Fake Nct

sunup123

Bought a car and when I got home and checked the website it said the nct is expired since last May

I didnt know the reg of the car before I went to see it and I should have checked it out before I bought but at least ive learned a lesson now.

Any advice what to do? Will I try get an Nct on it or just carry on driving it?

Thanks in advance

Atlantic Dawn

Was it a fake disc, if so report it to the Gardai but I am guessing the person you bought it off was not the registered owner and is untraceable and you could have bought a stolen car due to your relaxed approach to purchasing it. I would NCT it straight away.

R1_Pete

sunup123 wrote: »

Bought a car and when I got home and checked the website it said the nct is expired since last May

I didnt know the reg of the car before I went to see it and I should have checked it out before I bought but at least ive learned a lesson now.

Any advice what to do? Will I try get an Nct on it or just carry on driving it?

Thanks in advance

Who did you buy it from? A dealer or private?
Do you have the advert/receipt?
I would firstly verify that the information you got is correct, ie is the NCT out.. If so call the seller/dealer... Before the guards.

It could be a mistake on the system. If not don't so a thing until you call the seller. Then if no recompense speak to the guards..

Vic_08

sunup123 wrote: »

Bought a car and when I got home and checked the website it said the nct is expired since last May

I didnt know the reg of the car before I went to see it and I should have checked it out before I bought but at least ive learned a lesson now.

Any advice what to do? Will I try get an Nct on it or just carry on driving it?

Thanks in advance

Just carry on driving it is the one thing you shouldn't do.

Apart from the fact it has no NCT which is illegal, the sorts of scumbags that do up fake NCT certs aren't likely to be selling mind condition cars in the first place, there could be all sorts of things wrong with it.

Have you checked that it is the car it says it is? do the VIN plates match the registration?

You need to get it checked by someone who knows what they are looking at before driving it again.

You really need to be returning it ASAP but if the person you bought it off is involved in the dodgy NCT then chances are you will have difficulty finding them and/or getting your money back. If you can find them don't go alone, bring as many mates as you can find, for moral support, and state in simple terms that you want your money back right away in full.

You need to call the guards if it is dodgy but you should find out what is wrong with it first.

sunup123

R1_Pete wrote: »

Who did you buy it from? A dealer or private?
Do you have the advert/receipt?
I would firstly verify that the information you got is correct, ie is the NCT out.. If so call the seller/dealer... Before the guards.

It could be a mistake on the system. If not don't so a thing until you call the seller. Then if no recompense speak to the guards..

It was a private sale. I have taken photos of the advert, and you can see his house number and also the reg of another car parked in his driveway which I thought was a strange thing to do if you knew there was a fake nct.

I checked the website maybe ill ring the nct and see is the information correct

R1_Pete

sunup123 wrote: »

It was a private sale. I have taken photos of the advert, and you can see his house number and also the reg of another car parked in his driveway which I thought was a strange thing to do if you knew there was a fake nct.

I checked the website maybe ill ring the nct and see is the information correct

Where did you meet? At his house?
Do you have paperwork? Can you check the VIN?

sunup123

R1_Pete wrote: »

Where did you meet? At his house?
Do you have paperwork? Can you check the VIN?

No we met in a carpark, which looking back was not the best idea. I signed the logbook if thats what you mean and Ill check the VIN in the morning when its bright.

Guy:Incognito

sunup123 wrote: »

No we met in a carpark, which looking back was not the best idea. I signed the logbook if thats what you mean and Ill check the VIN in the morning when its bright.

You might well find the photos arent his. Could have just copied them from the previous owners ad.

Is the reg of the car you bought visible in the ad?

sunup123

No he has the last 2 numbers blocked out.

visual

It's a common scam fake nct
the car most likely failed nct or seller knew it wouldn't pass. So stuck a fake nct to flog it off.
The seller is a low life might have bought it at auction cheap because it had no nct. Clean up car sticks fake nct disc in window and it's handy money. You probably only have a mobile number for the seller who most likely not the registered owner in VLC (log book) will be very hard to track down and very unlikely you'll get any satisfaction or money back.

