NCT SCREWED ME OVER(ADVICE)

tattoo man

right NCT on car was done on 1/may/2011.....at 12.05
it failed on the following

speedometer not worrking
excessive smoke
side lamps
they gave me until the 31st of may to come back....

went back up on the 26th of may and the car passed one everything except the speedo,as i was having prbs with it,the gy there said look,you have 7 days to bring car back up as it was a visual...fixed cable and went back up today,passed but the manager said i have to redo the whole test as it should have been back in on the 31st??so why did the guy give me7 days from the 26th,so so annoying ,and i feel like im completly screwed over...

bonzos

You should have left €100 in the ash tray first time round:D

tattoo man

bonzos wrote: »

You should have left €100 in the ash tray first time round:D

:D:D:D

yeah thats whats wrong,there down there ole "bonus"...lol

Ghost Train

might depend on how you count the days
1=26th
2=27th
3=28th
4=29th
5=30th
6=31st
7=1st
8=2nd, today

tattoo man

Ghost Train wrote: »

might depend on how you count the days
1=26th
2=27th
3=28th
4=29th
5=30th
6=31st
7=1st
8=2nd, today

he didnt argue that point,he said when the car failed first time round i had a mth to get it done,which was last day 31st,so when i brought it back as i said on he 26th it failed on speedo cables been broke,the guy didnt say right ya still only have till the 31st,he said i had 7 days,to me thats today,but the guy today said no it should have been back in by 31st??

Fey!

OP; point out the guy who said it to the manager and try to hold them to it.

IMHO, it's their fault for miscommunicating; the date should be in writing on the fail sheet that you got the second time around.

Anan1

Whatever way you count it, the first of May to the second of June is more than a month. Do you want my advice? Stop whining about it not being your fault, accept responsibility, call the NCTS head office and be nice - they might let you off the charge.

tattoo man

Fey! wrote: »

OP; point out the guy who said it to the manager and try to hold them to it.

IMHO, it's their fault for miscommunicating; the date should be in writing on the fail sheet that you got the second time around.

yeah thats where they have me screwed,he wouldnt entertain goin to get the guy who said 7 days,on the redo sheet it sayd retescst,cost nothing,to be done by the 31st,but even thats strange,as i cant find where it states that you have 5 days so to re do test....im goin to get onto complaints board and ill fight this till it kills me,just on the merit that they got it wrong and it was like "look your wrong get out,i aint talking no more"...

paddydriver

bonzos wrote: »

You should have left €100 in the ash tray first time round:D

Try Fonthill Road too:D

Anan1

Fey! wrote: »

OP; point out the guy who said it to the manager and try to hold them to it.

IMHO, it's their fault for miscommunicating; the date should be in writing on the fail sheet that you got the second time around.

Tenner says it was and the OP didn't read it. The NCT employee shouldn't have said a week, but a.) it's not in writing, and b.) the OP had the correct date in black & white. Technically the OP hasn't a leg to stand on but, given a new attitude, they might get the charge waived.

tattoo man

Anan1 wrote: »

Tenner says it was and the OP didn't read it. The NCT employee shouldn't have said a week, but a.) it's not in writing, and b.) the OP had the correct date in black & white. Technically the OP hasn't a leg to stand on but, given a new attitude, they might get the charge waived.

aye as in a a whole test done free...hassle but id accept that

Anan1

tattoo man wrote: »

aye as in a a whole test done free...hassle but id accept that

Most likely that. Just remember, you'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Good luck!:)

Gitb1

The failed my OH's car last week on her headlights being aligned wrong. Turned out all that needed doing was the little knob on the dash turned back to its normal position. Lazy fcuker couldnt turn it an so cost us 28 euro

keithclancy

I was looking at the MOT in the Haynes manual, seems alot more strict than the NCT ?

guil

Gitb1 wrote: »

The failed my OH's car last week on her headlights being aligned wrong. Turned out all that needed doing was the little knob on the dash turned back to its normal position. Lazy fcuker couldnt turn it an so cost us 28 euro

its hardly his fault your OH had her lights adjusted wrong

Gitb1

guil wrote: »

its hardly his fault your OH had her lights adjusted wrong

Its on a knob directly beside the one that turns the lights on. Theres no reason not to turn it other than sheer laziness

Anan1

Gitb1 wrote: »

Its on a knob directly beside the one that turns the lights on. Theres no reason not to turn it other than sheer laziness

I wouldn't be so hard on my OH, maybe they just forgot?

slinky2000

keithclancy wrote: »

I was looking at the MOT in the Haynes manual, seems alot more strict than the NCT ?

