NCT and Car maintenance?

carzony · 29-04-2013 03:21AM #1

I thought this would get a better response here rather than in 'motors'.

After reading a recent article it seems that a very high number of irish drivers don't seem to be bothering with nct or even basic vehicle maintenance. I suppose it's obvious with the amount of cars going around with broken bulbs ect..

I was just wondering how many of you actually do/don't nct and look after your cars 'properly' and if why not?

LOI Stats · 29-04-2013 03:56AM

I can't speak to everybody's situation and I'm not even talking about my own, but the main reason most people have a car is to get to and from work or to get them and their families wherever it is they need to go. It's an absolutely essential part of their lives.

It's also a huge cost and as many many people are feeling the pinch, some for many years at this stage... most are looking for ways to soften the blow of the cost of running a car, as they do with every other cost of living they must cover.

It's easy to point the finger and say that they are being irresponsible, but when you are faced with bills for this that and the other, often something has to give somewhere.

Right or wrong, many have the perception that the NCT is just another way to screw them. If you have a car that is certainly roadworthy but needs substantial money put into it to pass the NCT, you can see how some will just do the absolute bar minimum in their mind, as they are not trying to get it to pass the NCT anyway.

As long as it has 3 or 4 wheels before they get into it, they are happy enough.

Irishcrx · 29-04-2013 07:43AM

I've never done an NCT but I look after my car. It's road worthy , regularly serviced by me and if there is something wrong with it I'll fix it , I check my lights and bulbs , tires once a month. I just can't afford the NCT right now , €50 to just bring it in and then probably be handed a list of stupid repairs worth €200 - €400 Euro , I just don't have it to give.

junior_apollo · 29-04-2013 09:30AM

Irishcrx wrote: »

I've never done an NCT but I look after my car. It's road worthy , regularly serviced by me and if there is something wrong with it I'll fix it , I check my lights and bulbs , tires once a month. I just can't afford the NCT right now , €50 to just bring it in and then probably be handed a list of stupid repairs worth €200 - €400 Euro , I just don't have it to give.

Surely if it's road-worthy then it doesn't need to be repaired?
Or else it isn't road-worthy and does need to be repaired?

Jester252 · 29-04-2013 09:45AM

Guys doing the NCT have a set wage. They don't make money from the cars they check so they have no reason to fail people on purpose.
The NCT is just to make sure duct tape cars with shoddy breaks aren't on the road.
Some of guys that fix your car before going to the NCT will try to find problems so they can make more money off you. Wipers need replacment seems to be the most common example.
The guards don't real care about the NCT. From my experience they are happy if your taxed and insured.

Ush1 · 29-04-2013 09:48AM

We are just not generally a car proud nation unlike the English or some other European countries.

We see a car as a tool to get us somewhere.

29-04-2013 10:22AM

I looked after my car very well. Its nct'd, I travel across the country to a specialist mechanic for servicing who is an expert on my make of car as I can trust him, car is hovered and cleaned completely inside and de-tared, washed etc outside regularly (by me with correct cloths etc). full de-taring, clay treatment and wax is penciled in for this weekend depending on the weather.

29-04-2013 10:23AM

LOI Stats wrote: »

I can't speak to everybody's situation and I'm not even talking about my own, but the main reason most people have a car is to get to and from work or to get them and their families wherever it is they need to go. It's an absolutely essential part of their lives.

Maybe they should be taking care of it so

Faith+1 · 29-04-2013 10:34AM

Lilliana Odd Tungsten wrote: »

I looked after my car very well. Its nct'd, I travel across the country to a specialist mechanic for servicing who is an expert on my make of car as I can trust him, car is hovered and cleaned completely inside and de-tared, washed etc outside regularly (by me with correct cloths etc). full de-taring, clay treatment and wax is penciled in for this weekend depending on the weather.

Is it de-feathered too?

shedweller · 29-04-2013 10:40AM

Lilliana Odd Tungsten wrote: »

I looked after my car very well. Its nct'd, I travel across the country to a specialist mechanic for servicing who is an expert on my make of car as I can trust him, car is hovered and cleaned completely inside and de-tared, washed etc outside regularly (by me with correct cloths etc). full de-taring, clay treatment and wax is penciled in for this weekend depending on the weather.

I aint got time fo dat!

kippy · 29-04-2013 10:44AM

NCT'd when it's due, I might let the services slip a but between services but not much, keep an eye on lights/tyres etc between services. Wouldnt be too bothered about "washing" or "cleaning" it, just the odd time. More important to start in the morning tbh.
I could see why people cut corners on certain things with cars mind. Once it's not tax/insurance/brakes/lights then I dont mind to much.

