NCT and Car maintenance?

carzony

I thought this would get a better response here rather than in 'motors'.

After reading a recent article it seems that a very high number of irish drivers don't seem to be bothering with nct or even basic vehicle maintenance. I suppose it's obvious with the amount of cars going around with broken bulbs ect..


I was just wondering how many of you actually do/don't nct and look after your cars 'properly' and if why not?

LOI Stats

I can't speak to everybody's situation and I'm not even talking about my own, but the main reason most people have a car is to get to and from work or to get them and their families wherever it is they need to go. It's an absolutely essential part of their lives.

It's also a huge cost and as many many people are feeling the pinch, some for many years at this stage... most are looking for ways to soften the blow of the cost of running a car, as they do with every other cost of living they must cover.

It's easy to point the finger and say that they are being irresponsible, but when you are faced with bills for this that and the other, often something has to give somewhere.

Right or wrong, many have the perception that the NCT is just another way to screw them. If you have a car that is certainly roadworthy but needs substantial money put into it to pass the NCT, you can see how some will just do the absolute bar minimum in their mind, as they are not trying to get it to pass the NCT anyway.

As long as it has 3 or 4 wheels before they get into it, they are happy enough.

Irishcrx

I've never done an NCT but I look after my car. It's road worthy , regularly serviced by me and if there is something wrong with it I'll fix it , I check my lights and bulbs , tires once a month. I just can't afford the NCT right now , €50 to just bring it in and then probably be handed a list of stupid repairs worth €200 - €400 Euro , I just don't have it to give.

junior_apollo

Irishcrx wrote: »

I've never done an NCT but I look after my car. It's road worthy , regularly serviced by me and if there is something wrong with it I'll fix it , I check my lights and bulbs , tires once a month. I just can't afford the NCT right now , €50 to just bring it in and then probably be handed a list of stupid repairs worth €200 - €400 Euro , I just don't have it to give.

Surely if it's road-worthy then it doesn't need to be repaired?
Or else it isn't road-worthy and does need to be repaired?

Jester252

Guys doing the NCT have a set wage. They don't make money from the cars they check so they have no reason to fail people on purpose.
The NCT is just to make sure duct tape cars with shoddy breaks aren't on the road.
Some of guys that fix your car before going to the NCT will try to find problems so they can make more money off you. Wipers need replacment seems to be the most common example.
The guards don't real care about the NCT. From my experience they are happy if your taxed and insured.

Ush1

We are just not generally a car proud nation unlike the English or some other European countries.

We see a car as a tool to get us somewhere.

I looked after my car very well. Its nct'd, I travel across the country to a specialist mechanic for servicing who is an expert on my make of car as I can trust him, car is hovered and cleaned completely inside and de-tared, washed etc outside regularly (by me with correct cloths etc). full de-taring, clay treatment and wax is penciled in for this weekend depending on the weather.

LOI Stats

LOI Stats wrote: »

I can't speak to everybody's situation and I'm not even talking about my own, but the main reason most people have a car is to get to and from work or to get them and their families wherever it is they need to go. It's an absolutely essential part of their lives.

Maybe they should be taking care of it so

Faith+1

Lilliana Odd Tungsten wrote: »

I looked after my car very well. Its nct'd, I travel across the country to a specialist mechanic for servicing who is an expert on my make of car as I can trust him, car is hovered and cleaned completely inside and de-tared, washed etc outside regularly (by me with correct cloths etc). full de-taring, clay treatment and wax is penciled in for this weekend depending on the weather.

Is it de-feathered too?

shedweller

Lilliana Odd Tungsten wrote: »

I looked after my car very well. Its nct'd, I travel across the country to a specialist mechanic for servicing who is an expert on my make of car as I can trust him, car is hovered and cleaned completely inside and de-tared, washed etc outside regularly (by me with correct cloths etc). full de-taring, clay treatment and wax is penciled in for this weekend depending on the weather.