It is int he north anyway.

Bruthal

Ghost Train wrote: »

might depend on how you count the days
1=26th
2=27th
3=28th
4=29th
5=30th
6=31st
7=1st
8=2nd, today

1 day from the 26th is not the 26th though. 7 days from Thursday the 26th May is Thursday the 2nd June.

Dan Jaman

Gitb1 wrote: »

Its on a knob directly beside the one that turns the lights on. Theres no reason not to turn it other than sheer laziness

They only test the car as presented. Not their job to fiddle about with loads of differing makes and models to get the headlamps right. I'd be slightly pissed off too, but next time I'd make sure the headlamps are set right (my van is like that, and I leave them on low angle before the test) and not get caught out.

Bruthal

Dan Jaman wrote: »

They only test the car as presented. Not their job to fiddle about with loads of differing makes and models to get the headlamps right. I'd be slightly pissed off too, but next time I'd make sure the headlamps are set right (my van is like that, and I leave them on low angle before the test) and not get caught out.

Still ridiculous failing when there is nothing actually wrong with it though.

Anan1

robbie7730 wrote: »

Still ridiculous failing when there is nothing actually wrong with it though.

But there was something wrong with it. However trivial the reason, the car was presented with incorrectly aligned headlights. People are always posting here saying 'The tester should have done this' and 'the tester should have done that', and, IMO, it's nonsense. The job of the NCTS is to test cars as presented, not to do things the owner wasn't arsed doing/forgot to do to ready the car for testing. Calling the tester lazy for not doing the owners job is way offside, IMO.

Fey!

WRT the headlight adjuster, the tester should adjust it. They are designed to readjust the headlights depending on the number of passengers/weight in the vehicle.

If the owner had 2 passengers in the vehicle going to the test centre and the knob is set to 3 (depending on car, just using 3 as an example), then it is in the correct position.

Then the tester gets into the car alone, so he should adjust it to 1 to allow for this, otherwise he technically isn't operating the lights/vehicle according to manufacturers instructions. If he doesn't adjust the knob the lights are wrong, so the vehicle fails the test.

Owner gets back into the car with his passengers and readjusts the knob to 3 again, so all is right again.

The NCT headlight test is hit or miss anyway according to EVERY I know. One garage I deal with bought some very expensive testing equipment for headlight alignment, but only every 3rd car passed the NCT. The had to resort to getting a car that passed the NCT, parking it a set distance from a wall, turning on the lights, and drawing a line on the wall.

They did this several times, always with the car in the same position, and at this stage have about 12 different lines on the wall from cars that passed, taken immediatly after the test!!

Bruthal

Anan1 wrote: »

But there was something wrong with it. However trivial the reason, the car was presented with incorrectly aligned headlights.

The car is usually presented with the headlights off, so how do the testers manage to test them? Likely they turn them on themselves.

If they can switch the headlights on, why can they not turn that dial to the suitable position for an empty car? It may be correctly set for the drivers normal driving conditions, conditions which may change for the test.

People are always posting here saying 'The tester should have done this' and 'the tester should have done that', and, IMO, it's nonsense. The job of the NCTS is to test cars as presented, not to do things the owner wasn't arsed doing/forgot to do to ready the car for testing. Calling the tester lazy for not doing the owners job is way offside, IMO.

Well i wouldnt say lazy myself, more like tester policy. Again, car is presented with lights off, but they turn them on i assume. But cant turn a dial? It seems your accepting their policy like its set in stone, without much regard to common sense. If they are going to test something thats variable, they should be able to vary the dial to the position for an empty car. In fact, the dial itself should be tested to see its moving the beam. After all, this is part of a properly functioning car.

I can understand they wont pull out seatbelt clips behind back seats etc, or wont remove hubcaps, which again are not faults. Pulling seatbelts from behind back seats can present dangers to testers. But a dial which adjusts headlights through a range and only in one pisition passes the test, then the testers should be able to turn this.

What other parameter item on a car that passes a test can be adjusted while driving, for variable driving conditions, into a test failing position?

So overall, its a fixed test on something that is legally adjustable for varying driving conditions, and the tester policy is not to adjust it, but to fail it even though the item had no fault, and was within manufacturers parameters. Again i think its ridiculous. A brand new car would fail that test. Is this brand new car now not roadworthy? If this is the case, then the test has the flaw, not the car.