Report seller to garda they should also confirm car isn't reported stolen

Check out the car it should be as in log book send it off to Shannon for change of ownership and book NCT test ASAP.

There is too many low life's out there ripping of inexperienced buyers.

sunup123

Yeah but I was stupid, at least it will be a lesson for me. Hopefully it wont cost more than 500 or 600 for it to pass the nct.

Dozer Dave

sunup123 wrote: »

Ill check the VIN in the morning when its bright.

Its abit late to be closing the stable door after the horse bolting.

sunup123

Dozer Dave wrote: »

Its abit late to be closing the stable door after the horse bolting.

Its my first car, I didnt really have a clue what I was doing and it seems that the fella I brought with me didnt either

sunup123

I know its like asking how long is a piece of string but would 500 or 600 be enough to get it ready for the NCT. Its driving perfectly

joebothers

sunup123 wrote: »

I know its like asking how long is a piece of string but would 500 or 600 be enough to get it ready for the NCT. Its driving perfectly

Won't know until you pay the 55 euro and see what it fails on! Don't get a mechanic to look at it until after the N.C.T and you get the list of things that are wrong.

How are the tyres?

Vic_08

sunup123 wrote: »

I know its like asking how long is a piece of string but would 500 or 600 be enough to get it ready for the NCT. Its driving perfectly

Nobody can possibly give any sort of guess as to the possible cost to sort this out over the internet with the amount of information you have provided, you haven't even said what make model year it is or how much you paid for it.

It runs the entire gamut from there being a mistake with the NCT records and nothing being wrong with the car to the car being stolen property in which case it does not belong to you at all.

You need to find out what the real story is, someone competent looking at the car would be a good start.

cletus

sunup123 wrote: »

I know its like asking how long is a piece of string but would 500 or 600 be enough to get it ready for the NCT. Its driving perfectly

If the vin checks out, and you plan on changing the car to your name and hold onto it, then first thing is a service.

After that, make sure all obvious things, like bulbs, are ok, send it for test and see what it fails on.

Pre NCT exams are usually a waste of time, as the case can still fail, and you may pay for unnecessary work

Rubberchikken

don't beat yourself up over it. you're not stupid, just green. hard lesson to learn though, but guys like him are everywhere.
follow the advice given and fingers crossed it'll pass the nct maybe with a bit of service.

good luck

sunup123

Vic_08 wrote: »

Nobody can possibly give any sort of guess as to the possible cost to sort this out over the internet with the amount of information you have provided, you haven't even said what make model year it is or how much you paid for it.

It runs the entire gamut from there being a mistake with the NCT records and nothing being wrong with the car to the car being stolen property in which case it does not belong to you at all.

You need to find out what the real story is, someone competent looking at the car would be a good start.

It definitely ran out of nct last May. How do I check if its stolen?

Thats what I'm doing today, just was looking for an estimate but it is impossible to say over this.

cletus

sunup123 wrote: »

It definitely ran out of nct last May. How do I check if its stolen?

Thats what I'm doing today, just was looking for an estimate but it is impossible to say over this.

Ok, check the vin on the car against your log book. If that checks out, go to local Garda station with the reg no and explain your story, they can check if it has been stolen.

If it hasn't been stolen, then you can proceed with changing the car to your name, then NCT

goz83

Sorry to read about this OP. First thing I will say, is NEVER buy a car in a car park. The deal should always be done in the owners home. Some genuine sellers have issues with this, but if the car is genuine, it shouldn't be a problem.

