Polish "nct" what I experienced today

snaps

Ok, So today I purchased a 2002 VW Passat Estate in Poland. Before I brought it I wanted to have it "nct'd" or safety checked here. I was worried about where I had to go for this and the wait time! I was told it was 6km down the road and they would do it while you waited. The garage allowed me to take the car as I had a verbal agreement with them I was going to buy it on the result of the safety check. Apparently every major town has at least 1 testing centre with no pre booking required.
So I turned up and there was 3 cars in front of me. I was very surprised that you could interact with the tester and chat away with him while he's testing. My test lasted about 20 minutes. I allowed him to do his stuff and he came back to me and showed me a few problems and also a few positives!
Firstly, one of the fog lamps was blown.....He pointed it out and replaced it!
Secondly, a stop light bulb was blown.....He replaced it!
Thirdly, he said a drive shaft rubber gator was split, he took me under the car and showed me, gave me advice that it needs changing and the joint cleaning out and re greasing ASAP.

He then gave me advice on what to get checked out on the next service and then pointed out a lot of plus points on the car.

He passed the car, gave me the stamp on the reg certificate and the printout and away I went. It was 99zl (about 23e) for the test, no charge for the bulbs.

What a breath of fresh air compared to the nerve wrecking nct system in Ireland.

I'm not saying its perfect or not flawed, but he checked all the important things like lights, brakes, suspension, chassis. One thing that wasn't checked was emmisions.

Sobanek

Yes, I found the Polish "przeglad" to be a much better process, although I like the strictness of NCT on everything bar the emissions tests.

Nonoperational

What's the point if a split CV boot and dirty dry joint passes?

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

NCT = Cash cow, the testing procedure I've experienced in other countries has been nothing but positive, they're based on safety and not how much they can take out of your pocket. Seems the NCT crowd are only too happy to fail you for a blown bulb or other minor offence.

snaps

Nonoperational wrote: »

What's the point if a split CV boot and dirty dry joint passes?

Well He said it was only cosmetic and it didn't effect the safety of the car but just the general operation of the car. He gave me the advice that it needs changing straight away, which I have done.

Also he took me down to the inspection pit and showed me the split. It was still full of grease and he said it was a fresh split, possibly from the car sitting over an extremely cold winter and possibly split on the way to the test in the warm weather.

He told me to get it seen to ASAP or it will cost more in the long run.

Cabaal

The Honey Monster wrote: »

NCT = Cash cow, the testing procedure I've experienced in other countries has been nothing but positive, they're based on safety and not how much they can take out of your pocket. Seems the NCT crowd are only too happy to fail you for a blown bulb or other minor offence.

Isn't a none working headlight a safety issue though?
You might see it as minor, but at the same time you've just made comparisons to other countrys.

A blown headlight in France can get you into a spot of bother if the Police stop you and you don't have a spare with you...for example.

Can improvements be made with the NCT, sure thing, no system is perfect, I'm sure plenty of people in other country's have lots to bitch about their tests.

But the NCT is certainly a start and for many idiots in this country its the only reason they get basic stuff sorted like headlights etc.

snaps

Cabaal wrote: »

Isn't a none working headlight a safety issue though?

But my point is that they replace bulbs here if they are blown. They seem to have bulbs and other bits and bobs in stock (Including car batteries) which they replace.

Atlantic Dawn

The Honey Monster wrote: »

Seems the NCT crowd are only too happy to fail you for a blown bulb or other minor offence.

A blown bulb requires the most basic of pre NCT test, anyone with a pair of eyes in their head could do it. It's only a visual fail and you bring it back when you have replaced the bulb, the NCT makes no money at all out of visual retests.

colm_mcm

If the NCT offered a service to replace bulbs, tyres, whatever - then it'd be labelled a money racket

The average irish motorist wouldn't bother replacing a cv boot unless the pass depended on it.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Cabaal wrote: »

Isn't a none working headlight a safety issue though?
You might see it as minor, but at the same time you've just made comparisons to other countrys.

A blown headlight in France can get you into a spot of bother if the Police stop you and you don't have a spare with you...for example.

Can improvements be made with the NCT, sure thing, no system is perfect, I'm sure plenty of people in other country's have lots to bitch about their tests.

But the NCT is certainly a start and for many idiots in this country its the only reason they get basic stuff sorted like headlights etc.

Woah, I just knew someone would only be too happy to jump the gun. I never said headlight.

Guy:Incognito

The Honey Monster wrote: »

Woah, I just knew someone would only be too happy to jump the gun. I never said headlight.

So how does the money making racket work then? They get nothing from visual retests, so it costs money for them.

Desolation Of Smug

Even the UK MOT is a better, easier and more flexible and accessible system. Our NCT is a pita. Long waits, too rigid, too few centers, fussing over non-safety items, long waiting times when at the tst center and totally un consumer friendly. I hate our system tbh. With a passion.