Gophur

Anan1 wrote: »

But there was something wrong with it. However trivial the reason, the car was presented with incorrectly aligned headlights. .......

How can you describe the headlights as being incorrectly aligned when they were functioning 100% as designed and 100% as legally allowed. If the headlights can be adjusted then they are fully functioning.

Now, if the headlights could not be adjusted into the correct position, by use of the electrical adjuster, then that's a different matter.

In this case, the car was wrongly failed. Failing the car due to the positioning of a setting in the car is wrong.

Has anyone ever seen any advice in a car manual, advising that one may be operating one's lights illegally if one has the adjustment in a particular setting? I haven't!

Anan1

Gophur wrote: »

How can you describe the headlights as being incorrectly aligned when they were functioning 100% as designed and 100% as legally allowed. If the headlights can be adjusted then they are fully functioning.

Because they weren't. The adjustment allows the headlights to be correctly aligned for load. If you have, for example, the switch on '4' in a car with two passengers, then the alignment will be off. Same if the car is fully loaded and with the switch at '0'.

@ robbie7730 - I think it would have been nice of the tester to have reset the switch; were I a tester i'd have done it myself. But it's still the driver's responsibility and, IMO, blaming the tester for not doing the drivers job is still wrong.

Bruthal

Anan1 wrote: »

@ robbie7730 - I think it would have been nice of the tester to have reset the switch; were I a tester i'd have done it myself. But it's still the driver's responsibility and, IMO, blaming the tester for not doing the drivers job is still wrong.

Well, the test is flawed, if a brand new and faultless car would fail it.

If a tested function parameter is easily adjusted by the driver during normal driving, the test should account for this. If the car is not faulty, it should not fail a test.

And i am not blaming the tester, im blaming the test.

Anan1

robbie7730 wrote: »

Well, the test is flawed, if a brand new and faultless car would fail it.

Not to pick hairs here, but incorrect headlight alignment is a fault.

robbie7730 wrote: »

If a tested function parameter is easily adjusted by the driver during normal driving, the test should account for this. If the car is not faulty, it should not fail a test.

And i am not blaming the tester, im blaming the test.

That's a fair point, IMO, although you'd need to specify exactly what is and isn't included.

Del2005

Fey! wrote: »

WRT the headlight adjuster, the tester should adjust it. They are designed to readjust the headlights depending on the number of passengers/weight in the vehicle.

If the owner had 2 passengers in the vehicle going to the test centre and the knob is set to 3 (depending on car, just using 3 as an example), then it is in the correct position.

Then the tester gets into the car alone, so he should adjust it to 1 to allow for this, otherwise he technically isn't operating the lights/vehicle according to manufacturers instructions. If he doesn't adjust the knob the lights are wrong, so the vehicle fails the test.

Owner gets back into the car with his passengers and readjusts the knob to 3 again, so all is right again.

The NCT headlight test is hit or miss anyway according to EVERY I know. One garage I deal with bought some very expensive testing equipment for headlight alignment, but only every 3rd car passed the NCT. The had to resort to getting a car that passed the NCT, parking it a set distance from a wall, turning on the lights, and drawing a line on the wall.

They did this several times, always with the car in the same position, and at this stage have about 12 different lines on the wall from cars that passed, taken immediatly after the test!!

robbie7730 wrote: »

If a tested function parameter is easily adjusted by the driver during normal driving, the test should account for this. If the car is not faulty, it should not fail a test.

And i am not blaming the tester, im blaming the test.

You know the car is going to be tested empty and are supposed to empty your boot so you should readjust your own lights before leaving for the test. The knob for adjusting the lights isn't in the same position for every car and it's not the testers job to know how to adjust the lights it's the owners!

BTW The lights shouldn't be adjusted for passengers as they'll be sitting between the wheels and won't raise the front of the car when loaded, it's more for loads in the boot or towing trailers which lowers the back of the car.

robbie7730 wrote: »

Well, the test is flawed, if a brand new and faultless car would fail it.

If the car is faultless it'll pass if it fails can't be faultless, granted the fault is owner induced and easily fixed by the owner.

Bruthal

Del2005 wrote: »

You know the car is going to be tested empty and are supposed to empty your boot so you should readjust your own lights before leaving for the test. The knob for adjusting the lights isn't in the same position for every car and it's not the testers job to know how to adjust the lights it's the owners!

