Gardai seized car this morning for out of date NCT.

breadbin · 21-02-2019 9:47am #1

Just wondering can I drive it out of the garage they brought it to? I know not legally but will the garage owner let me take it, will he ring the cops on me or what's the story? The garage they took it to is about 30 miles from my house. It would cost a bomb to get it dropped over. anyone got any advice? I don't know anyone with a trailer!

Midnight_EG · 21-02-2019 9:49am

Why did they take your car to a garage? All seizures go to an impound

fancy pigeon · 21-02-2019 9:51am

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Why did they take your car to a garage? All seizures go to an impound

PSV'd...?

GreeBo · 21-02-2019 9:53am

Book an nct beefore picking it up

Isambard · 21-02-2019 9:54am

i imagine the garage are the ones who towed it on behalf of the Gards and they will want towing and storage fees. You'll have to produce documents to show it's legal or arrange a recovery truck

Geimhreadh · 21-02-2019 9:57am

How out of date does you nct need to be for the guards to take the car off of you?

Midnight_EG · 21-02-2019 9:59am

fancy pigeon wrote: »

PSV'd...?

They'd surely only PSV it if it's a taxi or they suspected something really wrong with it

fancy pigeon · 21-02-2019 10:16am

Midnight_EG wrote: »

They'd surely only PSV it if it's a taxi or they suspected something really wrong with it

It's the only thing I can think of to why it would be brought to a garage, they always go to a recovery yard otherwise

Wibbs · 21-02-2019 10:22am

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Why did they take your car to a garage? All seizures go to an impound

Maybe in more rural areas where they don't have a specific local impound yard like in the urban areas?

breadbin · 21-02-2019 10:26am

Wibbs wrote: »

Maybe in more rural areas where they don't have a specific local impound yard like in the urban areas?

Yep. It's rural. The garage doubles as an impound yard I presume. So I won't be able to drive it out? What if I roll it out the gates and park it on the side of the road?

Jamemid · 21-02-2019 10:27am

They won't let you drive it out if it's not road legal. You have to pay the fine in Garda station with a postal order. You could get it towed out of the garage/impound and chance driving it the rest of way!

Wibbs · 21-02-2019 10:29am

How long was your NCT out by BB?

Dravokivich · 21-02-2019 10:59am

Geimhreadh wrote: »

How out of date does you nct need to be for the guards to take the car off of you?

Out of date is out of date. It's not like tax, where it's inclusive for the month displayed on the disk.

Wildly Boaring · 21-02-2019 11:05am

breadbin wrote: »

Yep. It's rural. The garage doubles as an impound yard I presume. So I won't be able to drive it out? What if I roll it out the gates and park it on the side of the road?

I know of 2 or 3 like this. Cahir direction. When cars are lifted off the motorway then end up in them.

I'm sure you could push it or even tow it out on a rope legally.

Pops_20 · 21-02-2019 11:06am

Dravokivich wrote: »

Out of date is out of date. It's not like tax, where it's inclusive for the month displayed on the disk.

If it's only a few weeks out of date and you have proof that you have the test booked, or a re-test booked, then I'm sure some Gardai would give you some leeway.

Wibbs · 21-02-2019 11:08am

Dravokivich wrote: »

Out of date is out of date. It's not like tax, where it's inclusive for the month displayed on the disk.

Yes, but I was just wondering what leeway is applied. I've never heard of Guards impounding cars with the NCT being out a month.

Atlantic Dawn · 21-02-2019 11:17am

Wibbs wrote: »

Yes, but I was just wondering what leeway is applied. I've never heard of Guards impounding cars with the NCT being out a month.

Perhaps if it's in visibly bad condition none, bald tyres or non working lights maybe.

Dravokivich · 21-02-2019 12:23pm

Pops_20 wrote: »

If it's only a few weeks out of date and you have proof that you have the test booked, or a re-test booked, then I'm sure some Gardai would give you some leeway.

They shouldn't.

Mrcaramelchoc · 21-02-2019 12:26pm

Dravokivich wrote: »

They shouldn't.

Let's hope it never happens to you then eh.

breadbin · 21-02-2019 12:58pm

Is it still legal to tow it with a rope? That surprises me somehow.

GreeBo · 21-02-2019 12:58pm

Dravokivich wrote: »

They shouldn't.

Unless the car is suspected as being unsafe I think its a waste of everyones time to impound it when evidence of upcoming test is available and NCT is not out for more than a couple of weeks.

drunkmonkey · 21-02-2019 1:03pm

breadbin wrote: »

Is it still legal to tow it with a rope? That surprises me somehow.

Nope.
Talk the the garage they'll tell you what to do.

breadbin · 21-02-2019 1:08pm

Well it's obviously in their best interest for me not to tow it. Handy 200 quid for them to drop it at my door. And the rest maybe! I've no idea how much it would cost. It's all a money making racket anyway.

grogi · 21-02-2019 1:11pm

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

I know of 2 or 3 like this. Cahir direction. When cars are lifted off the motorway then end up in them.