It is possible that the person selling the car did not know that the nct was fake, but this is unlikely tbh. I sold a car (04 mondeo) last year for my brother. The car was in excellent shape, but my brother trusted some guy he was working with to get the nct done for him. Being none the wiser, he was driving around for months with a fake disc in the window. I sold the car from my house. Advertised in the day, provisionally sold by the evening and gone in the morning. Not long after, the buyer phoned me up with the news that the nct was a fake. I was mortified, having sold the car, assuming all was in proper order. I then asked my brother about it and when he told me how the nct was acquired, it all made sense. He phoned the buyer and offered him his money back, or to return €100 for the nct and to pay for tracking, which is the only thing I suspected the car needed. The car drove perfectly and the buyer recognised that I wasn't scamming him. He took the €100 and it would seem that the car passed the nct, as we didn't hear anything after that.

Funny thing is, after it was sorted, I seen a thread here about it. Boards is usually a good place to go, but often people jump to conclusions before considering alternatives. This happened in the other thread and must have had the guy more worried than he would have been. Try calling the seller first. After that, you can go from there. Did you take the log book? I presume not. Contact the Gardai if you cannot reach the seller within a day, or so.

Edit: if the ad is still active, that's a good sign. A scammer would mark it sold asap, so it couldn't be found with ease. Maybe link the ad, if it's still active. And the car may well pass an nct as it is.

Sam Kade

The seller meeting you in a car park should have set the alarm bells ringing straight away. I went to see a car last year that was parked outside an unoccupied house in a housing estate when I checked the log book the address didn't match. The seller said it was his wife's fathers car and they never transferred it over, I walked away. I ended up buying from a garage same type car with a years tax and nct. Even though I paid a few hundred extra it worked out the same with the tax and nct and probably a lot cheaper.

power pants

nct website has a list of nct numbers that have been stolen, can check there to see.

As another poster has said, its possible your car is fine and the person just opted for a fake nct than bother going through the procedure

My main priority would be to check the VIN number and also do an online check on the car too , possible insurance write off, stolen etc

If the above checks out and everything is fine.

Put the car through the nct and see what it fails on

These things happen on a daily basis, at least it wont happen to you again and hopefully you didnt spend too much on the purchase of the car

good luck

sunup123

The only thing is I signed the logbook last night and hes posting it this morning, how long will it take to get back to me?

I saved about 600 or 700 euro on the purchase so that means I have that to try and get it to pass the nct.

And i appreciate all the advice that was given this morning it was very helpful, thanks guys

Atlantic Dawn

Try looking on the motor tax vehicle transaction enquiry page to see if the ownership of the car has changed in the last 3 months, it would be probably better from your point of view if it has not, a recent change might indicate someone trying to offload it as they have found issues with it..

https://www.motortax.ie/PSE

sunup123

Just an Update. I got through to the guy, who said he bought it two months ago and he never checked the nct. He said he put some of the money on a deposit for a van but if I want he can give me the money back ina few days. I know the garage he works in and he answered and then rang me back later on so he seems genuine.

Going to get a mechanic to look at it and see what he thinks.

cletus

sunup123 wrote: »

Just an Update. I got through to the guy, who said he bought it two months ago and he never checked the nct. He said he put some of the money on a deposit for a van but if I want he can give me the money back ina few days. I know the garage he works in and he answered and then rang me back later on so he seems genuine.

Going to get a mechanic to look at it and see what he thinks.

You might end up being lucky so. I think you can do a free search on cartell.ie which will confirm the make and model of the car attached to a specific reg. Might be worth doing that in leu of checking the vin, considering you don't have the log book at the moment. Still worth checking with the Gardaí.

goz83

sunup123 wrote: »

Just an Update. I got through to the guy, who said he bought it two months ago and he never checked the nct. He said he put some of the money on a deposit for a van but if I want he can give me the money back ina few days. I know the garage he works in and he answered and then rang me back later on so he seems genuine.

Going to get a mechanic to look at it and see what he thinks.