Well if a tester would be unable to adjust the dipping position due to lack of knowledge, maybe he/she should not be testing. Thats not the point, the point is, a car is failing because of a fault, while it actually has no fault. How do testers manage to switch on the headlights? Trial and error?

BTW The lights shouldn't be adjusted for passengers as they'll be sitting between the wheels and won't raise the front of the car when loaded, it's more for loads in the boot or towing trailers which lowers the back of the car.

Again not really the point. The headlight dipping is user adjustable, so this should be taken account of in the test. Its a techical test, which fails because of a dial position? Its one of these things where rules are written, and some people will follow or condone them with no thought process of their own, instead of pointing out the possible lack of common sense in it.

If the car is faultless it'll pass if it fails can't be faultless, granted the fault is owner induced and easily fixed by the owner.

Is the car not roadworthy if the dial is in the incorrect position? This is a roadworthyness test after all. A wrongly set dial for an empty car is not a fault in the car, is it? If thats the case, a very high percentage of cars are driving with a fault in headlights, as drivers dont have the benefit of headlight testing machines to check their cars in different loading conditions. So the test is useless really.

As for a car failing means it cant be faultless, well bring the same car that fails in one centre to another, will it certainly fail again? Car headlight beam testers are not perfect either.

Its not a fault easily fixed by the owner either, its an adjustable setting within the normal functions of a car. Test should account for this.

A bit of common sense needed.

Fey!

Del2005 wrote: »

You know the car is going to be tested empty and are supposed to empty your boot so you should readjust your own lights before leaving for the test.

Instructions for the NCT tell you to empty the boot and take off hubcaps. There is no instruction with regard to adjusting the knob in question.

Del2005 wrote: »

The knob for adjusting the lights isn't in the same position for every car and it's not the testers job to know how to adjust the lights it's the owners!

The controls for lights and foglights are not the same in all cars (sometimes on a stalk to the right, sometimes on a stalk to the left, sometimes on the dash to the right, sometimes on the dash to the left...), so by your logic the lights shouldn't be tested either.

Del2005 wrote: »

BTW The lights shouldn't be adjusted for passengers as they'll be sitting between the wheels and won't raise the front of the car when loaded, it's more for loads in the boot or towing trailers which lowers the back of the car.

Depending on the vehicle, the wheelbase, the seat positions and the weight of the passengers, passengers in the back caused the rear springs to compress therefore tilting the front of the car up and raising the angle of the beam of the light.

Del2005 wrote: »

If the car is faultless it'll pass if it fails can't be faultless, granted the fault is owner induced and easily fixed by the owner.

It's the fault of an oversight in the testing procedure, not the owner.

keithclancy

Fey! wrote: »

Depending on the vehicle, the wheelbase, the seat positions and the weight of the passengers, passengers in the back caused the rear springs to compress therefore tilting the front of the car up and raising the angle of the beam of the light.

They would want to be some fatties to push the back down that much

Cosmo K

Its actually fairly simple, all cars that are equipped with adjustable headlights (the little knob, usually near the light switch), have to be tested with the height adjuster set to Zero.

mgbgt1978

The nct manual states that
"Any headlamp range adjuster must be in the basic setting"

But, it doesn't state who must ensure that the adjuster is set to "basic setting".

Personally I think that the owner of the car should be responsible....if the adjuster is set too low (it can't be set too high) then the owner is at fault. If the owner has had to empty the boot for the test then it's up to them to remember to re-adjust the headlamp aim, which they were obviously capable of adjusting when they filled the boot.

Bruthal

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

The nct manual states that
"Any headlamp range adjuster must be in the basic setting"

But, it doesn't state who must ensure that the adjuster is set to "basic setting".

Personally I think that the owner of the car should be responsible....if the adjuster is set too low (it can't be set too high) then the owner is at fault. If the owner has had to empty the boot for the test then it's up to them to remember to re-adjust the headlamp aim, which they were obviously capable of adjusting when they filled the boot.

Yea but the driver is adjusting it to driving conditions at night after filling the boot. Its a flaw in the test which fails to take account of the fact the failure is on a device which is working perfectly.

Again, people quoting the NCT rules about having the dial in the minimum position, try thinking independently too, and see the flaw in the test procedure. What is the problem with the test including checking the position dial if the lights are too low set?