I'm sure you could push it or even tow it out on a rope legally.

Vehicle cannot be towed on rope without NCT. Need to be platform tow truck.

grogi · 21-02-2019 1:12pm

breadbin wrote: »

Well it's obviously in their best interest for me not to tow it. Handy 200 quid for them to drop it at my door. And the rest maybe! I've no idea how much it would cost. It's all a money making racket anyway.

If only there was a piece of paper that says when the cert expires and you could test the car in advance...

breadbin · 21-02-2019 1:21pm

grogi wrote: »

If only there was a piece of paper that says when the cert expires and you could test the car in advance...

Well sometimes life gets in the way.

Pops_20 · 21-02-2019 1:43pm

breadbin wrote: »

Well it's obviously in their best interest for me not to tow it. Handy 200 quid for them to drop it at my door. And the rest maybe! I've no idea how much it would cost. It's all a money making racket anyway.

It's a money making racket yes... if the NCT was expired for a few weeks and you had proof of a test booking.
However I don't believe they would seize a car in this case, which leads me to believe that your NCT was expired for more than a few weeks as you also have not answered how long it has been expired for.

Cordell · 21-02-2019 1:54pm

You have 3 months in advance to do it, so there is no excuse.

*I did let my NCT lapse once or twice, but I never thought of blaming anyone else but me*

GreeBo · 21-02-2019 1:57pm

OP do you expect your car to pass the NCT?
Another poster brought it up and I would tend to agree, I reckon they took one look at your car and decided it was a deathtrap that needs garage time nevermind an NCT.

FishOnABike · 21-02-2019 2:19pm

Jamemid wrote: »

They won't let you drive it out if it's not road legal. You have to pay the fine in Garda station with a postal order. You could get it towed out of the garage/impound and chance driving it the rest of way!

If the car doesn't have a valid NCT it needs to leave the garage on a trailer or on the back of a recovery truck.

The only other option would be to have an NCT appointment and drive it to the NCT centre or garage for repairs on the day of the NCT appointment.

I suspect storage charges between now and the nearest available NCT appointment would be more than if would cost to have the car trailered home pending an NCT.

Wibbs · 21-02-2019 2:19pm

breadbin wrote: »

Well sometimes life gets in the way.

So how long was it out of date BB?

tcawley29 · 21-02-2019 2:22pm

FishOnABike wrote: »

If the car doesn't have a valid NCT it needs to leave the garage on a trailer or on the back of a recovery truck.

The only other option would be to have an NCT appointment and drive it to the NCT centre or garage for repairs on the day of the NCT appointment.

I suspect storage charges between now and the nearest available NCT appointment would be more than if would cost to have the car trailered home pending an NCT.

And then if it is a fail/dangerous at the NCT you will be back to square one as you will not be allowed to take the car and will have to get it towed to a mechanic.

Dante7 · 21-02-2019 2:23pm

Cordell wrote: »

You have 3 months in advance to do it, so there is no excuse.

*I did let my NCT lapse once or twice, but I never thought of blaming anyone else but me*

How did you manage to let your NCT lapse if there is no excuse?

punisher5112 · 21-02-2019 2:23pm

Do you have a mechanic op?

If you do know one and they have trade plates they could get the car and fix it up for test.

Get test date and get mechanic to get it in.

Wibbs · 21-02-2019 2:24pm

Dravokivich wrote: »

They shouldn't.

There's always the bureaucratic mind... So in your world somebody whose car fails on something minor and has a retest booked should have their car impounded in between?

punisher5112 · 21-02-2019 2:27pm

Wibbs wrote: »

There's always the bureaucratic mind... So in your world somebody whose car fails on something minor and has a retest booked should have their car impounded in between?

Well yes as it's not tested...,

BuzzMcdonnell · 21-02-2019 2:27pm

Wibbs wrote: »

There's always the bureaucratic mind... So in your world somebody whose car fails on something minor and has a retest booked should have their car impounded in between?

You have 3 months to NCT it before test runs out. You shouldn’t be driving a car to the Test center if it has no NCT.

tcawley29 · 21-02-2019 2:40pm

BuzzMcdonnell wrote: »

You have 3 months to NCT it before test runs out. You shouldn’t be driving a car to the Test center if it has no NCT.

It is allowed if you are on your way to the NCT center though.

But I would be of the same mindset as yourself, you gain absolutely nothing by putting it on the long finger

Isambard · 21-02-2019 2:42pm

breadbin wrote: »

Yep. It's rural. The garage doubles as an impound yard I presume. So I won't be able to drive it out? What if I roll it out the gates and park it on the side of the road?

you'd still have to pay the fees (and a fine if there is one) and you'd run the risk of it getting seized again if it was sat on the road. Quite a high risk seeing aas it would be parked outside the impound yard!