29-04-2013 10:48AM

shedweller wrote: »

I aint got time fo dat!

I will just make time and will probably do it in stages over the course of the weekend (and taking friday off too), I can use other family members cars to get around so wont need to move it and get it dirty until its finished.

I'm expecting it to take a long time, I was nearly 4 hours just washing, getting rid of a scratch and cleaning inside a few weeks ago.

I'm into my cars, its not just something to get from A to B for me and really want it looking as well as I can both inside and out.

Remmy · 29-04-2013 10:52AM

If people are letting the NCT lapse because of the cost what are the chances they are paying tax or insurance?

Wibbs · 29-04-2013 11:38AM

There would be far more cars with lapsed NCT's than cars with lapsed tax/insurance. Ask any Guard.

Wurly · 29-04-2013 11:44AM

Do you not need a valid NCT when renewing for car insurance? Also, would you not get fined if you were stopped at a garda checkpoint?

Faith+1 · 29-04-2013 11:47AM

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

mathie · 29-04-2013 11:50AM

Jester252 wrote: »

Guys doing the NCT have a set wage. They don't make money from the cars they check so they have no reason to fail people on purpose.
The NCT is just to make sure duct tape cars with shoddy breaks aren't on the road.
Some of guys that fix your car before going to the NCT will try to find problems so they can make more money off you. Wipers need replacment seems to be the most common example.
The guards don't real care about the NCT. From my experience they are happy if your taxed and insured.

I've seen a car with a broken radio areial fail a test.
And one with no European Union sign fail

How is that about safety?

mathie · 29-04-2013 11:52AM

The pricing is ridiculous.
55 euro for 10-15 minutes of a mechanics work?
220 an hour for manual labour? Really?

and the re-tests are worse.
Most less than 5 minutes work .... 28 euro.

Joke of a country.

Wibbs · 29-04-2013 11:56AM

Wurly wrote: »

Do you not need a valid NCT when renewing for car insurance? Also, would you not get fined if you were stopped at a garda checkpoint?

Depends on the insurance company, I was never asked, though no doubt in the case of a claim they'd use it against you. Garda checkpoint? Didn't have one(not even an old one on the windscreen) for 18 months and went through a fair few checkpoints and only once was it noted and even then it was "you need to get that sorted".

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed.

700 quid is a bit high for a service I'd have thought? Plus paying for a pre NCT check is a bit of a scam. A pretest test. Ehhh, no. Put it through the NCT and find out what they think is wrong, fix accordingly and save the "pretest" fee.

aisr1ofk43dpy5 · 29-04-2013 12:02PM

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

Sounds like a cv boot if you hadn't changed it, it would cost you a lot more down the road when the cv joint itself failed.

listermint · 29-04-2013 12:07PM

Wibbs wrote: »

Depends on the insurance company, I was never asked, though no doubt in the case of a claim they'd use it against you. Garda checkpoint? Didn't have one(not even an old one on the windscreen) for 18 months and went through a fair few checkpoints and only once was it noted and even then it was "you need to get that sorted".

700 quid is a bit high for a service I'd have thought? Plus paying for a pre NCT check is a bit of a scam. A pretest test. Ehhh, no. Put it through the NCT and find out what they think is wrong, fix accordingly and save the "pretest" fee.

No, depending on the car.

Your statement would be typical of the average irish motorist though. Clueless on costs.

Servicing an 8 Cylinder engine would not be the same as your average avensis for example...

Alun · 29-04-2013 12:08PM

mathie wrote: »

I've seen a car with a broken radio areial fail a test.
And one with no European Union sign fail

How is that about safety?

Regarding the aerial, if it's a broken stub of an aerial on a wing where it could potentially cause injury then yes it is about safety, along with all other kinds of sharp protuberances which could injure/snag pedestrians. Anyway, how hard is it to repair something like that?

Regarding the EU sign, it's a road-worthiness test, not purely a safety test, and road-worthiness includes adhering to the law regarding, amongst other things, legal number plates.

Alun · 29-04-2013 12:11PM

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

It's not a "rubber dust jacket"

It's a CV boot, which keeps the grease in and keeps road dirt and grit out of a vital part of what drives your front wheels. If that fails while you're driving along, you'll certainly notice it, and could potentially cause an accident if you lose control of your car as a result.

MurdyWurdy · 29-04-2013 12:18PM

Yes, our car is NCTed - just did it a month ago and it passed no problems. I like that cars are checked for safety features and certified to be on the road, I think it's a good idea, especially if you have ever lived/travelled somewhere where there are no similar tests and you see the dodgy cars on the road.

