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NCT should be yearly?

  • 26-09-2011 4:51pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,261 ✭✭✭✭


    Would like others thoughts on this, IMO the NCT should be yearly, a mini test of the essentials like brakes, tryes, lights, horn, glass, mirrors & windscreen wipers, would be followed up by full normal test the following year and so on. Currently it doesnt matter how you drive, what kind of roads you drive on, or whether you drive 1k miles a year or 100k!

    Another joke IMO is that all cars 4 years and over are tested, which is totally nonsensical for such obvious reasons Im not going to waste time stating them.

    So halve the test fee, to stop people complaining its a money making excercise, the nct would still surely be better off, because when it came to rechecks they could charge again, even if it were just for a visual fault (which they could start charging a nominal amount for). Im imaging an "essentials check" could be done in 25-33% of normal test time?

    Thoughts?
    Tagged:


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,106 ✭✭✭✭TestTransmission


    Idbatterim wrote: »

    Thoughts?

    Yeah,one question.why?

    You do know cars over 10 years are tested yearly as it is.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,768 ✭✭✭✭For Forks Sake



    You do know cars over 10 years are tested yearly as it is.

    Tell me about it *mumble mumble, thieving b@stards, rabble rabble, mumble mumble*


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,100 ✭✭✭johndaman66


    Tell me about it *mumble mumble, thieving b@stards, rabble rabble, mumble mumble*

    You can be damned sure and certain you will be hammered if you say anything much against the NCT on this forum. Trust me Ive bring there.

    I too agree with the OP. Quite a lot can go wrong with a car in the space of a year to make it unroadworthy, in particular if its covering high mileage. The logic in applying this rule to cars only 10 years old and older does not make any sense whatsoever to me. We all know that there are cars over 10 years old that are maintained and kept in much better order than younger cars...and thats certainly not to say that is the case for all cars over 10 years old either.

    I think NCTS would attain much more respect from the general public if they applied more common sense and many more of the testers actually engaged thier brains. I've seen many cases now where they failed cars for silly little absolutely non dangerous issues and conversly so passed cars with very dangerous flaws (I will give examples if anybody so requires). Also they would do very well to calibrate their equipment more often or better as the case may be. No doubt I will have certain keyboard warriors all too eager to get up on their high-horse now.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,273 ✭✭✭Morlar


    -1 from me.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,225 ✭✭✭Keith186


    I don't agree with having an annual NCT, too much cost and administration. There's no way they could do almost twice the work for the same tests.

    However in saying that I wish they could have a system where peoples headlights were forced to be aligned twice a year. Maybe add €10 (or cost price) to car tax and then once you have valid tax you can get them aligned in participating garages where they stamp your tax disc, tale a photo and claim the money from the council.

    Maybe you could have a €50 fine if caught by the gardai and you haven't got your stamps on your tax disc.

    Probably 1 in 3 or 4 cars have bogey lights, its very annoying and dangerous.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,921 ✭✭✭Gophur


    There is an obligation on every driver to have his/her car roadworthy every time you take to the road. The NCT has no relevance to the road-worthiness of your vehicle, in fact they don't even guarantee it is road-worthy 10metres from their centre.

    The current set-up is good enough. I wonder why they moved to annual testing, though. Was there some startling statistic on the NCT results of all such cars? Were they involved in increasing numbers of crashes where road-worthiness was an issue?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,875 ✭✭✭✭MugMugs



    You can be damned sure and certain you will be hammered if you say anything much against the NCT on this forum. Trust me Ive bring there.

    Not bitter then, huh?

    OP as Gophur has already pointed out the onus is on YOU to ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy each and every time you go to use it.

    Yearly NCT? They can hardly cope as it is!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 66,225 ✭✭✭✭unkel




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,100 ✭✭✭johndaman66


    MugMugs wrote: »
    Not bitter then, huh?

    If you must know I am a wee bit.
    MugMugs wrote: »
    OP as Gophur has already pointed out the onus is on YOU to ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy each and every time you go to use it.

    I do certainly agree with you in principle and if you knowingly take a car on the road which has a dangerous flaw shame on you to say the least. On the other hand how the hell is a 76 year old woman how to know her steering rack is past its best?...Thats is the reasoning behind NCTS I would have thought?