Thats good news. See, its not always a scam. The fake nct is so common these days it is insane. You can either take his offer, or maybe suggest a compromise, as the car had no nct and you bought it from him, advertised with a valid nct. Maybe €100 woukd be fair, if everything else is OK and depending on when the nct was advertised for. Can you link the ad?

goz83

cletus wrote: »

You might end up being lucky so. I think you can do a free search on cartell.ie which will confirm the make and model of the car attached to a specific reg. Might be worth doing that in leu of checking the vin, considering you don't have the log book at the moment. Still worth checking with the Gardaí.

A vehicle transaction inquiry will confirm make and madel, as linked below.

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Try looking on the motor tax vehicle transaction enquiry page to see if the ownership of the car has changed in the last 3 months, it would be probably better from your point of view if it has not, a recent change might indicate someone trying to offload it as they have found issues with it..

https://www.motortax.ie/PSE

power pants

if he works in a garage, could you put the car through the nct and if it fails maybe reach an agreement with him doing the work at the garage for a discount/free?

sunup123

power pants wrote: »

if he works in a garage, could you put the car through the nct and if it fails maybe reach an agreement with him doing the work at the garage for a discount/free?

Never thought of that, the only thing is I am in Meath and he works in dublin, but I'll ring him later and see what he says.

sunup123

goz83 wrote: »

A vehicle transaction inquiry will confirm make and madel, as linked below.

Yeah he said he got the car in February and he wasn't lying.

Guy:Incognito

joebothers wrote: »

Don't get a mechanic to look at it until after the N.C.T and you get the list of things that are wrong.
?

I disagree. There could be a dangerous fault with it for all he knows.

Danger to the OP and passengers/other road users aside, what if something catastrophic goes wrong with it , engine wise , that writes it off but could have bee prevented with a few checks.

sunup123

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

I disagree. There could be a dangerous fault with it for all he knows.

Danger to the OP and passengers/other road users aside, what if something catastrophic goes wrong with it , engine wise , that writes it off but could have bee prevented with a few checks.

Yeah ill be just getting him to have a look at and see if theres anything serious wrong with it but if there's not ill bring it to the nct and then see what it fails on.

sunup123

Last question on the matter. Do you need nct disc for insurance?

power pants

all depends on the insurance company, the ones I have used have never asked

sunup123

power pants wrote: »

all depends on the insurance company, the ones I have used have never asked

I was thinking it will differ between companies.

the_syco

sunup123 wrote: »

Yeah he said he got the car in February and he wasn't lying.

He got the car in February, and flips it two months later with a fake NCT disc? I'd wonder if the original seller screwed him, and now he's trying to get rid of it?

goz83

goz83 wrote: »

Sorry to read about this OP. First thing I will say, is NEVER buy a car in a car park. The deal should always be done in the owners home. Some genuine sellers have issues with this, but if the car is genuine, it shouldn't be a problem.
.

I'd be very slow to have someone come to my house when selling a car, you don't know what sort of individual you have coming, they could very well be just snooping around to see what the place is like for a potential robbery, come back and steal the car, come after you if something goes wrong with the car down the line etc etc.

DakarVert

Opposite happened me last week...

Bought a car with no valid NCT, NCT disc out since July '14.

Checked the NCT website/CarsIreland and it shows it's tested for another 3 months!

Atlantic Dawn

Jonah CoolS Translator wrote: »

I'd be very slow to have someone come to my house when selling a car, you don't know what sort of individual you have coming, they could very well be just snooping around to see what the place is like for a potential robbery, come back and steal the car, come after you if something goes wrong with the car down the line etc etc.

Well they will have to see the logbook at some stage featuring your address.

goz83

Jonah CoolS Translator wrote: »

I'd be very slow to have someone come to my house when selling a car, you don't know what sort of individual you have coming, they could very well be just snooping around to see what the place is like for a potential robbery, come back and steal the car, come after you if something goes wrong with the car down the line etc etc.