I aint got time fo dat!

kippy

NCT'd when it's due, I might let the services slip a but between services but not much, keep an eye on lights/tyres etc between services. Wouldnt be too bothered about "washing" or "cleaning" it, just the odd time. More important to start in the morning tbh.
I could see why people cut corners on certain things with cars mind. Once it's not tax/insurance/brakes/lights then I dont mind to much.

shedweller

shedweller wrote: »

I aint got time fo dat!

I will just make time and will probably do it in stages over the course of the weekend (and taking friday off too), I can use other family members cars to get around so wont need to move it and get it dirty until its finished.

I'm expecting it to take a long time, I was nearly 4 hours just washing, getting rid of a scratch and cleaning inside a few weeks ago.

I'm into my cars, its not just something to get from A to B for me and really want it looking as well as I can both inside and out.

Remmy

If people are letting the NCT lapse because of the cost what are the chances they are paying tax or insurance?

Wibbs

There would be far more cars with lapsed NCT's than cars with lapsed tax/insurance. Ask any Guard.

Wurly

Do you not need a valid NCT when renewing for car insurance? Also, would you not get fined if you were stopped at a garda checkpoint?

Faith+1

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

mathie

Jester252 wrote: »

Guys doing the NCT have a set wage. They don't make money from the cars they check so they have no reason to fail people on purpose.
The NCT is just to make sure duct tape cars with shoddy breaks aren't on the road.
Some of guys that fix your car before going to the NCT will try to find problems so they can make more money off you. Wipers need replacment seems to be the most common example.
The guards don't real care about the NCT. From my experience they are happy if your taxed and insured.

I've seen a car with a broken radio areial fail a test.
And one with no European Union sign fail

How is that about safety?

mathie

The pricing is ridiculous.
55 euro for 10-15 minutes of a mechanics work?
220 an hour for manual labour? Really?

and the re-tests are worse.
Most less than 5 minutes work .... 28 euro.

Joke of a country.

Wibbs

Wurly wrote: »

Do you not need a valid NCT when renewing for car insurance? Also, would you not get fined if you were stopped at a garda checkpoint?

Depends on the insurance company, I was never asked, though no doubt in the case of a claim they'd use it against you. Garda checkpoint? Didn't have one(not even an old one on the windscreen) for 18 months and went through a fair few checkpoints and only once was it noted and even then it was "you need to get that sorted".

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed.

700 quid is a bit high for a service I'd have thought? Plus paying for a pre NCT check is a bit of a scam. A pretest test. Ehhh, no. Put it through the NCT and find out what they think is wrong, fix accordingly and save the "pretest" fee.

aisr1ofk43dpy5

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

Sounds like a cv boot if you hadn't changed it, it would cost you a lot more down the road when the cv joint itself failed.

listermint

Wibbs wrote: »

Depends on the insurance company, I was never asked, though no doubt in the case of a claim they'd use it against you. Garda checkpoint? Didn't have one(not even an old one on the windscreen) for 18 months and went through a fair few checkpoints and only once was it noted and even then it was "you need to get that sorted".

700 quid is a bit high for a service I'd have thought? Plus paying for a pre NCT check is a bit of a scam. A pretest test. Ehhh, no. Put it through the NCT and find out what they think is wrong, fix accordingly and save the "pretest" fee.

No, depending on the car.

Your statement would be typical of the average irish motorist though. Clueless on costs.

Servicing an 8 Cylinder engine would not be the same as your average avensis for example...

Alun

mathie wrote: »

I've seen a car with a broken radio areial fail a test.
And one with no European Union sign fail

How is that about safety?

Regarding the aerial, if it's a broken stub of an aerial on a wing where it could potentially cause injury then yes it is about safety, along with all other kinds of sharp protuberances which could injure/snag pedestrians. Anyway, how hard is it to repair something like that?

Regarding the EU sign, it's a road-worthiness test, not purely a safety test, and road-worthiness includes adhering to the law regarding, amongst other things, legal number plates.

Alun

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

It's not a "rubber dust jacket" It's a CV boot, which keeps the grease in and keeps road dirt and grit out of a vital part of what drives your front wheels. If that fails while you're driving along, you'll certainly notice it, and could potentially cause an accident if you lose control of your car as a result.