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,620 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    It would certainly completely erode what little remnants of "personal responsibility" are still to be found in Ireland.
    I'm amazed people don't try to sue the NCT/garages if things go wrong on their car.
    It will foster a culture of "the condition my car is in has nothing to do with me, the NCT should have told me something was wrong with it".
    +1 to MugsMugs, the NCT is not a magic bullet that will find each and every fault with your car, get off your ass and check your own car or maybe, just maybe, get it serviced more than once every 50000 km or 5 years, whichever comes first.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,080 ✭✭✭✭Big Nasty


    What are you on about?

    In the first ten years of a cars life it will be tested four times, i.e. @ 4,6,8,and 10 years. From then on it will have to be fully tested every year.

    Quite enough IMO.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭Oral Surgeon


    Most people have better things to be doing with their time than waiting in the NCT centre while a guy checks stuff that was already checked on your regular service.

    It's a money racket and a waste of time for people who actually give a sh1t about their car and their safety (me).
    For everyone else, its a way of just getting enough done so that the car passes and nothing more.

    NCT has it's function but annual testing is not needed

    OS


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,970 ✭✭✭mufcboy1999


    maybe they should reduce the price for people having to nct there car every year, not all of us have the luxury or expenses to keep our cars under the age of 10!!

    robbing pri*ks and thats putting it lightly.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 67 ✭✭tommy89


    maybe they should reduce the price for people having to nct there car every year, not all of us have the luxury or expenses to keep our cars under the age of 10!!

    robbing pri*ks and thats putting it lightly.

    Ya say half the price and it wouldn't feel like I should have brought a tub of lube with me when I go for the NCT!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭peasant


    Idbatterim wrote: »
    ...a mini test of the essentials like brakes, tryes, lights, horn, glass, mirrors & windscreen wipers...

    That's what a service is for ...or a quick walk around the car after washing it even.

    Eyes and ears open during driving and you'll spot faults with all these things yourself. (If someone can't even do that, maybe it's them who should be NCT'd :D)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,534 ✭✭✭SV


    I think the NCT should be done every 3 months.

    Yep.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 213 ✭✭McP2011


    I dont agree with you...if you think the nct keeps a car roadworthy then i dont know what to say...Most people look after there cars well by getting them regularly checked/serviced by a mechanic especially when they notice something a bit different about it etc...look at vintage cars for example they dont get tested and are all perfectly roadworthy...a few weeks back we had a car past the test the very next day the owner came in with it...the wheel bearing was hanging out of it some testing there...I think that it is only for making money but sure mechanics cant complain lol...All my opinion of course.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,732 ✭✭✭firemansam4


    Hmm Just heard about the new 10 year rule for older cars today. I can understand we need tests to keep cars in good condition but...

    It seems like anyone who cant afford a newish car and probably struggling to keep a car on the road as it is with fuel hikes and the like, is now being hit with a new whammy!

    If a car is complying with the rules of the nct, what difference does it make if its 4 years old or 10 years old?

    rant over lol:D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 88,972 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    Can anyone point me to the last serious road incident that was put down to mechanical rather than human failure?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,985 ✭✭✭skelliser


    the NCT is a joke!
    the rules of the road state that you need 2 working brake lights on the rear of your car.
    Many new cars have a third light on the roof.
    If this isnt working you will fail the NCT, even tho its not a legal requirement.

    and again, where are the stistics of bangers involved in fatal collisions?
    And the 10 year thing, its farcical, whats the difference between a 9 and 10 year old car?

    Anyways the OP will be delighted as i fully expect the yearly test to come for all cars soon enough. The country needs the revenue so all the stealth taxes will be hiked.


    we are getting to a stage where ya have to ask yourself do ya actually own your car?
    after buying it, vrt, tax, NCT and tax of petrol/diesel. And what do we get in return, roads that wouldnt be outta place in Iraq!
    motorways that are unused because of the tolls and a public transportation system thats an absolute joke.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,261 ✭✭✭✭Idbatterim


    if a cars safety is the drivers own responsibility, why bother having one at all? how many people only address issues when they are forced to i.e for the NCT? Id be interested to know if Germany or maybe one of the Scandinavian countries that would generally adhere to best practice allow a car to go 4 years without an NCT? There is a real mentality here of shafting anyone in power and getting away with as much as possible, even if that is driving a literal lethal weapon... sorry a car... the cars tyres are the only thing keeping the car in contact with the road regardless of what car you drive, I reckon 2 years is a damn long time between tests, give me a car and Ill wear the tyres out in several minutes max if i wish, dont think that will matter whether car is 4 months, 4 years or 10 years old, but I stand ready to be corrected...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,732 ✭✭✭firemansam4


    Ide agree that its important that tyres should be always kept in good condition. But isn't it a penalty points offense to have defective tyres? maybe there should be more road side checks for things like that like there is in the north.

