Overdue NCT - what happens?

rustyfrog

I have a 2012 car that has an expired NCT since October 2023. After 7 trips to the garage to get a few awkward things fixed, it's booked in for September 2024.

If it passes in September, do I get a cert that's only valid until October?

What happens if I hold off and get it tested in October? Will it get a full year or be immediately expired?

barneygumble99

if it passes now it will get a cert until October 25

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122542017#Comment_122542017

I'm not sure that's true.

Definitely used to be the case that if you were late in doing the test, the cert you'd get would only be valid for the remainder of the test period from the date the test was actually due. For example, if three months late in doing the test with a car that was ten years or more old, your cert would only be valid for nine months.

Idea was to prevent people from chancing it without a cert for maybe six months, then doing a test and getting a cert that was valid for a year, then chancing it for another six months, etc.

Being eleven months late is obviously an extreme example. One form of logic would suggest that if you did a test in September '24 that was actually due in October '23, your cert would only be valid for the same period as if the car had actually been tested in October '23 - i.e. it would expire a month after your test.

Same logic would suggest that if you do a test in October '24 that was actually due in October '23, then your cert would be valid only for October '23 to October '24 - i.e. would expire immediately, and another test would then be due to cover October '24 to October '25.

But that's not very logical at all….

drury..

Will they not tell you over the phone?

barneygumble99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122549442#Comment_122549442

that’s ok, I’m pretty confident it will get the cert until October next year

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122549442#Comment_122549442

Once its within 90 days of expiry, its the full year.

If its under 9 months late, its the balance of the old year.

Always has been.

They are, and always have been albeit its really obvious these days, far too busy to test the same car twice in a row to get it up to date.

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122549766#Comment_122549766

Yup, but this one will be at least 11 months late, so neither of the first two situations you mention actually applies here.

Realise it's unlikely you'd need to do a full test again for the coming year within weeks of having a test done for the remainder of October '23 to October '24, and that's why I said doesn't seem logical.

Anyway, found this recent post on another thread about NCT expiry dates, where the poster reckons that once you go more than a year over, the clock resets, and you get a cert that's valid for a full year -

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531482#Comment_122531482

If that's true, best bet for the OP here would probably be to wait until after the anniversary of the October '23 due date, and do a test then.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122549824#Comment_122549824

11 months late is within 90 days of the next expiry, so that applies.

They can do it now.

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122550087#Comment_122550087

But doesn't the "within 90 days of next expiry" refer to within 90 days of expiry of a current and valid NCT?

That's not the case here. The last valid NCT on the car expired last October.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122550687#Comment_122550687

No.

Rationalise this - why would you make someone come back within weeks to re-test a car that has already passed?

Once its within 90 days of the anniversary of the expiry, the cert will be a year (or two, if the car was younger or much older) from expiry.

ccmp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122550730#Comment_122550730

Correct and true.

rustyfrog

I've the car booked in for September, I'll report back! Fingers crossed it'll pass this time.

barneygumble99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122552011#Comment_122552011

you’ll get your cert til October 25 when it passes I guarantee ya

Uncle Pierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122550730#Comment_122550730

I accept it's irrational to expect somebody to have to test a car within weeks of a previous test. I even said in my first post about it that it wouldn't be logical.

Anyway, to answer my question, seems you're saying that no, "within 90 days of expiry" doesn't just mean within 90 days of expiry of a current and valid cert. You're saying it also means within 90 days of the anniversary of the expiry of its previous valid cert. That's news to me, but hey, you learn something new every day…

Uncle Pierre

I'll be interested to hear how long the cert is valid for! 😃

Good luck with the test anyway.

Edit - this one was aimed at @rustyfrog. Had meant to quote his last post above in it.

rustyfrog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122552011#Comment_122552011

Rescheduled the test for Oct , another 4 week waiting list to get electrics on a window looked at.

mgbgt1978

Presumably the Driver's Window…as that's the only Window that needs to be operative.

rustyfrog

Unfortunately yes. It already failed with this. It's proving to be an awkward fix, regular garage has eventually given up on it. Waiting for an auto electrician now.