Does an NCT mean anything?

Ammsy500

At the moment im looking around for my first car and have come across one Im interested in. I was told that it is due for an NCT at the end of the month and that if anything is wrong with it they will fix it etc. Im pretty cluesless about cars to be honest with you so I need some advice.

If i do plan on buying it I will be bringing a mechanic with me to do a once over but my question is, Will the NCT be enough? Or is it best to still get a mechanic to look at it either way? I wont be buying it until the NCT is done anyway.

Thanks

ottostreet

The NCT will give you some idea that the car has to be in some shape or form in decent nick.

The only danger is, it wont show up things like timing belts that only have short lifespan left, or a car that is low on oil, or a clutch thats on its way out.

The only thing the NCT shows is that it was working to an acceptable standard on the day it was tested.

I'd recommend having a mechanic giving it the once over, and get it through the NCT. If it has both, the car is sound enough!

Ardennes1944

Ammsy500 wrote: »

At the moment im looking around for my first car and have come across one Im interested in. I was told that it is due for an NCT at the end of the month and that if anything is wrong with it they will fix it etc. Im pretty cluesless about cars to be honest with you so I need some advice.

If i do plan on buying it I will be bringing a mechanic with me to do a once over but my question is, Will the NCT be enough? Or is it best to still get a mechanic to look at it either way? I wont be buying it until the NCT is done anyway.

Thanks

although the fact it would have a fresh nct would be beneficial i would defo still get a mechanic to look at it. he'l spot anything that the tester may have missed. never buy a car without getting it checked over, unless your in the know yourself

jamesr123

It's always nice to know that your car is in good nice especially when your buying one:D

I would get your mechanic to look at the car aswell. I have heard many bad storys about the reliability of the nct. Better safe than sorry

Ammsy500

Thanks for the advice, I thought so that its best to have somebody look over it aswell as the NCT so that leads me to ask does anybody know a good reliable mechanic in North Dublin that would look at it? Also how much would that roughly cost?

coylemj

Ammsy500 wrote: »

I was told that it is due for an NCT at the end of the month and that if anything is wrong with it they will fix it etc.

I got tired of hearing that BS from independent dealers when I rang and asked about a four year old car with no NCT. My stock answer was 'well if you're so sure it will pass the NCT, why don't you submit it for the test?' I always got an evasive answer which told me that they were talking through their read ends.

If a dealer is saying this to you I suggest that you ask them the same question, I believe you can submit a car for an early NCT starting with three months before the due date i.e. even if it's due an NCT 'at the end of the month', they can still submit it now for the test, then you don't have the problem of bringing it back to get things fixed.

Del2005

coylemj wrote: »

I got tired of hearing that BS from independent dealers when I rang and asked about a four year old car with no NCT. My stock answer was 'well if you're so sure it will pass the NCT, why don't you submit it for the test?' I always got an evasive answer which told me that they were talking through their read ends.

If a dealer is saying this to you I suggest that you ask them the same question, I believe you can submit a car for an early NCT starting with three months before the due date i.e. even if it's due an NCT 'at the end of the month', they can still submit it now for the test, then you don't have the problem of bringing it back to get things fixed.

+1

I'm looking at cars at the moment and the amount without NCT's is terrible. Since there's no benefit in delaying the NCT I don't know why they won't send them in*.

Dealers can jump the queue and get cars tested quicker then Joe Public. So if buying a car make sure a condition of sale is a valid NCT, not a promise to fix any fails.


*

I do, unfortunately

kildarelad

+1

I'm looking at cars at the moment and the amount without NCT's is terrible. Since there's no benefit in delaying the NCT I don't know why they won't send them in*.

Dealers can jump the queue and get cars tested quicker then Joe Public. So if buying a car make sure a condition of sale is a valid NCT, not a promise to fix any fails.

Dealers cant get cars tested faster than Joe Public dont know where you got that from and the reason they dont nct cars until they have a buyer for it is to do with cashflow

mondeo

Nct means shag all to me lad. Seen sh!te pass the Nct with flying colors.