    But I have to wonder if the same amount of money that road users have paid towards the nct had instead been paid to improve roads and road safety what would have saved more lives?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,619 ✭✭✭milltown


    I'm inclined to agree with more regular testing but it should be free/included in your road tax.
    Yes the onus is on the car owner, and as regulars of a motoring forum we would be, by definition, more fastidious than the norm, but unfortunately we have to regulate for the lowest common denominator. We all know people who wouldn't dream of checking their lights or their tyres if it wasn't for the NCT. To my shame, and despite my best efforts, I even know somebody who borrowed a pair of wheels/tyres for an NCT because his own wouldn't pass but he thought they weren't important enough to go spending money on!

    Being slightly OCD it blows my mind when I see a BMW driving with a rear light not working. The dash tells you when there's a bulb gone! How can you look at that while driving and ignore it?

    The answer, IMO, is more Gardaí on the roads pulling folk for traffic offences, be it dodgy lights or just driving like a jackass. In the UK or the US you would reasonably expect to be pulled over and fined or summonsed for driving an unroadworthy vehicle. Over here we think once the NCT is still valid, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with the car.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,875 ✭✭✭✭MugMugs


    If you must know I am a wee bit.

    Dont be bitter. This forum is too small for that :)
    I do certainly agree with you in principle and if you knowingly take a car on the road which has a dangerous flaw shame on you to say the least. On the other hand how the hell is a 76 year old woman how to know her steering rack is past its best?...Thats is the reasoning behind NCTS I would have thought?

    How am I meant to know my Steering Rack is beyond it's best ?

    I self service my motors most of the time. If she drives any different then it's off to Mr T to take a look and let me know the story.

    A 76 year old woman will know her Micra isn't acting quite right just as well as a 25 year old lad will know his Civic isn't acting quite right.

    Legally, the 76 year old should be checking lights, mirrors, tyres, washer fluid and Daniel O Donnell CD's for each journey.

    If she is unable to do it, Don't drive the car.

    Where would this all end ? Annual NCT ? Then every six months. Then every month.....


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,929 ✭✭✭✭ShadowHearth


    It's a nanny state already...


    You want Something that is common sence to be monitored yearly by some fella and pay for it...

    I guess fools are always easy targets to make few quid out of them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,875 ✭✭✭✭MugMugs


    It's a nanny state already...


    You want Something that is common sence to be monitored yearly by some fella and pay for it...

    I guess fools are always easy targets to make few quid out of them.

    Good point.

    ShadowHearth, I'll MMT your vehicle for 50 quid if you want. This is the MugMugsTest. it has no legal standing and I have no qualifications to perform this however you will get a pretty Coconut smelling Magic Tree at the end and a fancy Word Document certificate I will print off for you too ! :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,030 ✭✭✭✭Chuck Stone


    The government should fit real time diagnostic equipment to all cars. Then the equipment can be directed by an overpaid unaccountable public sector bureaucrat to disable the car if it doesn't conform to strict predetermined parameters* such as exhaust emissions, speeding, cornering too fast, tyre pressure and general driving ability.

    If the car was disabled due to exceeding the parameters you would then have to pay a fee (let's say €150) to have the disabled car re-activated and you would have 48 hours to take it to an approved centre for testing.

    *These parameters would be set by agreement between the Roman Catholic Church, the Democratic Unionist Party and Cyclists.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 805 ✭✭✭metzengerstein


    absolutly no need for an nct test every year .its a money making ,get old cars off the road sham.old cars should be brought back and stop making the putrid new cars of today .any mechanic can look your car over and tell you if its roadworthy or not ,so why not have this in place that after every service which you pay a bloody nuff for and a check over ,the mechanic gives you an updated nct cert .


