NCT testers

Ubbquittious

Do they get paid extra for being overly dramatic and giving really vague descriptions of why the car failed?

scudzilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058317636/nct-testers

So what did they fail you on?

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121221401#Comment_121221401

They havent failed me for a while. Just a random thought that came into my head

REDBULL68

Had one 2 years ago ,old ford focus ,he drove it out and said I can't test it as bonnet wouldn't open ,I turned key left and right and it popped straight away, he said OK and then went in got me my pass cert, without even seeing the engine, never mind testing it .

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121221690#Comment_121221690

They don’t test the engine.

Lewis_Benson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058317636/nct-testers

No.

hoodie6029

Thought it’d been a while since we had a NCT complaint thread and here one pops up just after

artanevilla

Never had any issue with any tester. From my experience at centre's it's normally the customers that are snarky.

REDBULL68

?why open the bonnet then ?they surely have to test something in the engine, as its the heart of the car .

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121226546#Comment_121226546

They would check the oil level and they check the emissions (through the exhaust) but other than that the engine is not considered a safety item so is not tested other than a cursory glance

REDBULL68

Ye fair enough, but you still have to open the bonnet to check fluids levels, but he just gave the cert ,I think he was just embarrassed as other people where watching.

User1998

The oil level should be checked and and the battery mounting should be checked. VIN number also needs to be verified but I believe thats under the floor mat on your car.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121226612#Comment_121226612

mk7r

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121226612#Comment_121226612

They don't check your fluid levels other than the oil if its accessible

Patrick2010

would have thought checking for fluid levels below minimum would be a standard quick check of issues?

r65

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121221873#Comment_121221873

They do check the oil level before commencing emissions test.

My Citroen Picasso failed because they "could not complete test" .

This engine has a flexible bit on the dipstick.

While wiping the oil off it, the tester seemingly pulled off the flexible part.

As a result he couldn't measure the oil, so no test possible.

Padre_Pio

I had a NCT tester with the thickest Cork accent.

Not a notion what he said. I felt bad asking him to repeat himself for the third time..

REDBULL68

I had tester, that couldn't find anything wrong with the car but,as by the directive, couldn't help him self but to fail me on one of the indicator bulbs slightly darker than the other ,couldn't see it myself as 2 other people I asked either, so I won't down the road ,came back and told another tester I changed the bulbs and he gave me my cert ,joke of a company, its just a money spinner

Yes

ahnowbrowncow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121230583#Comment_121230583

You certainly seem to fall foul to dodgy NCT testers. But luckily you always come out on top in these stories.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121230583#Comment_121230583

How’s it a money spinner? It was a free retest.

pcardin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121227857#Comment_121227857

Yes, its embarrassing. Google Translate can't cover corkese either, and human translators are expensive.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121231001#Comment_121231001

I work with a fella from Cobh who was buying a car from a man in Larne, both with the thickest accents. We needed two middlemen to translate the conversation.

Isthisthingon?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121221690#Comment_121221690

Same thing happened to my wife's passat years ago. The spring on the clasp was indeed rusty and it would often take a few attempts to open the bonnet.

It failed the nct on the basis that the bonnet couldn't be opened but yet everything else passed.

Managed to squirt in some WD 40 which unseized the clasp and brought it back. it was only a visual inspection so no charge but I had to open the bonnet in front of him. He asked did I get the clasp replaced and I just told him I sprayed wd 40. he shrugged and gave me the cert.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121230583#Comment_121230583

I'm old enough to remember the kinds of wrecks that we had to share the road with pre-NCT days.

Remember when you'd be giving somebody a push start or a push off the road every month? Remember when you'd get into your mate's da's car with the rusty floor and broken seatbelts and one headlight?

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121232107#Comment_121232107

Ger outta here with your ‘facts’!

Best story about testers on here was one guy who claimed his 911 4S was put on the rollers and it ruined the AWD system. Limping it to a mechanic a truck crashed into it, writing it off, so he never got for complain to the NCT. Santa was the tester and the Easter Bunny was the reckless truck driver IIRC

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121232107#Comment_121232107

Good times !

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121232401#Comment_121232401

I had a tester in Fonthill give me a fail/advisory years ago because the orange indicator covers on my E30 "weren't orange enough" yet he couldn't tell me how orange they were meant to be. When I took it personally, and protested, I was told that it was just a fail/advisory and just go home (which I did and can for evermore moan about it on the internet).

I also had a fella in the Naas centre not able to open the bonnet on my first E39 despite there being . I banged on the window when I saw him struggle and he called me in to open it. As it turned out, he failed me on one of my newly installed angel eye headlamps because he reckoned the silver lamp lining had worn. Returned for the retest a few weeks later having done abslutely nothing and the car passed.

The moral of this I guess is that people do make mistakes and those working for the NCTS are no different.

hoodie6029

I’m under no illusions that it’s a perfect system. You get people on a power trip/bad day/jealousy etc take it out on others. Then there are just out and out pr1cks too.

I think what happens is people have a bad experience and come vent about it here. And hey, we all need to let off steam regularly.

JohnC.

On the other side, you get chancers going in with obvious fails too. I was waiting for my last car to get done and some guy got failed for an issue for the third time. I can't even remember what it was now. But this guy was getting incensed, shouting about the test being a rip-off, over being failed for the same thing 3 times, despite admitting never having anything done to fix the issue.

niloc1951

Earlier this your my wife's car failed because of "insufficient contact between the brake pad and disc" yet the Service Brake performance was 93%. A total contradiction. The car went back a few days later withing nothing done, there was nothing to do, and it got a pass.

More recently my car failed because of excessive brake pedal travel but the brake performance was excellent, the car will stop on the proverbial dime. Again, the car went back a few days later and got a pass.

It does seem that testers can override the machine part of the test if 'in their unfounded opinion' something is not as they think it should be, like has been said, an indicator isn't orange enough or a brake light isn't red enough.

Arnout

This brake hose was a pass 5 months prior to taking the photo: