NCT 3 month wait

goz83

I rang the nct there. Earliest date they have is April 29th in North Dublin. This really is a serious pish take, right? Wrong....that's what the booking lady said. My nct is valid til mid May, bit I wanted to get it done early, becuase the car will be fully serviced and I want to get it over with, so I am not worrying about it expiring. Would be nice to have 15 months nct too.

It being a legal requirement, they really should sort out their sh1t. Anyone should be able to get a booking within a week if they call. Early bookings should be incentivised too.

Mini rant over.

Alanstrainor

goz83 wrote: »

I rang the nct there. Earliest date they have is April 29th in North Dublin. This really is a serious pish take, right? Wrong....that's what the booking lady said. My nct is valid til mid May, bit I wanted to get it done early, becuase the car will be fully serviced and I want to get it over with, so I am not worrying about it expiring. Would be nice to have 15 months nct too.

It being a legal requirement, they really should sort out their sh1t. Anyone should be able to get a booking within a week if they call. Early bookings should be incentivised too.

Mini rant over.

You wont get 15 months NCT any longer. You'll get it for a yaer from the date you passed....it sucks.

I'm an idiot

goz83

Alanstrainor wrote: »

You wont get 15 months NCT any longer. You'll get it for a yaer from the date you passed....it sucks.

What!!!! That can't be right. Isn't it from the anniversary?

bazz26

If you do the test within 3 months of it being due you get a cert for 3 months plus the 1 or 2 years. It's only if you elect to do the test outside the 3 months in advance that the cert is valid for 1 or 2 years from the date of the test.

goz83

bazz26 wrote: »

If you do the test within 3 months of it being due you get a cert for 3 months plus the 1 or 2 years. It's only if you elect to do the test outside the 3 months in advance that the cert is valid for 1 or 2 years from the date of the test.

Thats what i thought. It otherwise makes no sense, as cars would need to be tested and passed on the anniversary, otherwise cars tested and passed early would not have a full 12 or 24 months nct. I checked the nct website too, which confirms what you said....

Q. If I bring my car for test earlier than its 10th anniversary date, for how long will the certificate be valid?
A. For cars brought in for test up to 90 days before the due date the certificate expiry date is the same as if it were brought in on the due date. If a car is presented for test just before the 10th anniversary, then a certificate with an expiry the following year (on the next anniversary) will be issued.

Jesus.

Mine's up sometime next month. Rang them today and they said they had no slots until May but he's put me on the priority list and will text an appointment.

pcardin

Jesus. wrote: »

Mine's up sometime next month. Rang them today and they said they had no slots until May but he's put me on the priority list and will text an appointment.

Yes, same here. Say guys what you want but loads of stuff in Ireland is being approached using some strange unexplained medieval methods. Seriously, wtf, where else you have to have a booking for this sort of thing and then wait months to get it done. Police in the meantime can happily charge for driving with no test. :mad: And don't give me the 'ah but sure, you can apply 3 month before nct expire'! I applied in January and test date is end of April, few days after my nct expire. :pac::D

spurious

goz83 wrote: »

I rang the nct there. Earliest date they have is April 29th in North Dublin. This really is a serious pish take, right? Wrong....that's what the booking lady said. My nct is valid til mid May, bit I wanted to get it done early, becuase the car will be fully serviced and I want to get it over with, so I am not worrying about it expiring. Would be nice to have 15 months nct too.

It being a legal requirement, they really should sort out their sh1t. Anyone should be able to get a booking within a week if they call. Early bookings should be incentivised too.

Mini rant over.

It's also a lie. About two hours ago, I was offered a time on Wednesday next (late afternoon) in Ballymun or Friday evening, also Ballymun.
There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to the system.

The NCT booking system is an absolute and utter disgrace.

There is a total lack of any kind of development gone into designing the website booking system.

The bit I really can't get my head around is that it has been like this for years with zero investment to improve it or even maintain what was there.

I assume maintaining the booking system falls under the remit of the company contracted to do the testing? Anyone know the answer to this?

I wouldn't be surprised if the agreement the government made with the testing contractor has no provision for them to deliver a booking system that meets a basic level of functionality and usability.

It is, bar none, the most dysfunctional and appallingly implemented booking system I have ever seen.

pcardin

spurious wrote: »

It's also a lie. About two hours ago, I was offered a time on Wednesday next (late afternoon) in Ballymun or Friday evening, also Ballymun.
There seems to be no rhyme nor reason to the system.

I see. Should probably re-book my appointment and change to Ballymun. Apparently that is where everything happens.

slinky2000

We've been through this dozens of times now on the forum.

Go online about 11/11:30 every night and check for slots, that's when the cancellations are released.

I just got a date there next week after a few nights of checking.

I originally booked it for 3 months away during the day then I got a slot 1 month away and then on the 2rd night checking I got one for next week.

Woshy

Jesus. wrote: »

Mine's up sometime next month. Rang them today and they said they had no slots until May but he's put me on the priority list and will text an appointment.

Me too - I rang them two weeks ago. Mine is up at the end of the month though. :eek: They said to call them after 2 weeks if I haven't got a cancellation so I'll be ringing tomorrow as I've heard nothing back yet. I've offered to go to a few different centres too as I'm off work so have a bit of flexibility.

I've been told as long as you have one booked it's ok if your NCT is out of date. Is that true? What a pain in the bum! I'll certainly be checking at 11/11.30pm now after reading this thread.

spurious

pcardin wrote: »

I see. Should probably re-book my appointment and change to Ballymun. Apparently that is where everything happens.

I said I'd take anywhere anytime in the Dublin area.

goz83

Woshy wrote: »

Me too - I rang them two weeks ago. Mine is up at the end of the month though. :eek: They said to call them after 2 weeks if I haven't got a cancellation so I'll be ringing tomorrow as I've heard nothing back yet. I've offered to go to a few different centres too as I'm off work so have a bit of flexibility.

I've been told as long as you have one booked it's ok if your NCT is out of date. Is that true? What a pain in the bum! I'll certainly be checking at 11/11.30pm now after reading this thread.

No it's not true. It's illegal to drive without a valid nct. A valid booking is no substitute. You should ask for it in writing next time.

JohnBoy26

Alanstrainor wrote: »

You wont get 15 months NCT any longer. You'll get it for a yaer from the date you passed....it sucks.

You will still get your 15 months provided your appointment is within three months of date of registration and of course if you can get an appointment in that time.

JohnBoy26

slinky2000 wrote: »

We've been through this dozens of times now on the forum.

Go online about 11/11:30 every night and check for slots, that's when the cancellations are released.

I just got a date there next week after a few nights of checking.

I originally booked it for 3 months away during the day then I got a slot 1 month away and then on the 2rd night checking I got one for next week.

You should not have to go online in search of an appointment in the middle of the night though, nor should you have to book a test months in advance.

bazz26

These NCT threads always end up the same.

Everyone knows we shouldn't have to book a test months in advance or be put on a waiting list but we can argue this until we are blue in the face but the reality is right now, you still have a better chance of getting your car tested quicker by doing the above or just continue to complain down the pub or on the internet about how things should be or how life isn't fair.

Miscreant

bazz26 wrote: »

These NCT threads always end up the same.

Everyone knows we shouldn't have to book a test months in advance or be put on a waiting list but we can argue this until we are blue in the face but the reality is right now, you still have a better chance of getting your car tested quicker by doing the above or just continue to complain down the pub or on the internet about how things should be or how life isn't fair.

Very true. Perhaps people should insist on the "free" test that they are entitled to in these cases too. The NCTS would not be long in sorting the waiting list if they had to allow a load of appointments for free. Hit them in the pocket.

Woshy

Thanks for the tip. I just went online and got a cancellation for 26th Feb

Can I ask ye guys, if i were to throw the car into the NCT, while it still has a few months left to go (July), if it fails would it cause me to lose my current 6 months? (ie; if it fails, will it make my currently valid disc expire automatically?)

goz83

Woshy wrote: »

Thanks for the tip. I just went online and got a cancellation for 26th Feb

Amateur :rolleyes:

I booked mine for May 9th. Then a minute later
I got changed to Feb 19th.

Sweeeet :P

MiskyBoyy

I would have also been waiting on a priority list call if it wasn't for boards!

Was told during last week by NCT lady that she'd put me on a priority list for any spare slots within reasonable distance of me.

I just happened to check the NCT website myself and seen a slot for next Saturday in a close enough NCT centre so booked it straight away.

Fecking useless, priority list my arse!

goz83

Deleted User wrote: »

Can I ask ye guys, if i were to throw the car into the NCT, while it still has a few months left to go (July), if it fails would it cause me to lose my current 6 months? (ie; if it fails, will it make my currently valid disc expire automatically?)

You would be unable to book it in if there are more than 90 days left on your current disc. But let say you get a date in May (a couple of months early) and the car fails.....your current disc is still valid.

cerastes

Alanstrainor wrote: »

You wont get 15 months NCT any longer. You'll get it for a yaer from the date you passed....it sucks.

You will, I did recently.

Jesus. wrote: »

Mine's up sometime next month. Rang them today and they said they had no slots until May but he's put me on the priority list and will text an appointment.

Ask about your free test, a slot will become available much sooner, like by the end of the conversation.

slinky2000 wrote: »

We've been through this dozens of times now on the forum.

Go online about 11/11:30 every night and check for slots, that's when the cancellations are released.

I just got a date there next week after a few nights of checking.

I originally booked it for 3 months away during the day then I got a slot 1 month away and then on the 2rd night checking I got one for next week.

no offence, but ball rocks to that, should nt have to go through that messing.

Miscreant wrote: »

Very true. Perhaps people should insist on the "free" test that they are entitled to in these cases too. The NCTS would not be long in sorting the waiting list if they had to allow a load of appointments for free. Hit them in the pocket.

That does sort it, but if everyone insists then that will crumble too.
The online service is a load of balls too, I tried the date of first registration on a few vehicles for bookings and it wouldnt come up with anything, whats wrong with booking by the reg number?
I seem to have to make the booking by phone because of this, at least I can claim my free test and I usually end up getting something by the end of the conversation for a test inside the month.
Ive been sent details by text then, but no booking ID so can do nothing about it if for some reason I needed to do anything online from viewing the booking to amending it, I cant and Id end up having to clog the lines to call them if I need something, seems time consuming for them and me.

Nothing will change, and then you can be screwed if the Gardai stop you, its at the whim of the Garda at the time, given the NCT doesnt amount to anything of value other than that the car has passed on the day, this seems like a bit of a scam too, it should be points only for where a car was failed for a serious fault prior to a retest or where a test cannot be proved to have been booked.

bladebrew

goz83 wrote: »

You would be unable to book it in if there are more than 90 days left on your current disc. But let say you get a date in May (a couple of months early) and the car fails.....your current disc is still valid.

You can book the NCT for whenever you want, it's not linked to date of first registration anymore,

darlenmol

nice one i never thought of checking late. i booked earlier today and got 22 april, rescheduled and got 23 feb, result.

cerastes

bladebrew wrote: »

You can book the NCT for whenever you want, it's not linked to date of first registration anymore,

Yes but from what Ive been told, if you book for a date more than 90 days ahead of your existing test date, this is now your new annual test date, open to correction but what I was told.
I cant see why the reason would be other than to get new renewals in early and start overlapping the requirement for the test earlier than needed and still charge for it.
By rights being able to book within a month should be reasonable, 3 should be enough but they dont seem to be able to manage either of that without bringing up the free test.

Alanstrainor

bazz26 wrote: »

If you do the test within 3 months of it being due you get a cert for 3 months plus the 1 or 2 years. It's only if you elect to do the test outside the 3 months in advance that the cert is valid for 1 or 2 years from the date of the test.

I thought I read on here that, that was no longer the case! That's great!

Woshy

goz83 wrote: »

Amateur :rolleyes:

I booked mine for May 9th. Then a minute later
I got changed to Feb 19th.

Sweeeet :P

Feb 26th suits me seeming as I'll be driving to fecking Arklow for the appointment! Nearest one to me with an appointment but not very near at all. Pain in the hole.

Also I'm suspicious of my tires so want to get them checked.

goz83

Woshy wrote: »

Feb 26th suits me seeming as I'll be driving to fecking Arklow for the appointment! Nearest one to me with an appointment but not very near at all. Pain in the hole.

Also I'm suspicious of my tires so want to get them checked.

You could always reschedule again...to a closer center.

mb1725

Does anyone have any experience of booking in other European countries? |I am familiar with the British MOT system but was just wondering if other countries France, Spain have such a backlog issue?

Woshy

Not Europe but I have experience getting the equivalent, a Wof (warrant of fitness) in New Zealand. they have Wof agents, not dedicated test centres so there's loads of garages/tyre places etc that you can go into that are authorised to do it.

As far as I remember you don't even book, just choose the business you want to get it done at, rock up there and see if they're free.

The on,y issue is some people feel it takes the independence away, that a garage might fail you in order to get your business to repair something but I doubt that happens.nit would be great if we had something similar here!

chocksaway

Lots of availability for the 1st week of march in naas if any good to anyone..

alentejo

NCT due 29th Apr. Booked on line for the 27th Apr.
Completely mad system having to book so far out. I hate the NCT!!!

goz83

alentejo wrote: »

NCT due 29th Apr. Booked on line for the 27th Apr.
Completely mad system having to book so far out. I hate the NCT!!!

Try again in a half hour and again if theres nothing. The trick is to keep checking. Something will pop up.

fryup

is you reschedule (online) a test to a different date....does that mean the previous date is automatically deleted?

bazz26

fryup wrote: »

is you reschedule (online) a test to a different date....does that mean the previous date is automatically deleted?

Yes. The original slot becomes available to others again. Hence the advice to keep checking regularly as cancellations become available.

celica00

alentejo wrote: »

NCT due 29th Apr. Booked on line for the 27th Apr.
Completely mad system having to book so far out. I hate the NCT!!!

But are you not entitled to get it for free then?

goz83

celica00 wrote: »

But are you not entitled to get it for free then?

No. He accepted the booking without asking to be booked in withing 28 days, or requesting a free test.

TheDoc

Had the same grief with last NCT. I don't know why but there was word going around the NCT bookings were down at the time so figured I'd book it when I got around to it, was actually 4 months wait at the time.

But I was put on the emergency list, and just had to ring them once in the morning and in the afternoon. The main centre has a realtime system, the website only updates end of day.

After about three days ringing a helpful lady notified me there was a cancellation in Ballymun and I was able to take the spot.

So just ring up, get put on waiting/emergency list, then ring back twice a day going forward.You'll get sorted, people cancel all the time for vrious reasons.

A Law

Probably a thick question but why aren't people requesting to go on the priority list and then waiting a month and taking the free test? Does it not work that way.

H3llR4iser

goz83 wrote: »

Q. If I bring my car for test earlier than its 10th anniversary date, for how long will the certificate be valid?
A. For cars brought in for test up to 90 days before the due date the certificate expiry date is the same as if it were brought in on the due date. If a car is presented for test just before the 10th anniversary, then a certificate with an expiry the following year (on the next anniversary) will be issued.

In other words, it makes no difference at all in most cases, as the anniversary and the NCT dates tend to be the same. My own car will be 10 years old on 31 Aug 2016, and the NCT expires the same day. If I bring it in on May 31st, 2016, I'll get a certificate valid to Aug 31st, 2017 - just the same as if I went on Aug 31st 2016.

Simplifying:

Q. If I bring my car for test earlier than its 10th anniversary date, for how long will the certificate be valid?
A. One year from the current certificate expiry date;

JohnBoy26

H3llR4iser wrote: »

In other words, it makes no difference at all in most cases, as the anniversary and the NCT dates tend to be the same. My own car will be 10 years old on 31 Aug 2016, and the NCT expires the same day. If I bring it in on May 31st, 2016, I'll get a certificate valid to Aug 31st, 2017 - just the same as if I went on Aug 31st 2016.

Simplifying:

Q. If I bring my car for test earlier than its 10th anniversary date, for how long will the certificate be valid?
A. One year from the current certificate expiry date;

If you bring your soon to be ten year old car in before it's inside the 3 month period coming up to it's anniversary you'll get a 2 year test from the date it was tested. E.g if you bring your (registered in aug 2006) car in on 1st of march 2016 and pass you'll then get an nct cert valid until the 1st of march 2018.

goz83

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

If you bring your soon to be ten year old car in before it's inside the 3 month period coming up to it's anniversary you'll get a 2 year test from the date it was tested. E.g if you bring your (registered in aug 2006) car in on 1st of march 2016 and pass you'll then get an nct cert valid until the 1st of march 2018.

Where does it say that? afaik, the anniversary is always the expiry date and this cannot be changed.

MiskyBoyy

goz83 wrote: »

Where does it say that? afaik, the anniversary is always the expiry date and this cannot be changed.

Q.23 of the FAQS section on NCTS website: http://www.ncts.ie/q23voluntaryearlytesting.html

23. How does Voluntary Early Testing work and what does it mean for me as a car owner?


Voluntary Early Testing of Vehicles

Vehicle owners who wish to present their vehicle for inspection earlier than 90 days before their NCT due date will now be allowed to do so.

Where this happens the vehicle will receive a 2 year (or 1 year depending on the age of the vehicle) certificate duration from the date it passes the test.

goz83

MiskyBoyy wrote: »

Q.23 of the FAQS section on NCTS website: http://www.ncts.ie/q23voluntaryearlytesting.html

23. How does Voluntary Early Testing work and what does it mean for me as a car owner?


Voluntary Early Testing of Vehicles

Vehicle owners who wish to present their vehicle for inspection earlier than 90 days before their NCT due date will now be allowed to do so.

Where this happens the vehicle will receive a 2 year (or 1 year depending on the age of the vehicle) certificate duration from the date it passes the test.

That should clear up some of the January backlogs in time and will cut out this crap where a short nct is given.

CiniO

H3llR4iser wrote: »

In other words, it makes no difference at all in most cases, as the anniversary and the NCT dates tend to be the same. My own car will be 10 years old on 31 Aug 2016, and the NCT expires the same day. If I bring it in on May 31st, 2016, I'll get a certificate valid to Aug 31st, 2017 - just the same as if I went on Aug 31st 2016.

Simplifying:

Q. If I bring my car for test earlier than its 10th anniversary date, for how long will the certificate be valid?
A. One year from the current certificate expiry date;

In your example it's like that.
If you bring your car for NCT on 31st May 2016 or later, you will get your NCT valid until 31st Aug 2017.
But if you bring it for NCT earlier (f.e. 30 May 2016) then you will get NCT valid for 2 years from date of test (so 30th May 2018) as this will fall under Voluntary Early Test.

CiniO

goz83 wrote: »

That should clear up some of the January backlogs in time and will cut out this crap where a short nct is given.

It won't because voluntary early test can be only conducted when car actually has valid NCT.
So if your NCT is due in January, but you don't use the car and don't do NCT in January, but do it instead in September, you will still only get a cert valid for 4 months (till next January) which is silly stuff.

CiniO

mb1725 wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience of booking in other European countries? |I am familiar with the British MOT system but was just wondering if other countries France, Spain have such a backlog issue?

So please tell us how is it with British MOT systems? How long are the waiting times, and do you need to prebook?


I have experience in Poland.
In short you can pop over to any Vehicle Test Centre at anytime (some of them are open even on Sundays) and do your test on the spot.
No booking system is available and there is no need for one, as normally you wouldn't wait more than 15 minutes for your test and that's only if you are unlucky.
Test costs 25 euros for standard passenger car.

larchill

CiniO wrote: »

So please tell us how is it with British MOT systems? How long are the waiting times, and do you need to prebook?


I have experience in Poland.
In short you can pop over to any Vehicle Test Centre at anytime (some of them are open even on Sundays) and do your test on the spot.
No booking system is available and there is no need for one, as normally you wouldn't wait more than 15 minutes for your test and that's only if you are unlucky.
Test costs 25 euros for standard passenger car.

Just bl00dy typlcal Paddy always ends up with an ar$eh0le of a setup :mad:

Jesus.

CiniO wrote: »

So please tell us how is it with British MOT systems? How long are the waiting times, and do you need to prebook?

Same as in Poland. You just go to an approved garage and they do it there.