I've had this debate before. A buyer is more likely to be scammed than a seller is to have someone scoping their house out for a robbery. Selling the car doesn't mean you have to invite anyone into your home. That's not necessary. If you're worried about someone coming to your home after there is a problem with the car, then you either sold a car you knew had a problem, or you should be selling it to a garage. Buying a car in a carpark is just too dodgy. If the seller will not do the sale at their home, I won't even go look at the car. I always make that clear, if they want to meet at some landmark. I also avoid 089 numbers, as they seem to be preferred as throwaway sims.

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Well they will have to see the logbook at some stage featuring your address.

All they get is a quick glance and it means damn all when its a rural area as the address wont even lead them to an exact house.

goz83 wrote: »

I've had this debate before. A buyer is more likely to be scammed than a seller is to have someone scoping their house out for a robbery. Selling the car doesn't mean you have to invite anyone into your home. That's not necessary. If you're worried about someone coming to your home after there is a problem with the car, then you either sold a car you knew had a problem, or you should be selling it to a garage. Buying a car in a carpark is just too dodgy. If the seller will not do the sale at their home, I won't even go look at the car. I always make that clear, if they want to meet at some landmark. I also avoid 089 numbers, as they seem to be preferred as throwaway sims.

I've bought and sold cars without issue from car parks, even my current car which wasn't small money by any means was done from a garage forecourt.

Some of the people I had calling up when I was selling a previous car, calling at 2am in the morning etc I wouldn't even meet them at a car park never mind bringing them to my family home in a rural area (I wouldn't be as bothered if its an urban house you were selling from) with any amount of machinery and equipment to catch their eye. Also you will see from threads here that some buyers do start looking for come back on problems that arise after genuine sales.

I'd be happy enough to lose out on the very odd buyer who would only meet at my home address to be honest, particularly for the first viewing of the car so I could have a look at them first.

goz83

Jonah CoolS Translator wrote: »

All they get is a quick glance and it means damn all when its a rural area as the address wont even lead them to an exact house.



I've bought and sold cars without issue from car parks, even my current car which wasn't small money by any means was done from a garage forecourt.

Some of the people I had calling up when I was selling a previous car, calling at 2am in the morning etc I wouldn't even meet them at a car park never mind bringing them to my family home in a rural area (I wouldn't be as bothered if its an urban house you were selling from) with any amount of machinery and equipment to catch their eye. Also you will see from threads here that some buyers do start looking for come back on problems that arise after genuine sales.

I'd be happy enough to lose out on the very odd buyer who would only meet at my home address to be honest, particularly for the first viewing of the car so I could have a look at them first.

Well, to be fair to you, I would understand if it was a rural address, especially if there was valuable equipment on the property. My point was more for the average sale in towns and cities, where the buyer can come to your home and not necessarily come into it. I have sold a few cars over the years. Mostly, I would have no problem signing over the vlc in my house, but sometimes, I would just do it in the garden, if I wasn't 100% comfortable with the buyer.

If someone called me after midnight about a car for sale, I would be rightly piśsed off and would tell them where to go (probably a nearby estate to false address ). If a seller wanted to meet at a carpark first, that would be no problem, but I always make it clear, that I will not buy it from a carpark, as I do all sales at the sellers home. That includes when I was buying from members of the fto ireland club, who I would have a much higher level of trust for. The one time I went against that rule, due to an overly keen brother, we ended up with a lemon (punto) and a fake nct that couldn't even make it home. I wasn't in a position to check it properly. Thankfully, it was only a few hundred euro, which was almost fully recovered by selling onto a friend of a friend, who wanted to fix it up. But, it could have been worse. A relatively cheap lesson.

I already mention in this thread that I had sold a mondeo for my brother, which it turned out to have a fake nct. Imagine that guy had bought from a carpark, to someone with a throwaway sim. No comeback. He was able to get the mistake fixed, because he bought from the sellers home. It's certainly possible that any car can develop a problem, soon after a sale. But, they would want to be thinking twice before making any threats, or demands. I'm no wheeler dealer. Have bought and sold a few ftos and other cars I have owned, usually at no profit. I point out every scratch, dent and fault I know of (if any) and to date, have not had a single call about a problem from anything I have ever sold, bar two exceptions.