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 566 ✭✭✭turbodiesel


    I think it is a good idea but only if you combine it with 12 month road tax renewals that would cut down the administration in doing two things seperately and maybe reduce the NCT fee by 30-40%.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 994 ✭✭✭Twin-go


    My 2cents:

    Get rid of the NCT testing centers. Have cars tested at approved service centres.
    You bring your car in for a service and if they find a fail point they fix it for you. After the service/test you are giving your NCT cert valid for a year.
    High milers will get the car serviced more regulary and will have a more up
    to date NCT. Low milers will be certified at their annual service.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 37 dshamrock2000


    I think yearly is a bit harsh for 10 year old cars but again it all depends on the mileage being done on a car etc etc etc, there's too many variables for just picking 10 years. I have a 24 year old car and i'm quiet happy with the yearly test for that, considering I want to keep it in tip top for ever then the nct is water off a ducks back. but on my other cars both 5 yrs old i'd be more inclined to sell them at 9 or 10 yrs old to avoid 3 nct's a year


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,106 ✭✭✭✭TestTransmission


    Twin-go wrote: »


    You bring your car in for a service and if they find a fail point they fix it for you.

    And you don't find any issues which this might cause?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 994 ✭✭✭Twin-go


    And you don't find any issues which this might cause?

    No I trust my mechanic.
    Also, Government can do regular "mistery Shopper" type assesments and garage doing anything illegal would be fined and removed as an approved service/NCT centre.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 393 ✭✭JP 1800


    Twin-go wrote: »
    My 2cents:

    Get rid of the NCT testing centers. Have cars tested at approved service centres.
    You bring your car in for a service and if they find a fail point they fix it for you. After the service/test you are giving your NCT cert valid for a year.
    High milers will get the car serviced more regulary and will have a more up
    to date NCT. Low milers will be certified at their annual service.

    That is the MOT system, the idea of a yearly test for 10 year old cars is that vital components such as suspension and rubber bushings are more likely to be worn out at this stage but the cynic in me thinks they just want us all to buy new cars $$$$$$


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,620 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    Twin-go wrote: »
    My 2cents:

    Get rid of the NCT testing centers. Have cars tested at approved service centres.
    You bring your car in for a service and if they find a fail point they fix it for you. After the service/test you are giving your NCT cert valid for a year.
    High milers will get the car serviced more regulary and will have a more up
    to date NCT. Low milers will be certified at their annual service.

    OK, but people will wonder why, every year, they will need new brake discs, pads, complete exhausts, new headlight units, new injectors, new injector pumps and so on.
    NCT centers have nothing to gain from failing your car on expensive items, at least compared to commercial garages, that do.
    Just leaves the door wiiide open to rip-off, cars being passed for mates and maybe even serious faults overlooked because the apprentice was given the job while everyone else was busy.
    No thanks, I prefer the present system, maybe it's not perfect, but it's miles better than something that just has dodgy written all over it.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,100 ✭✭✭johndaman66


    MugMugs wrote: »
    Dont be bitter. This forum is too small for that :)

    Ah well, I'll get over it Im sure, put my best foot forward and all that. I still know at the back of my mind I was wronged by NCTS but as I say lifes too short:rolleyes:

    MugMugs wrote: »
    How am I meant to know my Steering Rack is beyond it's best ?

    I self service my motors most of the time. If she drives any different then it's off to Mr T to take a look and let me know the story.

    A 76 year old woman will know her Micra isn't acting quite right just as well as a 25 year old lad will know his Civic isn't acting quite right.

    Legally, the 76 year old should be checking lights, mirrors, tyres, washer fluid and Daniel O Donnell CD's for each journey.

    If she is unable to do it, Don't drive the car.

    Where would this all end ? Annual NCT ? Then every six months. Then every month.....

    Great that you service your car most of the time and it would seem that you keep it well maintained. Likewise I do too, leaving the more professional jobs to the garage. But its important to remember that not everybody is that mechanically minded or just do not have the time or the interest. Remember too that something can be wrong with a car which is not always immediately apparent but dangerous all the same, which I'm sure your already aware?

