Does anyone NCT their cars anymore?

Teyla Emmagan · 18-10-2013 08:42AM

Finally got mine earlier this year. My last disc had expired sonetime in 2011. The guards don't give a ****e unless they are trying to throw the book at you and I get the car serviced every year religiously, so I'm confident it's safe. I think the NCT is for the most part nothing but a money making scheme and it annoys the living piss out of me. Being failed and having to cone back and pay again because one of your lights is pointing 2% in the wrong direction - would you **** off. You should be able to throw them a tenner while you're there and get whatever it is fixed, like you can in the UK. It's a total con.

YbFocus · 18-10-2013 08:45AM

Yep for people who keep their car maintained it isn't needed but is for the people whom wouldn't do a thing with a car no matter how long they own it!
That said cars can get bad during the discs life and the disc shouldn't be used as a train to not attend a garage regularly anyway.
€55 for a good check of your car is good in my opinion

the groutch · 18-10-2013 08:54AM

the current enforcement system is a joke. the fact that you get 14 days to produce one when caught means that nobody will bother with one til a Garda stops them.
should be instant penalty points (and possibly fine too) for any NCT more than a month out of date, with the penalties increasing for 3 months, 6 months and 12 months out of date.
same for tax discs too.

Hobbes · 18-10-2013 08:56AM

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

I think the NCT is for the most part nothing but a money making scheme and it annoys the living piss out of me.

The point of the NCT is to force people to get their cars serviced so they are roadworthy and less likely to kill someone.

You get caught, it is 5 points on your license and a conviction.

On top of that if you are paying insurance and are in an accident, then if it is shown the NCT could have prevented the accident, you have to pay for everything.

Also you can be refused a tax disk, which if caught at a checkpoint means the revenue can take the car off you (depending on how out of date you are).

So FFS, get the NCT and get the car fixed if needed.

the fact that you get 14 days to produce one when caught means that nobody will bother with one til a Garda stops them.

You are actually on file. So they know straight away that you have no NCT and when you last went for a test.

Fishyfreak · 18-10-2013 08:57AM

Assuming a car is in good nick because it was recently NCTd is a very silly assumption.

Ever hear someone say "Ah i'll get it NCTd and then i'll sell it"? DING DING DING ALARM BELLS!

Fishyfreak · 18-10-2013 08:59AM

Hobbes wrote: »

Also you can be refused a tax disk

Incorrect.

Timothy Bryce · 18-10-2013 09:05AM

Got stopped at a checkpoint last week and the guard was sound enough about me not having it - he did say that if I was involved in an accident, it may give the insurance company a reason not to pay out. Not sure if anyone who works in insurance could verify?

Like many others, I'm waiting months to get mine done - it expired in June and I have to wait til December to get it seen to.

Sam Kade · 18-10-2013 09:11AM

Timothy Bryce wrote: »

Got stopped at a checkpoint last week and the guard was sound enough about me not having it - he did say that if I was involved in an accident, it may give the insurance company a reason not to pay out. Not sure if anyone who works in insurance could verify?

Like many others, I'm waiting months to get mine done - it expired in June and I have to wait til December to get it seen to.

If you have to wait for a certain test center to test it try elsewhere.

username123 · 18-10-2013 09:11AM

Mine is out since March, only noticed in July, got a date for October, had to reschedule due to work, got a date for December.

My last car was 2 years out of nct when I traded it in against my current car. Same with car before that, knowing it'd be changing car I just didn't bother.

YbFocus · 18-10-2013 09:12AM

Timothy Bryce wrote: »

Got stopped at a checkpoint last week and the guard was sound enough about me not having it - he did say that if I was involved in an accident, it may give the insurance company a reason not to pay out. Not sure if anyone who works in insurance could verify?

Like many others, I'm waiting months to get mine done - it expired in June and I have to wait til December to get it seen to.

They must give you a test within a month or the test is free, ring and tell them this, you'll get the first cancellation.

mitosis · 18-10-2013 09:13AM

Onthe3rdDay wrote: »

It's not bravado for many, they can't afford it... I'm not debating the rights and wrongs of that, just that people put it off for a few months and then a few months more, It's the same with road tax. Loads of people don't tax the car on time and wait a few weeks or more before doing so.

I can't comment about now but I do know that 2 years ago there were a lot of angry people in Donegal who where going into the North only to find checkpoints set up to catch out those that had their tax out by a day, usually the first few days of a month. In the republic the guards would tell you to go and get it sorted and leave you move on. In NI there was a fine of I think 80 pounds and the car was held until you paid it.

If you can't afford to run a car, don't have a car. It's not rocket science.

Timothy Bryce · 18-10-2013 09:18AM

YbFocus wrote: »

They must give you a test within a month or the test is free, ring and tell them this, you'll get the first cancellation.

Is this true? I had a test date for December, but I rung around a few places and the earliest I could get was mid-November....based on this, it should be free, right?

Sam Kade · 18-10-2013 09:19AM

mitosis wrote: »

If you can't afford to run a car, don't have a car. It's not rocket science.

Don't be too hard as a lot of motorists are trying to come to terms with having to pay motor tax for the first time never mind get their car nct'd

YbFocus · 18-10-2013 09:19AM

Timothy Bryce wrote: »

Is this true? I had a test date for December, but I rung around a few places and the earliest I could get was mid-November....based on this, it should be free, right?

No you must make this known when booking over the phone, it always works!
Ring now and you will get a cancellation in the next few days.

