buying a car with no nct

tt2014 · 28-10-2014 2:30pm #1

Hi

I bought a car with no nct from the garage and they said if the car failed they would sort it, went through the nct- they booked it but I had to pay for it at the centre and I called the garage back to say it failed because of an alignment issue, so 1. should I have had to have paid for the test and the retest and should I haver to pay for the alignment, I just feel like ive been had

coylemj · 28-10-2014 2:41pm

Yes you have (been had). I got sick to the teeth of ringing dealers with cars advertised and getting that line when I asked about the NCT - 'put it in and if there's anything wrong, we'll sort it out but sure it'll fly through the test'.

To which my answer always was: 'if you're so sure it's in good nick, why don't you put it in for the test and then advertise it with a shiny new 12/24 month NCT?'. To which they had no answer.

tt2014 · 28-10-2014 4:21pm

I had to get the car because I was really stuck, he booked the test on his credit card and I had to pay when I got to the centre, im going to the garage tomorrow, they said i'll have to pay for the re test aswel now

coylemj · 28-10-2014 5:13pm

tt2014 wrote: »

I had to get the car because I was really stuck, he booked the test on his credit card and I had to pay when I got to the centre, im going to the garage tomorrow, they said i'll have to pay for the re test aswel now

You don't use a credit card to book a test. If you book and fail to turn up, they make you pay a €22 'no-show' fee when you do eventually bring the car to them for the test......

If you cancel a confirmed appointment with less than five working days notice (Mon. - Fri., not including the day you contact NCTS) or fail to show up for the test, a €22.00 surcharge will be applied when you next bring your car for testing

http://www.nct.ie/q9.html

If you had to pay when booking the test, there would be no need for a 'no-show' surcharge, you'd just forfeit the money you paid.

So sounds like they're telling you major porkies, good luck getting that fault sorted.

laurenhiggins · 28-10-2014 5:17pm

I would make them pay for both tests and to fix the problem and if they don't do that you should as for a full cash refund and if they say no take level action.

tt2014 · 28-10-2014 5:22pm

it even says on there website that they will do the nct for you, they were going to have the nct done for me only that I needed it so soon, I really couldn't afford the fee and now have to pay for a retest, I feel sick to my stomach

Stheno · 28-10-2014 5:25pm

Your first post says they said they would fix it if it failed, doesn't mention anywhere that they said they would pay for the tests?

Del2005 · 28-10-2014 5:31pm

They should pay for both tests and fix the alignment, but what a garage should do and what it does can be totally opposite. Hopefully they are a reliable garage and will sort it all out for you.

If a garage is selling you a car with no NCT and are saying it'll fly through when collecting the car keep back 10% till it passes or even better insist on them suppling it with an NCT. It's always easier to get issues resolved when you have the money in your hand instead of there's.

slimjimmc · 28-10-2014 5:56pm

tt2014 wrote: »

I had to get the car because I was really stuck, he booked the test on his credit card and I had to pay when I got to the centre, im going to the garage tomorrow, they said i'll have to pay for the re test aswel now

So you haven't discussed any of this with the dealer yet since buying the car?

biko · 29-10-2014 11:37am

Tbh, it only failed on alignment. It's not a big deal.
Take it back to dealer and let them fix it and put it through.

As I see it, you pay for 1st test and they pay for alignment and second test.

seagull · 29-10-2014 5:06pm

See how the garage react when you go back to them. You bought it with no NCT, and were putting it through yourself, so I'd expect you to pay for that. I'd expect the garage to pick up the bill for the alignment and the retest.

tt2014 · 30-10-2014 10:52am

Thank a million for all the advice folks, I was well armed going in! they have paid for the test and fixed the alignment, thanks again guys, id be lost!

coylemj · 30-10-2014 3:05pm

tt2014 wrote: »

Thank a million for all the advice folks, I was well armed going in! they have paid for the test and fixed the alignment, thanks again guys, id be lost!

In fairness, it's not a fault that a garage would easily pick up since they wouldn't have driven it much but it's a lesson well learned at no cost if a little inconvenience.

Moral of the story:

Never buy a car with no NCT unless (1) you're prepared to take the risk (so treat it like buying a car at an auction) and (2) the lack of an NCT is factored into the price i.e. don't be fobbed off with the usual BS that 'it will fly through the NCT' because in most cases it will fly like a lead balloon.

Make the price reflect the fact that they are making you take the risk because most cases like yours that come up in threads here involve cars which fail the NCT and the garage refuses to remedy the fault ('sold as seen') so the punter is left with a turkey and no money to get it fixed.

seagull · 30-10-2014 3:35pm

Either that, or have them give you a written undertaking that they will fix any issues that cause the car to fail the NCT at their own cost, and also pay for the retest.

coylemj · 30-10-2014 5:26pm

seagull wrote: »

Either that, or have them give you a written undertaking that they will fix any issues that cause the car to fail the NCT at their own cost, and also pay for the retest.

You'd be mad to accept such an undertaking, not worth the paper it's written on. Just don't hand over any money without an NCT, that's all there is to it.

There are plenty of good cars out there, you need to tell yourself before you go into a showroom that if you're not 100% happy with what's on offer and the price, you walk. Too many people get sweet-talked into handing over money based on vague promises made by smooth talking sales guys.

Del2005 · 31-10-2014 12:12am

seagull wrote: »

Either that, or have them give you a written undertaking that they will fix any issues that cause the car to fail the NCT at their own cost, and also pay for the retest.

Having something in writing from a dodgy seller is useless. The only time a person has power is before all the money has been handed over. If you're thinking about buying a car without an NCT the least you can do is get at least €100 off the price or the best option is to place a written deposit on condition it passes the NCT and an independent inspection, a new NCT is zero guarantee that the car is any good as it's only a fairly basic safety check.

Once the full price has been handed over the company has no incentive to deal with the customer and unfortunately there plenty more people who'll still give them money.

buying a car with no nct

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