.

Frightening that they could be so blatently dodgy to leave the bulbs unfixed and have it pass, probably zero tested properly on the car during the test and it leaving as the same death trap it arrived as except certified as passed.

-Chris-

If I were you, and I was properly worried about it, I'd ask them for a copy of the NCT test information and I'd book it in for an NCT asap.

It'll cost you €50, but if it passes for them but fails for something significant for you, you'd have grounds to question the first set of results.

-Chris-

-Chris- wrote: »

If I were you, and I was properly worried about it, I'd ask them for a copy of the NCT test information and I'd book it in for an NCT asap.

It'll cost you €50, but if it passes for them but fails for something significant for you, you'd have grounds to question the first set of results.

Will they allow you to book a test on a car that is not due?

Voodoomelon

I don't think so, its only within a certain number of months in advance of the due date.

-Chris-

Fair point, not sure.Worth a call though

mickdw

RoverJames wrote: »

Will they allow you to book a test on a car that is not due?

Not a hope

Yeah, thought that, haven't had a car tested since the new crowd came in so wasn't 100%. Old crowd not a hope anyway.

ardle1

:DI dont like NCT centres,, I've never had a good experience in one and I dont know anyone who has,, strange testers/mechanics whatever, serious lookin dudes who seem very unapproachable. Something like the guys who followed Clinton round when he came to visit Ireland (FBI),,, hope the NCT testers are paid as much as those guys ha.:cool:

aujopimur

You can have a car tested any time whether it's due or not, just pay your money.

mondeo

aujopimur wrote: »

You can have a car tested any time whether it's due or not, just pay your money.

Up to 3 months in advance I believe.

taintabird

RoverJames wrote: »

Will they allow you to book a test on a car that is not due?

no they wont you can book a car 12 weeks before the due date in the in the case of a car previously tested or 24 weeks in the case of a car going for its first test.

coylemj

Why then do so many independent dealers have cars for sale that are overdue an NCT test? When you ask about it they always say 'we guarantee the NCT' i.e. they will fix any faults that cause the car to fail the NCT but they expect you to buy the car first and then submit it for an NCT test.

My answer is typically 'well in that case why don't you put it through the NCT and then offer it for sale?' to which you get some ignorant grunt or a downright rude response.

I can see that the posters here are saying that some NCT centres are taking backhanders to pass cars that have in some cases serious faults. I just wonder why every dealer in town isn't on to that trick because there's an awful lot of early (low reg.) 07 cars on the market since Jan 1 and very few of them has an NCT cert.

taintabird

coylemj wrote: »

Why then do so many independent dealers have cars for sale that are overdue an NCT test? When you ask about it they always say 'we guarantee the NCT' i.e. they will fix any faults that cause the car to fail the NCT but they expect you to buy the car first and then submit it for an NCT test.

My answer is typically 'well in that case why don't you put it through the NCT and then offer it for sale?' to which you get some ignorant grunt or a downright rude response.

I can see that the posters here are saying that some NCT centres are taking backhanders to pass cars that have in some cases serious faults. I just wonder why every dealer in town isn't on to that trick because there's an awful lot of early (low reg.) 07 cars on the market since Jan 1 and very few of them has an NCT cert.

The testers around my aera are not taking back handers and that's for sure there's a couple of them are harder on the trade than the ordinary punter

Senna

I'm nearly sure you can book a test any-time. Girl in work got her dates wrong and got an nct for only 4 months (a month later and she would have got 27 months)

taintabird

Senna wrote: »

I'm nearly sure you can book a test any-time. Girl in work got her dates wrong and got an nct for only 4 months (a month later and she would have got 27 months)

Was it the cars first test ? because it that casr you can book 24 weeks or 6 months before its due

Big Nasty

Senna wrote: »

Girl in work got her dates wrong

Lucky for her it didn't end up being nine months! :pac::pac::pac:

aujopimur

mondeo wrote: »

Up to 3 months in advance I believe.

I said you can test a car anytime whether it's due or not.

Gophur

For a forum that can be very fussy about what people post, I'm surprised at the serious allegations about fraud and corruption in the NCT test centres being posted here.

-Chris-

Gophur wrote: »

For a forum that can be very fussy about what people post, I'm surprised at the serious allegations about fraud and corruption in the NCT test centres being posted here.

I'm keeping an eye on it and will act as necessary.

P.S. thanks for reporting the post (oh no, wait. You didn't :rolleyes:)

taintabird

aujopimur wrote: »

I said you can test a car anytime whether it's due or not.

no you cant ! only if you are out of test or 3 months before due date except in the case of cars going for their first test in which case they can be tested 6 months before due date.The due dates correspond with the date of first registration of the car in question

Senna

Senna wrote: »

I'm nearly sure you can book a test any-time. Girl in work got her dates wrong and got an nct for only 4 months (a month later and she would have got 27 months)

As she got a cert for 4 months I would think her car was overdue for a test by 20 months, so it was due.

Owen

bladespin wrote: »

Saw something very similar to that happen when I brought mine for the NCT, mechanic skipped the queue :mad:, handed keys and paperwork to the tester who, nod, wink etc, straight through and passed - the guy left the centre in front of me, only one brakelight working.

