NCT problem!!!

af_thefragile

My car's NCT expires on the 9th of May. I'm looking to book a date for the NCT and there are no dates available till mid June!

What should I do?!?!!?!!!:(

Basq

Ring them, you might get an earlier date than that.. and request to be notified of cancellations if you're near an NCT centre and fairly flexible.

Either way - book the test for the earliest you can.... and keep the booking acknowledgement in your car if you are stopped, and it's questioned.

af_thefragile

The earliest date I can get is 1st of May in Letterkenny!!!

The latest in Dublin I can get is 7th of June in Fonthill...


Do I have to go all the way across country to Donegal to get my NCT?...

Basq

No, book for your local centre.

As long as you have acknowledgment you've booked, you'll be fine.

Don't worry about it. I only got my NCT test last week, and that's been out since February.

Absurdum

ring the number at 8 in the morning and you will most likely get a test that day

af_thefragile

So should I book the date for June or give them a call tomorrow morning and see if I can get a date sometime next week???

Also once I've booked the date, can I still drive around considering my NCT expired on the 9/4 any my test date is more than a month later sometime in June??

Alanstrainor

Ring and ask for a cancellation, you should get one within a week.

Absurdum

call them first thing in the morning! I've been doing that for years now and I've never had to wait more than a day to get the test done in the Dublin area.

robtri

ring them and confirm that your test since it is past 4 weeks is free....

it amazing how quickly that gets them to give you a good date

dr.fuzzenstein

Any other country:
Make an appointment and if it's later have them hand you the "I booked on time but only got a later date due to no fault of my own" form, which you will fill out, inform your local authority and have handy if you get stopped by the fuzz.

Here:
Ah, she'll be grand, no worries, sure it's only a little while, just tell the Gard Seamus said it's ok and he'll let you off.
Of course if the Gard doesn't feel in a charitable mood or has it in for you he can do you, because Irish law, while just copied and pasted from whatever country suits best at the time, always seems to forget important sub-clauses (e.g. tractors may be overtaken), so you pays your money, you takes your chances.
The Irish solution to this Irish problem?
Just drive anyway and hope Sean the Gard will believe that Seamus from the NCT said it's ok.
And he will be. At least 99% of the time...

af_thefragile

Right... Cheers guys.

I'll ring them tomorrow and see if I can get a date booked sometime soon... Fingers crossed!

Cosmo K

How old is your car?

Big Nasty

Don't sweat it at all Af!

Book the NCT wherever suits you best and then ask them to give you a shout if they have a cancellation. My NCT is out since end Jan, I only got around to applying a few weeks back. Said they couldn't do it until end of May, asked for cancellation and said they would contact me re same. Few days later got a text to say I had an appointment in two weeks time. Cantre just around the corner from work so worked out well.

You're not gonna get locked up and 12 penalty points if your NCT is out by a few weeks or even a couple months.

af_thefragile

Its a 99 model and I'm not sure if it can pass the NCT first time... Just wanna keep it for another year and next year I can look into buying something bigger... Currently thinking of a BMW 5series touring. Would be good for carrying around bikes and stuff...



Anyway, I got a letter which says I could get upto 5 points and a fine and court conviction and all if I get caught in a car without NCT... So I don't really wanna get into any hassle. And I need the car as well as I've become quite dependent on it. I wouldn't be able to do half the things I do if I didn't have a car...

zednanrefnomar

The booking website can change as you browse. So it may be possible to get an appointment even if no early dates appear at first.
I was booking last Monday, and there was nothing available until end of May in my local centre. I searched other centres and found a date of 20 April in the next county. I didn't take it and continued searching other centres, intending to come back and book it if I didn't find anything better. A few minutes later, I came back to book that appointment only to find that it was no longer available. I was annoyed that I missed it, but then searched my own local centre again and there was a date of 16 April available. So I actually got an earlier date and didn't need to travel.

CreepingDeath

af_thefragile wrote: »

The earliest date I can get is 1st of May in Letterkenny!!!

The latest in Dublin I can get is 7th of June in Fonthill...

I just checked Fonthill there now, as mine is due.
There's a load of timeslots available for Saturday, April 30th.
From 8am up to 6pm.

af_thefragile

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I just checked Fonthill there now, as mine is due.
There's a load of timeslots available for Saturday, April 30th.
From 8am up to 6pm.

Doesn't show anything for me... Its empty...:(

The Bishop Basher

Absurdum wrote: »

ring the number at 8 in the morning and you will most likely get a test that day

And keep ringing all day. You'll have it sorted by next week. I wouldn't worry about being stopped though, they're only interested in tax and insurance. As long as you have them you'll be grand.

jimmycrackcorm

OP, just book an appointment and don't bother when it is. As long as you have an appointment booked you'll have no issues with the Guards.

CreepingDeath

af_thefragile wrote: »

Doesn't show anything for me... Its empty...:(

That's a strange one.
Although mine is a retest, so maybe they can squeeze them in to a normal day, but not full tests.

af_thefragile

Called them today. She said she booked me in as "ASAP" so will let me know if a date will be available soon. I asked her if I can still drive after my NCT expires. She said that'll be completely upto me and the gards....

Satanta

robtri wrote: »

ring them and confirm that your test since it is past 4 weeks is free....

it amazing how quickly that gets them to give you a good date

Is there anything to this? If you are waiting more than 4 weeks you dont have to pay?

ToxicPaddy

Just booked mine now, was told all dates in Dublin booked solid until mid June, so ended up getting Waterford on 4th of May..