Guy:Incognito

Desolation Of Smug wrote: »

Even the UK MOT is a better.

Yep, nothing better than the tester also being the fixer . "Oh, heres your list of issues sir , I can fix those for you at a good price then give you a nice fresh MOT".

No better way to get a heap a years test than in your mates garage either.

Desolation Of Smug wrote: »

long waiting times when at the tst center .

I'm never there more than a few minutes longer than the test itself takes, 20 at most.
I was 2 hours getting a DOE done last year with all the waiting.

CiniO

Nonoperational wrote: »

What's the point if a split CV boot and dirty dry joint passes?

The point is, that it's not dangerous defect, and OP was informed about it, so he knows now he has to fix it.
IMO very good point it is.

Desolation Of Smug

Any of ye checked what classes as an "advisory" on the UK MOT yet a fail on the NCT? There's no discretion here. Crap, IMO.

kyote00

What about funky projector lights or cars where the bumper needs to come off ?

Is the pNCT state run or franchised out like the UK MOT ?

snaps wrote: »

But my point is that they replace bulbs here if they are blown. They seem to have bulbs and other bits and bobs in stock (Including car batteries) which they replace.

challengemaster

snaps wrote: »

I was very surprised that you could interact with the testerand chat away with him while he's testing .

Thirdly, he said a drive shaft rubber gator was split, he took me under the car and showed me, gave me advice that it needs changing and the joint cleaning out and re greasing ASAP.

Health and safety would have a field day. Bringing someone under the car over here would end up with a claim within the first week no doubt.

MetzgerMeister

colm_mcm wrote: »

If the NCT offered a service to replace bulbs, tyres, whatever - then it'd be labelled a money racket

But they don't and it's STILL labelled a money racket!

OP said there was no charge for the bulbs that were replaced.

CiniO

kyote00 wrote: »

Is the pNCT state run or franchised out like the UK MOT ?

It's franchised like UK MOT.
Garage who wants to be able to do annual tests of vehicles has to apply for licence for doing so, get appropriate equipment and once licence is granted they are ready to go.

CiniO

challengemaster wrote: »

Health and safety would have a field day. Bringing someone under the car over here would end up with a claim within the first week no doubt.

I've been plenty of times under the car in various garages in Ireland and never had any problems.
Few times I was invited there as they wanted to show me what the problem is.

CiniO

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

But they don't and it's STILL labelled a money racket!

OP said there was no charge for the bulbs that were replaced.

Most likely garage that did this for OP, treated it like marketing thing so that OP next year is going to come back to the same place for a roadworthiness test as last time he got free bulbs.

coylemj

The Honey Monster wrote: »

NCT = Cash cow

The Govt. get no revenue from the NCT, it's a cash neutral exercise i.e. the test charge pays for the expense of running the system.

It was implemented because (1) it was on the statute books since the 1961 act and (2) the EU told us that we had to get up off our arses and implement it.

And not before time.

ION08

"One thing that wasn't tested was emissions"

Did nobody else pick up on this??

If they don't test emissions and they passed you with a split CV boot then the "polish NCT" loses all credibility in my eyes.

God only knows what sort of other defects they pass cars with in that case.

Desolation Of Smug

CiniO wrote: »

Most likely garage that did this for OP, treated it like marketing thing so that OP next year is going to come back to the same place for a roadworthiness test as last time he got free bulbs.

Agreed. If I bring a van for a cvrt, and a bulbs blown, they replace it at cost and it passes..if I go for an NCT, and a bulbs blown, they fail me and it's a bleedin effort going back after hopping through hoops to book a re-test. No, I didn't check the bulbs - sue me.

challengemaster

Desolation Of Smug wrote: »

Agreed. If I bring a van for a cvrt, and a bulbs blown, they replace it at cost and it passes..if I go for an NCT, and a bulbs blown, they fail me and it's a bleedin effort going back after hopping through hoops to book a re-test. No, I didn't check the bulbs - sue me.

It would require hopping through hoops to book a visual retest alright, considering they don't need booking

slimjimmc

challengemaster wrote: »

It would require hopping through hoops to book a visual retest alright, considering they don't need booking

A blown dip bulb is not a visual retest since they need to check beam alignment.

CiniO

ION08 wrote: »

"One thing that wasn't tested was emissions"

Did nobody else pick up on this??

If they don't test emissions and they passed you with a split CV boot then the "polish NCT" loses all credibility in my eyes.

God only knows what sort of other defects they pass cars with in that case.

In me experience they wouldn't pass with any dangerous defects, like brakes, steering, suspension, excessive rust.
If it's something less dangerous they will just let you know it needs doing soon. Most people would do it anyway.
Emissions usually are not even tested. If is was, half of cars in the country would be off the road.

challengemaster

CiniO wrote: »

If it's something less dangerous they will just let you know it needs doing soon. Most people would do it anyway.