Currently our car needs to have an NCT every two years. 50EUR over two years is not going to break the bank. I have lived places where our car needed to be checked every 6 months, for around the same cost. I also like that the NCT centres don't do repairs so they have no incentive to fail you. Where I lived before normal garages were certified to do the checks and could offer to do the repairs for you if you failed - that seems dodgy to me.

We get our car serviced regularly too. I had a timing belt snap on me once in a car we had and it destroyed the engine and wrote the car off. Yes, running a car is expensive but we do need it and want to keep it in the best condition as possible so we can get years of use out of it. I don't intend on buying another car for quite a while. Our car currently needs parts replaced and I'm raging at the cost of it but it's just part of car ownership unfortunately

Hobbes · 29-04-2013 12:30PM

Irishcrx wrote: »

then probably be handed a list of stupid repairs worth €200 - €400 Euro , I just don't have it to give.

If you fail with that much cost to get it repaired the car isn't road worthy.

Hobbes · 29-04-2013 12:34PM

Wurly wrote: »

Do you not need a valid NCT when renewing for car insurance? Also, would you not get fined if you were stopped at a garda checkpoint?

Yes you do. But more likely the insurance company will take your insurance, then refuse to pay out as you are breaking the law (probably 3rd party insurance only).

You would also get fined at a Garda check point. The whole thing is automated as well now. So the guards can find out straight away if you have booked an NCT or not.

_Kaiser_ · 29-04-2013 12:43PM

My car gets serviced at a main dealer/respected independent roughly every 6 months with the mileage I do. It needs a glow plug and is due another service but aside from that it's running perfectly.. 240,000 km on the clock (2006 2.0 TDI Passat)

What pisses me off more than the maintenance costs (which aren't cheap admittedly) is the Irish attitude that because it's not on "de cheap tax" and has "high" mileage (had it 5 years and now has 240,000km of genuine 90% motorway miles = 150,000 miles / 7 = 21500 miles a year which isn't actually that much for a diesel) then it's effectively worthless even though it's in better shape than a lot of the "newer" examples I've seen out there and has a full verifiable history.

A bigger risk for someone like me though is when buying a new(er) car as because everyone has been buying diesels since 2008, it's a minefield out here now in terms of reliability. Diesels are meant to be driven, not a 5 minute trip to school or the shops. Do that long enough and you'll be looking at expensive failures. Ironically I'll be better off buying another "high" mileage car as at least I'll have some assurance that it was used "properly"

The NCT though is yet another example of the oh so Irish "it depends who you get on the day" approach - but at least it makes some people do at least the minimum I suppose.

Pedro K · 29-04-2013 12:47PM

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

Sounds like a CV boot. Pretty important.

Capt'n Midnight · 29-04-2013 12:47PM

Faith+1 wrote: »

I had my NCT 3 weeks ago, paid the guts of 700 for service and Pre-NCT checks/work and I still failed. They failed me because a rubber dust jacket behind the drivers side wheel was worn, couldn't fcuking believe it.

So that cost another 60 quid plus 28 for the re-test! I'd want to be printing it these days.

If you mean the thing that covers the CV joint, then yes that is important to get sorted as soon as. But I'd be very annoyed with any garage that charged you €700 and missed one of them. I'd be even more annoyed if they charged me to replace a CV boot and couldn't show me where the old one had a fresh cut since they did the inspection.

€760 :eek:
'tis a pity the bangernomics thread in motors is closed

Jester252 · 29-04-2013 01:41PM

mathie wrote: »

The pricing is ridiculous.
55 euro for 10-15 minutes of a mechanics work?
220 an hour for manual labour? Really?

and the re-tests are worse.
Most less than 5 minutes work .... 28 euro.

Joke of a country.

That not how they get paid. They have a fixed salary. They don't make money off the people whose cars they test.

Ded_Zebra · 29-04-2013 01:53PM

LOI Stats wrote: »

I can't speak to everybody's situation and I'm not even talking about my own, but the main reason most people have a car is to get to and from work or to get them and their families wherever it is they need to go. It's an absolutely essential part of their lives.

It's also a huge cost and as many many people are feeling the pinch, some for many years at this stage... most are looking for ways to soften the blow of the cost of running a car, as they do with every other cost of living they must cover.

It's easy to point the finger and say that they are being irresponsible, but when you are faced with bills for this that and the other, often something has to give somewhere.

Right or wrong, many have the perception that the NCT is just another way to screw them. If you have a car that is certainly roadworthy but needs substantial money put into it to pass the NCT, you can see how some will just do the absolute bar minimum in their mind, as they are not trying to get it to pass the NCT anyway.

As long as it has 3 or 4 wheels before they get into it, they are happy enough.

If a car need substantial money spent on it to pass the NCT then how could it be roadworthy

NCT and Car maintenance?

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