MurdyWurdy

Yes, our car is NCTed - just did it a month ago and it passed no problems. I like that cars are checked for safety features and certified to be on the road, I think it's a good idea, especially if you have ever lived/travelled somewhere where there are no similar tests and you see the dodgy cars on the road.

Currently our car needs to have an NCT every two years. 50EUR over two years is not going to break the bank. I have lived places where our car needed to be checked every 6 months, for around the same cost. I also like that the NCT centres don't do repairs so they have no incentive to fail you. Where I lived before normal garages were certified to do the checks and could offer to do the repairs for you if you failed - that seems dodgy to me.

We get our car serviced regularly too. I had a timing belt snap on me once in a car we had and it destroyed the engine and wrote the car off. Yes, running a car is expensive but we do need it and want to keep it in the best condition as possible so we can get years of use out of it. I don't intend on buying another car for quite a while. Our car currently needs parts replaced and I'm raging at the cost of it but it's just part of car ownership unfortunately

Hobbes

Irishcrx wrote: »

then probably be handed a list of stupid repairs worth €200 - €400 Euro , I just don't have it to give.

If you fail with that much cost to get it repaired the car isn't road worthy.

Hobbes

Wurly wrote: »

Do you not need a valid NCT when renewing for car insurance? Also, would you not get fined if you were stopped at a garda checkpoint?

Yes you do. But more likely the insurance company will take your insurance, then refuse to pay out as you are breaking the law (probably 3rd party insurance only).

You would also get fined at a Garda check point. The whole thing is automated as well now. So the guards can find out straight away if you have booked an NCT or not.

_Kaiser_

My car gets serviced at a main dealer/respected independent roughly every 6 months with the mileage I do. It needs a glow plug and is due another service but aside from that it's running perfectly.. 240,000 km on the clock (2006 2.0 TDI Passat)

What pisses me off more than the maintenance costs (which aren't cheap admittedly) is the Irish attitude that because it's not on "de cheap tax" and has "high" mileage (had it 5 years and now has 240,000km of genuine 90% motorway miles = 150,000 miles / 7 = 21500 miles a year which isn't actually that much for a diesel) then it's effectively worthless even though it's in better shape than a lot of the "newer" examples I've seen out there and has a full verifiable history.

A bigger risk for someone like me though is when buying a new(er) car as because everyone has been buying diesels since 2008, it's a minefield out here now in terms of reliability. Diesels are meant to be driven, not a 5 minute trip to school or the shops. Do that long enough and you'll be looking at expensive failures. Ironically I'll be better off buying another "high" mileage car as at least I'll have some assurance that it was used "properly"

The NCT though is yet another example of the oh so Irish "it depends who you get on the day" approach - but at least it makes some people do at least the minimum I suppose.

Pedro K

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

Sounds like a CV boot. Pretty important.

Capt'n Midnight

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

If you mean the thing that covers the CV joint, then yes that is important to get sorted as soon as. But I'd be very annoyed with any garage that charged you €700 and missed one of them. I'd be even more annoyed if they charged me to replace a CV boot and couldn't show me where the old one had a fresh cut since they did the inspection.

€760 :eek:
'tis a pity the bangernomics thread in motors is closed

Jester252

mathie wrote: »

The pricing is ridiculous.
55 euro for 10-15 minutes of a mechanics work?
220 an hour for manual labour? Really?

and the re-tests are worse.
Most less than 5 minutes work .... 28 euro.

Joke of a country.

That not how they get paid. They have a fixed salary. They don't make money off the people whose cars they test.

Ded_Zebra

LOI Stats wrote: »

I can't speak to everybody's situation and I'm not even talking about my own, but the main reason most people have a car is to get to and from work or to get them and their families wherever it is they need to go. It's an absolutely essential part of their lives.

It's also a huge cost and as many many people are feeling the pinch, some for many years at this stage... most are looking for ways to soften the blow of the cost of running a car, as they do with every other cost of living they must cover.

