NCT question.

af_thefragile

My car's NCT is due on the 9th of May.
If I get the NCT done earlier than that date and my car fails its NCT, can I still drive it? Because I need a car till the 9th of May...

I'm pretty sure my car's going to fail the NCT this time around. The handbrake is virtually useless and apparently the bushes are worn but my biggest concern is the engine is producing smoke and it might fail the NCT on emissions. I could fix the handbrake and bushes but fixing the engine will be a big task which will probably not be worth it. So if my car fails its NCT and the cost of repairs mount up to be quite expensive, I might as well sell it and get another car. I'm planning on selling my car in the next few months anyway and I don't want to spend too much money on it that I'll never get back.

wesf

you have nct until the expiry date no matter what.
try fixing the little things you know it needs, and what colour smoke, when is it smoky etc.
what sort of car is it. it will be hard to sell without a test

af_thefragile

wesf wrote: »

you have nct until the expiry date no matter what.
try fixing the little things you know it needs, and what colour smoke, when is it smoky etc.
what sort of car is it. it will be hard to sell without a test

Its white smoke, not blue but it barely passed on emissions last year.
I'll be happy to simply get rid of it for whatever cost. Its not worth a lot anymore.

I'll book the NCT and see what they say. If it fails on emissions and the total cost of repairs is going to be close to a grand then its gonna be a cheap sale or the breakers yard...

af_thefragile

af_thefragile wrote: »

Its white smoke, not blue but it barely passed on emissions last year...........

On HC or CO?

CiniO

wesf wrote: »

you have nct until the expiry date no matter what.

True, but if tester discoveres that car is dangerous, he might mark it as "fail dangerous" and therefore make it illegal for OP to drive the car until it's fixed.

af_thefragile

RoverJames wrote: »

On HC or CO?

On checking it did ok for its age for CO. HC was 62 which is supposedly high but the NCT guys ignored it, I presume because of the age of the car.

The guys at Ford said the car's gonna need new rear hub + breaks, new bushes, a new suspension wishbone and a couple of other things. The total cost of all those repairs is around the grand mark even if the emissions isn't an issue.

I don't wanna spend that much on the car anymore. Especially as I'm planning on buying a new car later this year anyway. Possibly an old Mini Cooper so I'ld rather save the cash for buying that than spending it on the Puma and then seeing it all go away when I come to sell the car. Though I suppose if I do the repairs and then sell the car with tax and MOT, I'll get a bit more money for it...

I booked the NCT for next week so I'll see what the NCT people will say and then calculate the costs of repairs from there. As long as I can still drive the car till the 9th of May, I'll be happy...

af_thefragile

CiniO wrote: »

True, but if tester discoveres that car is dangerous, he might mark it as "fail dangerous" and therefore make it illegal for OP to drive the car until it's fixed.

Any idea what sort of things make it a "fail dangerous".
The drivetrain is in pretty good condition. The bushings may be worn but it still drives well. The biggest problem with the car currently is the rear breaks + handbrake. The rear hub is apparently totally rusted away which has made the handbrake totally useless (need to park it in gear all the time). Doesn't affect the driving much as the front breaks are working fine but you can't do handbrake hill starts and such as the handbrake doesn't do anything anymore.

Would that be a "dangerous fail"??

CiniO

af_thefragile wrote: »

Any idea what sort of things make it a "fail dangerous".
The drivetrain is in pretty good condition. The bushings may be worn but it still drives well. The biggest problem with the car currently is the rear breaks + handbrake. The rear hub is apparently totally rusted away which has made the handbrake totally useless (need to park it in gear all the time). Doesn't affect the driving much as the front breaks are working fine but you can't do handbrake hill starts and such as the handbrake doesn't do anything anymore.

Would that be a "dangerous fail"??

I doubt it would, but I'm just guessing.

But it's not like they take off your current NCT. It's still valid.
Fail dangerous is more like the way for tester to inform you that your vehicle is dangerous and should not be driven.
If you get caught driving a vehicle like that, you can be done for driving dangerous vehicle.
If you are involved in accident, you might have further trouble, as you knew your vehicle was dangerous.
But once you fix the problem, you can drive it no problem if it's not dangerous anymore. You don't need to do another NCT test to confirm it.

af_thefragile

af_thefragile wrote: »

On checking it did ok for its age for CO. HC was 62 which is supposedly high but the NCT guys ignored it, I presume because of the age of the car.............

Limit is 200 for HC as far as I know, so it didn't almost fail on emissions so?

Henry Ford III

This Puma has apparently displayed every fault conceivable. It's a minor miracle it's still running.