    There is an onus on the 76 year old to ensure her lights, tyres, wipers, washer fluid, mirrors are all a ok. I don't believe this onus extends to her jacking up the car and checking brake hoses, exhaust hangers, bushings, steering racks etc etc. If its apparent that there is an issue with such an item and she continues to drive the car shame on her but it may not always be apparent. This I believe is the function of NCTS or at least should be. To complement your own periodic repairs and maintenance whether you do it yourself or garage/ friend/ family member etc. Do bear in mind too though that there will always be people who will skimp or avoid such maintenance...that'll always just be a fact of life we need to deal with

    I do feel that a check on your car every 2 years is not actually often enough. Something dangerous can go wrong with it in the space of a few days never mind 2 years. As I already mentioned people should take responsibility for the upkeep of their veichles. If they can't do so themselves get somebody competent to do so. But if NCTS are missing serious flaws when theyre doing their checks, well that just ain't good enough.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 16,620 ✭✭✭✭dr.fuzzenstein


    There is an onus on the 76 year old to ensure her lights, tyres, wipers, washer fluid, mirrors are all a ok.

    They don't need to check all these things or do an NCT. All they need is a St. Anthony medal and a Padre Pio sticker.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,875 ✭✭✭✭MugMugs


    They don't need to check all these things or do an NCT. All they need is a St. Anthony medal and a Padre Pio sticker.

    And the holy water in the glove box
    I do feel that a check on your car every 2 years is not actually often enough. Something dangerous can go wrong with it in the space of a few days never mind 2 years. As I already mentioned people should take responsibility for the upkeep of their veichles. If they can't do so themselves get somebody competent to do so. But if NCTS are missing serious flaws when theyre doing their checks, well that just ain't good enough.

    I'd be a bit pi$$ed if I had to annually NCT my motor which is very well maintained (abeit a dodgy offside tyre) because of those who dont really care about theirs.

    And as you have said, They could roll out of the NCT and develop a critical problem 4 miles down the road....

    I know prevention is the best method but tbh, Having to NCT a 4 year old car onward annually would REALLY hack me off.

    In fact, my brothers 00 Passat which drives just as it did when he got it 11 years ago and is maintained just as well as it was 11 years ago (which was very well) has to undergo yearly NCT's and that REALLY gets my goat.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,432 ✭✭✭mcwhirter


    I agree, its just another tax for the 'poor' who has to pay it on their 10 year old car at the moment.

    Let the other people who can afford a newer car pay it yearly too.

    Its nothing to do with safety anyhow, no matter what they blab on about on the news.

    If it was about safety, then cars pre 1980 should have to get it done too.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 454 ✭✭tuborg_man


    while were giving out about the nct one thing that bothers me is that the test is from the anniversary of the car. I bought a car yesterday with an expired test and if i tested it now i'd have to spend another 50 euro 5 months later.
    Also if i was selling a car i would like to have a brand new test for the new owner and then that'd be valid for the year.
    Is there any benefit to the test being on the birthday of the car (except to clog the system up during the early months.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,100 ✭✭✭johndaman66


    MugMugs wrote: »
    I'd be a bit pi$$ed if I had to annually NCT my motor which is very well maintained (abeit a dodgy offside tyre) because of those who dont really care about theirs.

    And as you have said, They could roll out of the NCT and develop a critical problem 4 miles down the road....

    I know prevention is the best method but tbh, Having to NCT a 4 year old car onward annually would REALLY hack me off.

    In fact, my brothers 00 Passat which drives just as it did when he got it 11 years ago and is maintained just as well as it was 11 years ago (which was very well) has to undergo yearly NCT's and that REALLY gets my goat.

    Much agreed and can see why you would be annoyed. However, its unfortunate that your committment to maintaining your car to a high standard is cancelled out by those who neglect maintaining their cars (from the point of view of needing to do NCT's anyway).

    For the cars 10 years old and older such as your brothers which are maintained to the nth degree I'm sure there are at least as many cars less than 10 years old where servicing and routine maintenance is very much neglected. For this reason alone I feel that extending the rule of yearly NCT test to cars 10 years old and older alone is a flawed one (not that I'm endorsing a rule of yearly NCT per se).

    Its a debate which is somewhat removed from the initial point I was making in the thread. My original point was that if NCTS applied a bit more common sense. Failed cars for potentially serious flaws (which I have seen and heard of them passing) and stopped failing cars for stupid reasons that do not compromise the veichle (again which I've experience off). That along with calibrating their equipment properly or more often as the case may be. Then they just might gain a hugh wallop more respect from the public


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