Wibbs · 21-02-2019 2:47pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

Well yes as it's not tested...,

Actually it has been tested, failed on something minor and is booked for a retest. Then again I forgot about the technicality types.

And we still don't know by how much the OP's NCT was out. I can't see too many Guards going full on pedant and bypassing discretion if it's a couple of weeks out, a couple of months out is another matter entirely.

Cordell · 21-02-2019 2:51pm

Dante7 wrote: »

How did you manage to let your NCT lapse if there is no excuse?

Pure laziness.
*looks at disc, grand, I'm good until February*
*February comes*
*February goes*
*Gets NCT booking in late March*

grogi · 21-02-2019 3:10pm

tcawley29 wrote: »

It is allowed if you are on your way to the NCT center though.

No, you're not. That provision was removed from the law years ago.

Dravokivich · 21-02-2019 3:35pm

Mrcaramelchoc wrote: »

Let's hope it never happens to you then eh.

I've never driven a car out of NCT, nor intend to. There's plenty of time to book in advance of the date it expires.

GreeBo wrote: »

Unless the car is suspected as being unsafe I think its a waste of everyones time to impound it when evidence of upcoming test is available and NCT is not out for more than a couple of weeks.

The Gardaí only have the ability to do so on very few observational points, such as condition of the tires. They have no means to assess the rest of the car on the side of the road.

Wibbs wrote: »

There's always the bureaucratic mind... So in your world somebody whose car fails on something minor and has a retest booked should have their car impounded in between?

No, they should have done the test, before it expired. There's 90 days before the renewal, whereby you can get the expiration extended. It's hardly an issue with a lack of opportunity.

Lord Nikon · 21-02-2019 3:46pm

If you have an NCT test and they deem the car to be unsafe to drive(you cannot drive it away, and it needs to taken away on a flatbed). And you get the flat bed driver to unload the truck 50 meters down the road, get in the car and drive home, then yeah you deserve to get impounded..... But what, a car without NCT that fails on something less worse, should also get car impounded?

Cordell · 21-02-2019 3:50pm

I can't see any reason to impound a car that failed for minor defects. Impounding should only be done to prevent a (potentially) dangerous car to be driven, not as a punishment for the driver.

Effects · 21-02-2019 3:55pm

breadbin wrote: »

Well it's obviously in their best interest for me not to tow it. Handy 200 quid for them to drop it at my door. And the rest maybe! I've no idea how much it would cost. It's all a money making racket anyway.

breadbin wrote: »

Well sometimes life gets in the way.

Sounds like you just feel you don't have to follow the same laws as most other people in the country.

roosterman71 · 21-02-2019 4:33pm

I'm going to keep a close eye on the Garda twitter account for to see what kind of yokes they have up on tow trucks today

breadbin · 21-02-2019 4:56pm

Effects wrote: »

Sounds like you just feel you don't have to follow the same laws as most other people in the country.

You should read my post before making stupid assumptions like that. I never gave out about the Gardai taking the car. They have every right to. I posted to get advice on how to get my car out. I thought maybe I could save myself a couple hundred euro by towing it out myself.

fullstop · 21-02-2019 5:00pm

breadbin wrote: »

You should read my post before making stupid assumptions like that. I never gave out about the Gardai taking the car. They have every right to. I posted to get advice on how to get my car out. I thought maybe I could save myself a couple hundred euro by towing it out myself.

Are you going to answer the question that has been asked 3 times already...how long was the NCT out?

21-02-2019 5:04pm

fancy pigeon wrote: »

It's the only thing I can think of to why it would be brought to a garage, they always go to a recovery yard otherwise

Sounds a bit dodgy, Garda gets car sent/brought to private yard/garage! and an owner is obliged to pay said private company for storage or they have a formal agreement with the Gardai?? who gets to decide on the condition of the vehicle? and fix it up? the garage??

Is it obvious OP? and again, how longs it out OP? a week or two isnt going to make a difference to safety if its ok but might result in points unnecessarily, why take the risk though?

doolox · 21-02-2019 5:10pm

I recently got my NCT done at the end of December for a January1st due date NCT disk.

The thing failed for CV boot cracked and worn and emissions high ( Diesel smoke test). I was not able to get these rectified until mid January due to garage being in the middle of a very busy time but I was able to book a a retest for a day after the garage had rectified the faults on the 15th January.

Passed with flying colours but if I'd have known my car was subject to seizure I would have been a lot more nervous.

Now that I am aware of the three months early rule I'll be getting the NCT done in November to avoid the Christmas rush and have time to rectify possible faults.

I am guessing that 1st of January is a very busy time NCT wise as would be the 1st July because of plates changing at those times.

Gardai seized car this morning for out of date NCT.

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