Just get a mechanic who is interested in helping you and not some lazy d!ck head trying to make a quick 100quid out of ya:)

kildarelad

kildarelad wrote: »

the reason they dont nct cars until they have a buyer for it is to do with cashflow

Quite likely correct in many cases
Independent dealers are struggling like feck just like many other businesses, it's much more convenient for them to sell a car with an NCT guarantee and get it sorted for the retest as required then doing that upfront before the car is sold. A hundred a car isn't long adding up. Also if they reckon it will pass they'd sooner the buyer had the hassle not themselves of actually getting it tested.

Not the way to operate ideally but we are in challenging times.

.......awaits the flaming from the Honest John brigade :pac:

bmarley

points on your licence if do not have one:)

Del2005

RoverJames wrote: »

Quite likely correct in many cases
Independent dealers are struggling like feck just like many other businesses, it's much more convenient for them to sell a car with an NCT guarantee and get it sorted for the retest as required then doing that upfront before the car is sold. A hundred a car isn't long adding up. Also if they reckon it will pass they'd sooner the buyer had the hassle not themselves of actually getting it tested.

Not the way to operate ideally but we are in challenging times.

.......awaits the flaming from the Honest John brigade :pac:

It may be one of the reasons. But if I buy a car off a dealer without a valid NCT, they are selling an unroadworthy vehicle which is leaving them in a dodgy legal position if I then crash and injure/kill somone or myself.

There have been plenty of threads here of people having trouble getting guarantees honoured

Del2005

kildarelad wrote: »

Dealers cant get cars tested faster than Joe Public dont know where you got that from and the reason they dont nct cars until they have a buyer for it is to do with cashflow

While it's not official policy, I know that if a dealer drops a car to a test centre they regularly use the car will get tested if someone else doesn't turn up.

After all they Appuls+ is a private company out to make profit and if they can make €100 instead of €50 they will.

Absurdum

RoverJames wrote: »

Quite likely correct in many cases
Independent dealers are struggling like feck just like many other businesses, it's much more convenient for them to sell a car with an NCT guarantee and get it sorted for the retest as required then doing that upfront before the car is sold. A hundred a car isn't long adding up. Also if they reckon it will pass they'd sooner the buyer had the hassle not themselves of actually getting it tested.

Not the way to operate ideally but we are in challenging times.

.......awaits the flaming from the Honest John brigade :pac:

if they don't realise that trying to sell cars without an NCT is putting buyers off, I'm not surprised they are struggling

redsteveireland

bmarley wrote: »

points on your licence if do not have one:)

Do you know anyone this has happened to? I don't.

mondeo

So you buy your car with an Nct pass guarantee, lets say it fails on a damaged wishbone, what's to stop the dealer from saying it was something u did because of your driving style therefore "on your bike John" ?

I wouldn't buy a car personally without an Nct.

Del2005

redsteveireland wrote: »

Do you know anyone this has happened to? I don't.

That's the problem with this country. We make laws we don't enforce, then we start to enforce them and panic sets in. Just look at the NCT farce last year.

It's a legal requirement for a dealer to sell a car fit for purpose. No NCT means a car isn't fit for purpose, as it's not road legal.

When you buy a car from a dealer or a garage, you have certain consumer rights that protect you if the car is not of merchantable quality, not as advertised, or not fit for its purpose

From this I could happily go into ever "dealer" in the country buy a car off them, drive it for several weeks then bring it back for a full refund. They are leaving themselves wide open to litigation with this attitude and someone will unfortunately pay dearly for it.

izzyflusky

Del2005 wrote: »

While it's not official policy, I know that if a dealer drops a car to a test centre they regularly use the car will get tested if someone else doesn't turn up.

After all they Appuls+ is a private company out to make profit and if they can make €100 instead of €50 they will.

True. Brought my car to my mechanic recently, failed nct. Was meant to get a call back in a couple of hours, since I didn't hear anything from them I rang. Was told that they were waiting to see if they could get the car retested that same day as often people didn't turn up and they get squeezed in.