That there might be the difference. Most Irish people would keep driving away. "NCT said its grand shure"

Henry Ford III

Poland sounds like Nirvana.

mickdw

challengemaster wrote: »

Health and safety would have a field day. Bringing someone under the car over here would end up with a claim within the first week no doubt.

I've been out into the nct test lane under my car where the tester came out and brought me through to point out a worn bush on my rear suspension. This was about 9 years ago.
I've been under a jeep in a doe centre as recent as January so is would appear to be common enough.

SpaceTime

I actually think the NCT's a decent system.
If you've got these crossovers between inspection and garage services, you are immediately getting into possibilities of corruption of the system.

I prefer the no nonsense approach. Ireland had enough of 'ah sure it'll be grand' and discretionary rule bending for far, far too long!

The NCT probably needs more testing capacity though. The issue at the moment is probably due to the national fleet being a good bit older than during the pre-recessionary days.

The online booking system works fine, if you just hunt around for a date and book well in advance. I've never had any issue with it and I find once you get to a centre, the whole process is super efficient and absolutely sensible!

eringobragh

Can't argue with a comprehensive safety check for €55 per annum - I do my oil and other maintenance checks as per Toyotas BGB - anything I've failed the NCT in the last 3 years I knew it was coming.

coylemj

SpaceTime wrote: »

The NCT probably needs more testing capacity though. The issue at the moment is probably due to the national fleet being a good bit older than during the pre-recessionary days.

Please don't take this personally but there shouldn't be an 'issue' -a car needs testing 4 years after it's first registered and every two years after that until it's 10 years old. There are things called statistics and there's no reason why they should be caught out with a bigger demand than last year or whenever.

The CSO publishes monthly statistics on vehicle registration so whoever is running the NCT test should be able to predict how many tests need to be done each month. If I buy a new car today, they have four years notice of when I'll be in for my first NCT. Even if I move house, the tax renewal will tell them where I live so the local NCT centre should be aware how many tests they can expect to do in the next few months. No excuse whatsoever for why they're overloaded when they can predict demand well in advance.

SpaceTime

coylemj wrote: »

Please don't take this personally but there shouldn't be an 'issue' -a car needs testing 4 years after it's first registered and every two years after that until it's 10 years old. There are things called statistics and there's no reason why they should be caught out with a bigger demand than last year or whenever.

The CSO publishes monthly statistics on vehicle registration so whoever is running the NCT test should be able to predict how many tests need to be done each month. If I buy a new car today, they have four years notice of when I'll be in for my first NCT.

Quite likely down to the state having been bankrupt. It has to purchase sites as far as I'm aware even if the service is outsourced.

challengemaster

coylemj wrote: »

Please don't take this personally but there shouldn't be an 'issue' -a car needs testing 4 years after it's first registered and every two years after that until it's 10 years old. There are things called statistics and there's no reason why they should be caught out with a bigger demand than last year or whenever.

And every year after it's 10 years old. All these cars don't magically disappear - every year there's a new group falling into the >10 year old range and into the >4 year old range. That's 2 years worth of registrations that require testing that didn't last year, on top of the total count at the the end of the previous year.

coylemj wrote: »

The CSO publishes monthly statistics on vehicle registration so whoever is running the NCT test should be able to predict how many tests need to be done each month - if I buy a new car today, they have four years notice of when I'll be in for my first NCT.

That logic might work if you're assuming it's 1 centre serving the entire population.

It goes right out the window you take into account that it's Ireland and you've got cars, people and test centres scattered everywhere - and nobody does what they're supposed to.

Red Kev

The Honey Monster wrote: »

NCT = Cash cow, the testing procedure I've experienced in other countries has been nothing but positive, they're based on safety and not how much they can take out of your pocket. Seems the NCT crowd are only too happy to fail you for a blown bulb or other minor offence.

Can you name a couple of countries where a non working light gets a pass in their NCT. Doubt you can personally.

Irish system needs to sort out the long waiting times, apart from that its fine. I'm saying this having worked and NCT'd cars in Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK.

shamrock55

Thats funny cos my car failed on a worn or split cv boot and a break light recently, cost me 130euro plus my 28euro for retest, what a lovely little country we live in!!

irishgeo

shamrock55 wrote: »

Thats funny cos my car failed on a worn or split cv boot and a break light recently, cost me 130euro plus my 28euro for retest, what a lovely little country we live in!!

Were you aware of it before the NCT? It might have cost you more if continued to drive around with it split.

mickdw

shamrock55 wrote: »

Thats funny cos my car failed on a worn or split cv boot and a break light recently, cost me 130euro plus my 28euro for retest, what a lovely little country we live in!!