It's easy to point the finger and say that they are being irresponsible, but when you are faced with bills for this that and the other, often something has to give somewhere.

Right or wrong, many have the perception that the NCT is just another way to screw them. If you have a car that is certainly roadworthy but needs substantial money put into it to pass the NCT, you can see how some will just do the absolute bar minimum in their mind, as they are not trying to get it to pass the NCT anyway.

As long as it has 3 or 4 wheels before they get into it, they are happy enough.

If a car need substantial money spent on it to pass the NCT then how could it be roadworthy

I also think the pre-nct thing is daft. Either it'll pass or it won't, just put it through and see what they say. If it needs a service too or something else, just get it all done together.

Pre-nct's are a total scam. As others have said put it through without doing anything and then fix what it fails on, it might even pass first time.

Faith+1

Wibbs wrote: »

700 quid is a bit high for a service I'd have thought? Plus paying for a pre NCT check is a bit of a scam. A pretest test. Ehhh, no. Put it through the NCT and find out what they think is wrong, fix accordingly and save the "pretest" fee.

I'm starting to think Advance Pitstop is taking the p*ss with me at this stage :mad:

Faith+1

Alun wrote: »

It's not a "rubber dust jacket" It's a CV boot, which keeps the grease in and keeps road dirt and grit out of a vital part of what drives your front wheels. If that fails while you're driving along, you'll certainly notice it, and could potentially cause an accident if you lose control of your car as a result.

And would you believe that's what was printed on my NCT failure list! Well thanks for the update!

Minderbinder

I had the NCT a couple of weeks ago but one of their machines broke down during the test. I got a full refund and they told me some areas I needed to fix. Went back a week later and passed. Cost €28 in total. Very good system in my opinion.

Faith+1

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

If you mean the thing that covers the CV joint, then yes that is important to get sorted as soon as. But I'd be very annoyed with any garage that charged you €700 and missed one of them. I'd be even more annoyed if they charged me to replace a CV boot and couldn't show me where the old one had a fresh cut since they did the inspection.

€760 :eek:
'tis a pity the bangernomics thread in motors is closed

It's sorted now, brought it straight back to my garage who only charged me for parts and not labour. The reason everything was 700 was because I got 3 new tyres, new wipers, repair of oil leak, wheel balancing, light alignment, service etc.. I was surprised when they told me they had to replace 3 tyres. The threads were fine but they said they were cracked and showing signs of age .i.e original tyres.

http://www.flix66.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Planes-Trains-and-Automobiles-3.jpg

You'd swear I was driving that car from Trains, planes and automobiles!

Sleepy

I'd like to see a much more thorough NCT tbh. A new NCT is no indication that the timing belt won't snap next week, that the head-gasket isn't fit to blow etc. Were the car fully inspected rather than a simple box-checking exercise we have at the present, a fresh NCT could be a great indicator that a used car is in decent condition.

I dropped my car in at the weekend knowing it has a few issues and expecting a whole list of things to be fixed for it to pass. It failed on a reversing light bulb (visual re-check) when I know myself there's far more than that needed on it (which it'll be getting next weekend).

One thing I didn't see mentioned in this thread is the fear of large bills. Although I like my cars I don't know a huge amount about a lot of the internal workings (beyond basic oil and filter changes, I'd be no use under the hood) and I've even less knowledge about the costs associated with things. e.g. I know my car has something awry with it's rear suspension. Given the age of the car, and the fact they're a consumable part, I'm guessing the bushings might need replacing but I've no idea how big or expensive a job that is.

While I could confidently know a regular service won't cost me more than, say, €150 there's the fear of bringing the car in and finding out there's hundreds of euros worth of work needed. With the current economy there's many of us that can't handle a €500 bill (or worse) out of a single months wages and can't survive without our cars so it can seem easier to stick the head in the sand and just keep on running it until something goes bang. It's far more expensive in the long run of course but the thoughts of calling to collect a car from a service to be told "I can't let you drive away with it like that and it'll cost €800 to put right" is enough to make many people think far more short term than they should.