So after this fail the car is said to be unroadworthy, and so must be brought back for a re-test. Yet not a single thing has been done to it, and now it is roadworthy because the dial is in the minimun position now, even though the adjuster can now be moved into a test failing position straight away again, due to it being an integral part of a properly functioning car.

mgbgt1978

When you get a puncture you change the wheel.
When it's foggy you turn on your fog lights (TURN THEM OFF AGAIN).
when it's raining you turn on your wipers.
etc. etc. etc.

The headlight adjustment is just another knob or switch that the driver of the car should be aware of, it's up to them to make sure that the car is ready for the NCT.

Having said that I do think that if the dipped headlights are too low during the test the tester should adjust the knob to the basic setting, and pump the tyres to the correct pressure, and torque the wheel nuts to whats required, and top up the washer bottle, and adjust the handbrake cable if needed:rolleyes:

By the way i am not a fan of the NCT (or their procedures) but there really is not that many switches in most ordinary cars that should be checked before the test.

Bruthal

Im not saying the driver should not check the switches. Im saying a technical test should not really fail something that has nothing wrong with it.

Tyre pressures, handbrake cables etc can render a car unroadworthy. So if you can tell me what dial on the dash can adjust tyre pressure or handbrake cable during normal driving, then your comparrison is sound.

Dues Bellator

bonzos wrote: »

You should have left €100 in the ash tray first time round:D

I always thought it was 50 euro myself , Jeez there ripping everyone off:pac:

Del2005

robbie7730 wrote: »

Im not saying the driver should not check the switches. Im saying a technical test should not really fail something that has nothing wrong with it.

The NCT tests the car as presented not as it should be. If the owner isn't capable of setting their car up for the test they'll fail.

It's a technical test of how roadworthy the car is. If the owner isn't aware that they need to adjust their headlight switch for different loads they're potentially blinding people every night, if the NCT moves the adjuster for them they won't know how ignorant they are at night and go back to blinding other drivers. €28 is good enough to teach them how to use their vehicles correctly.

Tyre pressures, handbrake cables etc can render a car unroadworthy. So if you can tell me what dial on the dash can adjust tyre pressure or handbrake cable during normal driving, then your comparrison is sound.

These things should all be checked by the owner BEFORE the test, same as checking your wipers are there, the seat belts in the back are accessible etc.

They even they you in the NCT FAQ to check your lights

8. NCTS recommend that you have your lights checked and set prior to the NCT.

greenman09

Our car passed on thurs with flying colours. Came out after half hr said only one thing - the hubcaps were still on. Gf looks at him confused and a guy not NCT took them off. Went in and passed again. Have 2 results. Fail cos of hubcaps then pass 1 min later. Tip: send gf or ladyfriend to test centre

Bruthal

Del2005 wrote: »

The NCT tests the car as presented not as it should be. If the owner isn't capable of setting their car up for the test they'll fail.

The car is presented with the headlights switched off. So how can the test centre test the headlights?

It's a technical test of how roadworthy the car is. If the owner isn't aware that they need to adjust their headlight switch for different loads they're potentially blinding people every night

The owner maybe perfectly aware, but forgets to set back to zero when driving the car to the centre during daylight hours, so a car with nothing wrong fails because a person forgets, everyone forgets something sometime. And its not like forgetting to check tyre pressures etc, simply because this dial is adjustable during normal driving.

if the NCT moves the adjuster for them they won't know how ignorant they are at night and go back to blinding other drivers. €28 is good enough to teach them how to use their vehicles correctly.

But its not a driving test, its a test of roadworthyness, and your forgetting (not possible i thought) a perfectly knowlegable driver can forget. So the test of lights is flawed, as it fails cars that are in perfect working order. Say what you like about saying it should be set this or that, it is working, and the test should account for this driver adjustable parameter. But of course, because the NCT centre fails it, there will be poeple that agree without question with the infallible NCT setup, instead of considering the possible flaws.

These things should all be checked by the owner BEFORE the test, same as checking your wipers are there, the seat belts in the back are accessible etc.

Its not the same as checking the wipers or seat belts are there though, is it. The wipers are either there or not, its not adjustable during the normal operating of the car while driving. A brand new car wont fail because there are no wipers.

They even they you in the NCT FAQ to check your lights

They recommend you have them checked and set, it mentions nothing about making sure the dial is at the setting for an empty boot etc.