I see no issue other than what you paid for the repair.

cletus

shamrock55 wrote: »

Thats funny cos my car failed on a worn or split cv boot and a break light recently, cost me 130euro plus my 28euro for retest, what a lovely little country we live in!!

Not sure what the point of this post is. Is it that you think the government got the €130 you spent repairing your car? Or that the government got the €28 retest fee? It's hardly that the mandatory testing we have in this country found a fault with your car that you would have otherwise been unaware of?

SpaceTime

The reality is that a lot of stuff that people think isn't safety critical actually is.

Something you consider minor, like an interior boot cover or something like that ends up being a projectile during a crash and killing or injuring someone.

Driving to an NCT centre without checking your lights is frankly stupid! I've no sympathy whatsoever for moaning about that. You should check your bulbs every week. In most countries this is enforced severely by the police. Ireland's very very lax and you see blown headlights quite regularly. It's totally inexcusable to be driving anywhere other than to a garage to get bulb!

In most cars changing bulbs isn't exactly a massive technical challenge and plenty of garages and even motor factor shops will help you if you're stuck too!

power pants

Reckon the opposite, the modern the car the more complicated it is to replace a lightbulb. the cynic in me would think this was intentional by motor companies:rolleyes:

SpaceTime

power pants wrote: »

Reckon the opposite, the modern the car the more complicated it is to replace a lightbulb. the cynic in me would think this was intentional by motor companies:rolleyes:

Over complicated fancy French stylish headlights?

You can change Toyota headlights with one arm tied behind your back and no tools ...

There needs to be an EU directive on making DIY bulb changes easier.

I'd suspect it's not money making but just "form over function" - new headlamps are all about style not fiddling with the bulbs on the side of the N17 in the rain.

Black_Knight

Isnt 99zl considered quite a bit of money in Poland? I know it exchanges well over to euro, but from what ive heard off Polish buddies, spending 99zl out of a Polish wage is like spending €99 out of an Irish wage.

SpaceTime

Black_Knight wrote: »

Isnt 99zl considered quite a bit of money in Poland? I know it exchanges well over to euro, but from what ive heard off Polish buddies, spending 99zl out of a Polish wage is like spending €99 out of an Irish wage.

Big difference in income and cost of living but don't let that get in the way of an Ireland is a 3rd world country rant thread!

power pants

SpaceTime wrote: »

Over complicated fancy French stylish headlights?

You can change Toyota headlights with one arm tied behind your back and no tools ...

There needs to be an EU directive on making DIY bulb changes easier.

I'd suspect it's not money making but just "form over function" - new headlamps are all about style not fiddling with the bulbs on the side of the N17 in the rain.

haha, yeah french in particular crossed my mind when typing that

pcardin

SpaceTime wrote: »

Ireland's very very lax and you see blown headlights quite regularly. It's totally inexcusable to be driving anywhere other than to a garage to get bulb!

I always wonder why the fcuk they get blown if nearly nobody ever use them here!? :pac::D

MetzgerMeister

pcardin wrote: »

I always wonder why the fcuk they get blown if nearly nobody ever use them here!? :pac::D

The bulbs get such a fright when they're turned on it's just too much and they die from a filament attack

CiniO

Black_Knight wrote: »

Isnt 99zl considered quite a bit of money in Poland? I know it exchanges well over to euro, but from what ive heard off Polish buddies, spending 99zl out of a Polish wage is like spending €99 out of an Irish wage.

99zl on todays exchange rate is €24.60.

Assuming average annual salary in Poland around 48,000zł = €12,000 and average salary in Ireland is probably around €32,000 per annum so it's 2.66 times greater.

Assuming that data is correct then 99zl for person working in Poland is about the same expanse as €65.50 for person working in Ireland.

So yes - it is more expensive there to do roadworthiness test on your car.


But that's not to bad comparing to general price people in Poland have to pay for car itself.
Cheapest new car in Ireland would be probably Dacia Sandero at €10k.
In Poland equivalent car costs 34k zł = €8500.
So for person working in Poland to buy such a car is equivalent of spending €22,6k for person working in Ireland.
So in other words, a person working in Ireland who car afford new Golf or something like that, would only be able to afford new Dacia Sandero in Poland.

power pants

Not strictly true, if you work in irleand for a company and get moved over to Poland for secondment , you would normally still keep your irish wage

making you rich beyond your wildest dreams in poland:pac:

inforfun

Prefer the Irish NCT over what i had to go through in holland every year where your car is tested at dealers and other repair facilities.
They have reason to fail you and because of this most of them offer free nct (APK in Holland) as part of servicing your car.

Only thing that pissed me off was last year when 1 headlight needed to be aligned and therefore failed the nct.
Just take out a ****ign screwdriver and do the adjustment for that €55. Now i was in it for another €27.50 after i had this fixed.