Sleepy

Sleepy wrote: »

I'd like to see a much more thorough NCT tbh. A new NCT is no indication that the timing belt won't snap next week, that the head-gasket isn't fit to blow etc. .

Friend has just texted her gasket is gone and it only passed NCT last week...

carzony

Wurly wrote: »

Do you not need a valid NCT when renewing for car insurance? Also, would you not get fined if you were stopped at a garda checkpoint?

well my car hasnt been nct'd yet and when I rang my insurance they insisted on nct details, Then when I decided to go in to the place they didnt even think to ask me about nct details, I'm sure if somthing happens technically I won't be insured but what can ya do, I'm waiting for a booking.

My insurance is due for renewal next week and most companies asked me every question under the sun but they never mentioned nct? I suppose it's your own business if it's nct'd.. It's just another way they can weasel out of paying you when you actually do have a claim..

MurdyWurdy

carzony wrote: »

well my car hasnt been nct'd yet and when I rang my insurance they insisted on nct details, Then when I decided to go in to the place they didnt even think to ask me about nct details, I'm sure if somthing happens technically I won't be insured but what can ya do, I'm waiting for a booking.

My insurance is due for renewal next week and most companies asked me every question under the sun but they never mentioned nct? I suppose it's your own business if it's nct'd.. It's just another way they can weasel out of paying you when you actually do have a claim..

What's the point in getting insurance if you are fairly sure they won't pay out if you cause an accident? Surely paying 50 for an NCT is far better than getting stung if you hit someone uninsured down the line. It's just seems silly.

EDIT: just re-read post and you are waiting for a booking, so you do plan on getting the NCT. Fair enough

Wibbs

listermint wrote: »

Your statement would be typical of the average irish motorist though. Clueless on costs.

Servicing an 8 Cylinder engine would not be the same as your average avensis for example...

Well duuuuh, though I still call ballsology. I know quite a bit about costs and unless the OP is driving some high end motor with equally high end parts prices at a main dealer, or the "service" included a clutch or cam belt/chain, an otherwise standard service including brakes at 700 quid is more than a tad steep, especially if they've not spotted a shagged CV boot. Then again I've seen chancers charge near 200 quid for an oil change so...

Hobbes wrote: »

If you fail with that much cost to get it repaired the car isn't road worthy.

Depends on what the definition of roadworthy is. A dead catalytic convertor could cost that to replace, especially at main stealer prices and that would have absolutely zero effect on safety

Hobbes wrote: »

You would also get fined at a Garda check point. The whole thing is automated as well now. So the guards can find out straight away if you have booked an NCT or not.

Funny how I've gone through umpteen Garda checkpoints, didn't even have an old one displayed and only once was it even commented upon. They may be changing, but for a very long time it was clearly of very low priority as my experience isn't unusual.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

If you mean the thing that covers the CV joint, then yes that is important to get sorted as soon as. But I'd be very annoyed with any garage that charged you €700 and missed one of them. I'd be even more annoyed if they charged me to replace a CV boot and couldn't show me where the old one had a fresh cut since they did the inspection.

+1 A knackered CV joint can go on for ages grinding and knocking as it goes, but it's a helluva lot cheaper to replace the CV boot cover than having to replace the joint/entire shaft itself. Then again cheap appears to be relative considering the prices the OP's garage seems to be charging.

Sleepy

Sleepy wrote: »

I'd like to see a much more thorough NCT tbh. A new NCT is no indication that the timing belt won't snap next week, that the head-gasket isn't fit to blow etc. Were the car fully inspected rather than a simple box-checking exercise we have at the present, a fresh NCT could be a great indicator that a used car is in decent condition.

A lot of problems are very difficult if not impossible to diagnose in advance like this so you won't see them added to the nct.

For instance the only way to guarantee the condition of a timing belt io to change it on schedule, no mechanic will try to judge the condition of one.

Wibbs

Faith+1 wrote: »

It's sorted now, brought it straight back to my garage who only charged me for parts and not labour. The reason everything was 700 was because I got 3 new tyres, new wipers, repair of oil leak, wheel balancing, light alignment, service etc.. I was surprised when they told me they had to replace 3 tyres. The threads were fine but they said they were cracked and showing signs of age .i.e original tyres.