It seems common sense that the NCT centre can check the dial is set for empty car. Common sense simply because this is a normal manufacturer adjustable control.

But of course, once the almighty NCT machine says this is the rule, then the followers will obey without question or consideration to the fact the test says the car is roadworthy after passing, but now you just move that dial and now retest, and the same test with the same tester says the same car is not roadworthy.

And the ignorant driver you use as reasoning, can still go out with the supposedly roadworthy proven car and blind everyone, so the test of lights has done little.

This dial and its function should be tested, thats the common sense answer, not this failing perfectly functioning cars, and the "i agree with every rule ever written" brigade condoning it without question.

Slidey

Fey! wrote: »

WRT the headlight adjuster, the tester should adjust it. They are designed to readjust the headlights depending on the number of passengers/weight in the vehicle.

If the owner had 2 passengers in the vehicle going to the test centre and the knob is set to 3 (depending on car, just using 3 as an example), then it is in the correct position.

Then the tester gets into the car alone, so he should adjust it to 1 to allow for this, otherwise he technically isn't operating the lights/vehicle according to manufacturers instructions. If he doesn't adjust the knob the lights are wrong, so the vehicle fails the test.

Owner gets back into the car with his passengers and readjusts the knob to 3 again, so all is right again.

The NCT headlight test is hit or miss anyway according to EVERY I know. One garage I deal with bought some very expensive testing equipment for headlight alignment, but only every 3rd car passed the NCT. The had to resort to getting a car that passed the NCT, parking it a set distance from a wall, turning on the lights, and drawing a line on the wall.

They did this several times, always with the car in the same position, and at this stage have about 12 different lines on the wall from cars that passed, taken immediatly after the test!!

The headlight adjuster is designed to rise and lower the beam because if you have a heavy load in the rear of your car the beam will rise. It has nothing to do with the 'number' of passengers in your car. In fact if you had 2 passengers in the front of the car the beam would probably be lower than standard so setting the dial to 2 would probably leave them too low.

I check the switch normally to see if it is set to 0. The difference is commercials do not have to be empty so you have yo try and judge it case by case


As for the bit in bold. The headlight alignment is done on a percentage drop. To pass they must be between 0.5 and 2.0% So if the car is a different height and the beam pattern is at on end of the scale or the other you will get different lines.



For the NCT centre, if you are setting lights with a beam setter I have heard the saying, 'low and left' is the safe way to go.

dr.fuzzenstein

bonzos wrote: »

You should have left €100 in the ash tray first time round:D

Oh, bribes gone up?
Used to be €50.

Tintee

"NCT screwed me"..Well isn`t that a surprise! :rolleyes:
The nct system is corrupt and basically a business set up to defraud you of your money and has nothing to do with a fair car test.I have heard loads of stories from people i know and one from a local radio station that proves it`s just a scam.If this stuff happend in the uk it would be on tv`s watchdog or something and would be exposed to everyone and an uproar would ensue.Over here it`s just accepted as normal everyday corruption.
Garage owners won`t give your car a check over and tell you it`s all within manufacturers spec and will pass any test? They wont because they don`t want to get into some legal argument with a government controlled test!
I know a few people that had the garage give their cars a once over to check all.Sent them off to the test.Car fails on headlight allignment.Goes back to garage.Mechanic doesn`t touch the car (not even the little switch) but tells them to go straight back up and test again...Car passes!This is so common an occurance that this particular garage mechanic does this ALL the time.He knows it`s alligned but the nct crowd is probably trying to "earn" a little extra on them.
Another guy went into the nct test with a bit of an attitude.The tester failed his car and sent him off to fix the problems.Guy goes to garage and gets them to fix the failed items...Comes back with same, mr angry attitude and then gets failed on some different problems.This happend maybe 4 or 5 times and the car owner got fed up with the run around and made contact with a local radio station.The radio station contacted the nct in the area and live on air they admitted that they made up the failures because they "didn`t like his attitude" WTF?? How the hell are they getting away with this?

Fey!

Slidey wrote: »

The headlight adjuster is designed to rise and lower the beam because if you have a heavy load in the rear of your car the beam will rise. It has nothing to do with the 'number' of passengers in your car. In fact if you had 2 passengers in the front of the car the beam would probably be lower than standard so setting the dial to 2 would probably leave them too low.

Fair enough. I use the numbers to estimate which level to use based on weight in the back, hence using it as 1,2,3 passengers.