I'm not seeing the negative side of this. Nearly every NCT centre will accept a car from a Dealership on short notice if it's being sold. They'll also let the cars off with things like bulbs because the garage will have to ensure all lights are working before giving it to the next owner, and will generally have a good stock of bulbs there in the parts dept. It's an efficient use of the NCT's time (Not having to waste 10 minutes doing rechecks on a bulb which the garage would have to replace anyway), and of the garages time who don't have to waste an hour getting their mechanic to drive back to the NCT centre so they can see the bulb working.

If it was something more serious - say a trackrod end or a bushing, then fine, fail it. But for visual reinspections it'd be a complete waste of resources to fail garages on things like bulbs, or numberplates when they have the resources to change those things themselves and do so multiple times a day.

bladespin

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I'm not seeing the negative side of this. Nearly every NCT centre will accept a car from a Dealership on short notice if it's being sold. They'll also let the cars off with things like bulbs because the garage will have to ensure all lights are working before giving it to the next owner, and will generally have a good stock of bulbs there in the parts dept. It's an efficient use of the NCT's time (Not having to waste 10 minutes doing rechecks on a bulb which the garage would have to replace anyway), and of the garages time who don't have to waste an hour getting their mechanic to drive back to the NCT centre so they can see the bulb working.

If it was something more serious - say a trackrod end or a bushing, then fine, fail it. But for visual reinspections it'd be a complete waste of resources to fail garages on things like bulbs, or numberplates when they have the resources to change those things themselves and do so multiple times a day.

In all fairness that's crap, we all have to pay the same price and follow the same schedule, why should a dealer get away with stuff like that and the rest of us can't? I keep a good stock of bulbs here too :rolleyes:
Making them wait would only show a bit of respect for the paying public, standing around in an NCT centre for me is a bigger waste of company resources than having a mechanic would be for a garage, our hourly rate is higher than most garages charge

That said, it's entirely possible the buld blew as the car was driven off, though highly unlikely I'd imagine.

Anan1

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I'm not seeing the negative side of this. Nearly every NCT centre will accept a car from a Dealership on short notice if it's being sold. They'll also let the cars off with things like bulbs because the garage will have to ensure all lights are working before giving it to the next owner, and will generally have a good stock of bulbs there in the parts dept. It's an efficient use of the NCT's time (Not having to waste 10 minutes doing rechecks on a bulb which the garage would have to replace anyway), and of the garages time who don't have to waste an hour getting their mechanic to drive back to the NCT centre so they can see the bulb working.

If it was something more serious - say a trackrod end or a bushing, then fine, fail it. But for visual reinspections it'd be a complete waste of resources to fail garages on things like bulbs, or numberplates when they have the resources to change those things themselves and do so multiple times a day.

Couldn't the garages just do like the rest of us and present cars with all bulbs working? If what you say is true then IMO it's scandalous.

Owen

I don't see any scandal in it really - I do see a bit of over-reacting though IMHO (No offense meant). We're talking about bulbs. It's hardly brake pads, or suspenion joints.

Owen

Anan1 wrote: »

Couldn't the garages just do like the rest of us and present cars with all bulbs working? If what you say is true then IMO it's scandalous.

I'm sure that's the intention - to present the car with everything working. But if a bulb blows on the way, and the NCT tester points it out to the mechanic, isn't it logistically a good thing for them not to have to waste another hour of the mechanics time, and 10 minutes of the NCT centres time over something which the garage actually legally has to put right before they sell the car anyway?

The difference between a garage NCTing a car with a bulb blown and you or I, is that the garage is legally bound to fix it when they handover the vehicle. You and I are not. We'd drive away if we were naughty, but the NCT centre knows for a fact that the job must be done by the garage.

Anan1

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I don't see any scandal in it really - I do see a bit of over-reacting though IMHO (No offense meant). We're talking about bulbs. It's hardly brake pads, or suspenion joints.

OK, maybe scandalous is a bit strong! It is completely wrong, though, and the argument about wasting resources holds no water - the garages could easily check that lights are working before bringing cars for test.

Owen

As per the above post, I'm sure they do - but for something as non-critical as a bulb, I personally think it's a much better thing than wasting everyone's time.

Owen

I should point out though, that I agree with the majority of the sentiment in the thread. If I knew that cars with safety issues like suspension/brakes/tyres, or emmissions failures were being passed, I'd be the first person to freak out. That sort of stuff annoys the hell out of me.

Veloce

The car I bought last week actually had a headlight bulb gone on the front passenger side. It was put through the NCT yesterday and passed. I'll check if that bulb is still gone when I go to collect it tomorrow / thursday- although I would surprised if it wasn't replaced.

Atlantic Dawn

PaintDoctor wrote: »

As per the above post, I'm sure they do - but for something as non-critical as a bulb, I personally think it's a much better thing than wasting everyone's time.

Agreed a single bulb is non critical but if Joe Soap has to take a couple of hours off work to bring it back to get rechecked then same should apply to a car dealer. Also you are assuming a mechanic brings the car down, this is not required at all, anyone working in the garage can drop it down, salesman would be the best to drop it down and let the mechanic get on with fixing cars as no technical knowledge is needed at the NCT centre, the defects to be fixed are printed on the report.