1) the nct thing mentioned above and quickly sorted.
2) this is a good one. I sold a quad to some eastern europeans living in leitrim. Brought from sweden and sold here for €800 + €50 delivered to Leitrim that same day. It was a 200cc road sports quad worth €1600 and it had less than 10 miles on it. 10, not 10k. A month after the sale, I get a call from the buyer who wanted his money back because the screws kept coming loose on the fairing. I asked where they were using the quad, because the guy said he wasn't able to insure it when he called; "On the street" he said. What he didn't know, is a friend of mine lived in the estate beside them and saw them rallying the quad every single day in the fields behind the estates. I suggested he keep it on paved roads and use thread glue to help with the screws coming loose from excessive vibration. He admitted using it in the fields when I told him that my friend saw them every day in the fields. He still wanted a refund after running up several hundred miles on rough terrain. I told him to enjoy the quad he boight, for a bargain price and wished him well. A week later, a lady from citizens advice called, asking if I would refund the money. I explained the above and pointed out that it was a private sale. That was the end of it. That was back in 2010 and they were still using the quad regularly up to 2013. Some people are just chancers, but it wouldn't push me into a carpark, unless I had good reason to.

9935452

sunup123 wrote: »

Last question on the matter. Do you need nct disc for insurance?

You need an nct disc to drive a car legally on the road. The insurance company wont ask for it but if you get caught by the guards you will get 3 penalty points for not having it, possibly 5 if you go to court.
If there is an accident you might not be insured.

There are stupid waiting lists for ncts . months in fact.
If i was you i would take a refund, especially if you need the car.

kc66

9935452 wrote: »

You need an nct disc to drive a car legally on the road. The insurance company wont ask for it but if you get caught by the guards you will get 3 penalty points for not having it, possibly 5 if you go to court.
If there is an accident you might not be insured.

There are stupid waiting lists for ncts . months in fact.
If i was you i would take a refund, especially if you need the car.

Most insurance companies require a copy of the nct disc, depending on the age of the car.

9935452

kc66 wrote: »

Most insurance companies require a copy of the nct disc, depending on the age of the car.

Ive never been asked for a nct cert /disc. car was 02. now 09.
FBD setanta, hibernian quinn never looked for one
I find they used to ask for a copy of your license but not any more.
I asked about that one day and was told more or less that if i was supplying them with false information my insurance would be void

Icepick

9935452 wrote: »

Ive never been asked for a nct cert /disc. car was 02. now 09.
FBD setanta, hibernian quinn never looked for one
I find they used to ask for a copy of your license but not any more.
I asked about that one day and was told more or less that if i was supplying them with false information my insurance would be void

Yes, you may not need the disc to get insurance, but they won't pay out without NCT.

slimjimmc

Icepick wrote: »

Yes, you may not need the disc to get insurance, but they won't pay out without NCT.

Links please. Nothing in my insurance policy or schedule indicates that cover is dependant on NCT; roadworthy condition: yes but not NCT or a worthiness certificate. No NCT does not make a car not roadworthy just like no tax, a blown tail-light or high emissions, likewise an NCT is just an point in time check, your car could burst a spring a week later and not be roadworthy but you'd still have an NCT cert.

PeteK*

Icepick wrote: »

Yes, you may not need the disc to get insurance, but they won't pay out without NCT.

They're likely to pay out but with less cover than what you've gone for.

pippip

123.ie (RSA) have this in their policy doc under

CONDITIONS THAT APPLY TO THE WHOLE
POLICY

Your Car must be covered by a valid Department of Transport NCT Test Certificate, if you
need one by law. You must take all reasonable steps to protect Your Car from loss or
damage, and keep it in an efficient and roadworthy condition. The vehicle keys should be
removed from the ignition and the vehicle kept locked when not being driven.

https://www.123.ie/downloads/rsamotorpolicy1110.pdf