Theanswers · 18-10-2013 09:29AM

Onthe3rdDay wrote: »

It's not bravado for many, they can't afford it... I'm not debating the rights and wrongs of that, just that people put it off for a few months and then a few months more, It's the same with road tax. Loads of people don't tax the car on time and wait a few weeks or more before doing so.

I can't comment about now but I do know that 2 years ago there were a lot of angry people in Donegal who where going into the North only to find checkpoints set up to catch out those that had their tax out by a day, usually the first few days of a month. In the republic the guards would tell you to go and get it sorted and leave you move on. In NI there was a fine of I think 80 pounds and the car was held until you paid it.

80 pounds is a big fine in the North because the tax on a 2.0 is 93.50
They don't realise the difference in our tax rates. I gladly pay 93.50 all day long.

18-10-2013 09:29AM

Sam Kade wrote: »

Don't be too hard as a lot of motorists are trying to come to terms with having to pay motor tax for the first time never mind get their car nct'd

Wots dis ting abow de tax????

michellie · 18-10-2013 09:29AM

There has been almost 1 million cars tested so far this year so yep people are testing them, most centres are booked up until December.

Sam Kade · 18-10-2013 09:31AM

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

Wots dis ting abow de tax????

What tax

lukesmom · 18-10-2013 09:32AM

Mine is out since march too. It's being fitted with a new gearbox and then I will nct it.

Jester252 · 18-10-2013 10:16AM

While you don't need an NCT to get your car insured remember that if your in an accident they will use it as a reason not to pay out.

07Lapierre · 18-10-2013 10:27AM

Its a pity the NCT doesn't inspect the "Nut behind the wheel"

"Sadly, driver error remains the most common cause of road accidents.

Speeding
Around 400 people a year are killed in crashes in which someone exceeds the speed limit or drives too fast for the conditions.

Drink Driving
Around 280 people die a year in crashes in which someone was over the legal drink drive limit.

Seat Belt Wearing
Around 300 lives each year could be saved if everyone always wore their seat belt.

Careless Driving
Around 300 deaths a year involve someone being "careless, reckless or in a hurry", and a further 125 involve "aggressive driving".

At-work
Around one third of fatal and serious road crashes involve someone who was at work.

Inexperience
More than 400 people are killed in crashes involving young car drivers aged 17 to 24 years, every year, including over 150 young drivers, 90 passengers and more than 170 other road users.

Failed to Look Properly
40% of road crashes involve someone who 'failed to look properly'.

Loss of Control
One third of fatal crashes involved 'loss of control' of a vehicle.

Failed to Judge Other Person's Path/Speed
One in five crashes involve a road user failing to judge another person's path or speed."

07Lapierre · 18-10-2013 10:32AM

Jester252 wrote: »

While you don't need an NCT to get your car insured remember that if your in an accident they will use it as a reason not to pay out.

+1..this is the main reason you need an NCT cert.

Delta Kilo · 18-10-2013 10:45AM

07Lapierre wrote: »

+1..this is the main reason you need an NCT cert.

Plus good tires, first thing the insurance assessor checks. If they are below minimum thread depth, good luck to ya.

07Lapierre · 18-10-2013 10:48AM

Delta Kilo wrote: »

Plus good tires, first thing the insurance assessor checks. If they are below minimum thread depth, good luck to ya.

Yep, and there are plenty of cars out there with valid NCT cert's that have illegal tyres.

Sleepy · 18-10-2013 11:03AM

Yep, I keep mine NCT'd.

Honestly, like our driving test, I'd much rather a far stricter NCT: one that you could actually trust as an indicator of a vehicle being in good mechanical order. I've gotten cars through the NCT with worn out discs, frayed brake lines, timing belts that were thousands of miles past their service dates, a leak in the coolant overflow bottle and god knows what else.

18-10-2013 11:12AM

Wow.
Maybe they could throw in a mini exam: How to check oil, water bottle, bulbs etc

Lando Griffin · 18-10-2013 11:20AM

NIMAN wrote: »

I NCT mine. And judging by how hard it is to get an appointment at the local NCT Centre, I think plenty of others do too.

I book mine a month in advance and am given a selection of dates and times suiting my needs, dont usually leave it till its expired then blame everyone else for not bring able to just "call in and have a look".

18-10-2013 11:32AM

I generally don't have a problem getting the appt
I think I have another year or so now before this one is up
Get it serviced at winter each year anyway

Calibos · 18-10-2013 11:35AM

Mines out since March too

6 year old car with 9500 on the clock (don't ask)

Fully serviced.

Window cables corroded which is a common fault on the model after 4 or 5 years.

Audi won't cover it.

Fcukers wanted €450 per side to replace the full regulators on both sides. €900 in total.

Was damned if I was wasting €50 on an nct test only to have it fail for the windows.

Decided I'd wait till I saved to get the windows fixed.

Ended up finding a DIY kit to replace the problem frayed cables instead of the whole lot including perfectly good regulators.

Ended up costing me only €45 per side.

Booked the NCT today.

murpho999 · 18-10-2013 11:52AM

In this day and age I don't understand why we bother with discs at all.

NCT data is held on file so they know when your car is up for test.

Same as road tax.

Just forget about Gardai checking discs, take that responsibility off them and let them do other things and use IT and pursue non compliant people through letters, ,fines and penalty points etc.

That's how it works abroad, ever notice that cars outside UK & Ireland don't have silly discs on the windscreens, but will all be taxed, insured and roadworthy?

Does anyone NCT their cars anymore?

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