OK fair enough, however I'd still be asking questions, IE why three tyres and not the four? Forth one newer? It's more usual to either change the lot or two at a time(front or back).

bluewolf wrote: »

Friend has just texted her gasket is gone and it only passed NCT last week...

To be fair B, it would be hard enough to spot such a thing beforehand. Ditto for Sleepy's suggestion re cam belts. An ancient cam belt can look OK, near new indeed. If they signed off on one and it went, lawsuit ahoy. I suspect that's why things like that aren't in the test. Generally speaking if the head gasket is blowing it should show up on the emissions test. Plus you know yourself, items have a service life, some items are very binary like that, they either work or they stop working and depending on when you test them... I've certainly known well dubious cars to fail the NCT, when others actually pretty healthy end up with a fail. A few years ago I had a right gimp of an NCT tester(most I've found to be cool) who informed me my car's engine was knackered, uneconomical to repair. Yea right, just needed an O2 sensor and a cat. Four years and 80,000k later it's still going strong with HC of under 30 PPM.

listermint

Lilliana Odd Tungsten wrote: »

A lot of problems are very difficult if not impossible to diagnose in advance like this so you won't see them added to the nct.

For instance the only way to guarantee the condition of a timing belt to to change it on schedule, no mechanic will try to judge the condition of one.

Yep! completely correct. There is things you just cant diagnose via NCT.

This is why regular and planned service maintenance is essential.

Things that just have to be done at certain mileages i.e. coolant system overhaul.

mathie

Jester252 wrote: »

That not how they get paid. They have a fixed salary. They don't make money off the people whose cars they test.

Did I say the employees were ripping people off?

ScumLord

Wibbs wrote: »

700 quid is a bit high for a service I'd have thought? Plus paying for a pre NCT check is a bit of a scam. A pretest test. Ehhh, no. Put it through the NCT and find out what they think is wrong, fix accordingly and save the "pretest" fee.

The problem with modern cars is they're a bitch to service yourself. To change the air filter on mine you have to remove the wipers and the assembly they're attached too. They've turned an easy job into one that you require specialised tools for. Even something simple like changing the light bulbs has been made as awkward as possible.

It's not that the job is particularly hard it's just time consuming, which adds big expense to any repair work done in a garage.

Faith+1

Wibbs wrote: »

OK fair enough, however I'd still be asking questions, IE why three tyres and not the four? Forth one newer? It's more usual to either change the lot or two at a time(front or back).

No need because I got a flat only a few weeks ago so the 4th tyre was brand new!

Wibbs

ScumLord wrote: »

The problem with modern cars is they're a bitch to service yourself. To change the air filter on mine you have to remove the wipers and the assembly they're attached too. They've turned an easy job into one that you require specialised tools for. Even something simple like changing the light bulbs has been made as awkward as possible.

It's not that the job is particularly hard it's just time consuming, which adds big expense to any repair work done in a garage.

Handy for the dealers, but yep I do take your point. Very much so. I've seen similar on mates new(er) cars. Real headscratching stuff where you're thinking "what fcuking moron put that there", then you realise it was an accountant. Same with the electronics. A mate's car needed a fuel pump. Simple enough you'd think, but oh no, the pump is simple if pricey, the installation is simple enough too, but the pump has to be synced to the car's brain to work. Requiring main Dealer involvement(usually). You could source the part and fit it yourself, but the dealer price to sync the brain is nigh on the same price as them doing the whole job. Another reason I'll be hanging on to my old yoke as long as possible. It's an absolute doddle to DIY compared to newer kit.

Ush1

Before you get a car, check the if there's a Haynes manual for it. You can normally know then if a service is difficult or not.

donutheadhomer

mathie wrote: »

I've seen a car with a broken radio areial fail a test.
And one with no European Union sign fail

How is that about safety?

a previous car of mine failed for dust behind the perspex on my rear numberplate