Doesn't change the opinion that the tester should zero it when he turns on the light.

Slidey wrote: »

I check the switch normally to see if it is set to 0. The difference is commercials do not have to be empty so you have yo try and judge it case by case

Much the same as I just outlined above.

Slidey wrote: »

As for the bit in bold. The headlight alignment is done on a percentage drop. To pass they must be between 0.5 and 2.0% So if the car is a different height and the beam pattern is at on end of the scale or the other you will get different lines.

Main dealer, and with the same makes and models of cars in several instances. And not just one garage; I know several people in the car trade who all say exactly the same thing when it comes to light settings and the NCT; they can bring a car in and fail, drive out and straight back in again without adjusting anything and pass! Doesn't make sense.

One of the garages spent a large wad of money on a machine to set the headlights for NCT, but the NCT varied so much that the outlay on it was a waste, hence the lines on the wall.

Slidey wrote: »

For the NCT centre, if you are setting lights with a beam setter I have heard the saying, 'low and left' is the safe way to go.

Personally I'd prefer to hear "Do it right and let it pass".

dr.fuzzenstein

The tester will operate the door locks, ignition, pedals, lights, horn, indicators, hazards and any number of other switches throughout the car.
I'm sure he wouldn't die of stress brought on by being overloaded if he also worked the little knob that levels the headlights and I'm pretty sure that most of them do.
If you get failed because of the adjuster switch being set wrongly I would say it is down to the tester fcuking you for the sake of fcuking you because, oh I don't know, he's got girlfriend trouble, maybe stress at work, maybe he's just being a dick, but basically to fail anyone on something that works 100% fine is just a tiny person throwing their bit of power around.

slimjimmc

Tintee wrote: »

"NCT screwed me"..Well isn`t that a surprise! :rolleyes:
The nct system is corrupt and basically a business set up to defraud you of your money and has nothing to do with a fair car test.I have heard loads of stories from people i know and one from a local radio station that proves it`s just a scam.If this stuff happend in the uk it would be on tv`s watchdog or something and would be exposed to everyone and an uproar would ensue.Over here it`s just accepted as normal everyday corruption.

I love your innocence, the MOT system in Britain is well renowned for corruption

http://track-days.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=963828&mid=0&i=0&nmt=The+old+MOT+scam%2E%2E%2E+&mid=0

And BBC's Watchdog programme has been on the case
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/forum/consumer-rights-television-programmes/11665-bbc-watchdog-kwik-overcharge.html

http://www.kwik-fit.com/watchdog.asp


I got all that after only a few minutes on Google, I'm sure a more thorough search would throw up more examples.

mgbgt1978

robbie7730 wrote: »

Tyre pressures, handbrake cables etc can render a car unroadworthy. So if you can tell me what dial on the dash can adjust tyre pressure then your comparrison is sound.

Sorry for not getting back to you on this. I was too busy out driving around in my Hummer with CTIS
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/self-inflating-tire2.htm

Bruthal

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Sorry for not getting back to you on this. I was too busy out driving around in my Hummer with CTIS
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/self-inflating-tire2.htm

Is there no broadband in it?

tattoo man

right heres latest,now remember my car passed everything last mth but reason for retest was i was 2 days late(even though i was told 7 days")..anyhow since then car has been of road,every second day id fire it up etc etc,today brought it for retest and guess what,yes it failed,reson bee and i quote"WAY TO MUCH OIL IN ENGINE"...:D:D:D:D:D

now i laugh,because 3 weeks ago it passed everything,so in between then and now some one robbed my keys,opened my bonnt and put extra oil in my car....becaue if defo wasnt me,so if that doesnt show theres something up/wrong with car ncts in this country nothing does,infact id call it a bit irish.......

Anan1

tattoo man wrote: »

right heres latest,now remember my car passed everything last mth but reason for retest was i was 2 days late(even though i was told 7 days")..anyhow since then car has been of road,every second day id fire it up etc etc,today brought it for retest and guess what,yes it failed,reson bee and i quote"WAY TO MUCH OIL IN ENGINE"...:D:D:D:D:D

now i laugh,because 3 weeks ago it passed everything,so in between then and now some one robbed my keys,opened my bonnt and put extra oil in my car....becaue if defo wasnt me,so if that doesnt show theres something up/wrong with car ncts in this country nothing does,infact id call it a bit irish.......

Was there too much oil in the engine?