NCT during the 2020/21 Covid19 pandemic

MAYOMICK · 08-05-2020 9:59am

My car was due Nct in March 2020 and passed the test but the lift test was not carried out so no cert.The lifts were not installed in the test centre before it closed due to the Virus so I could not get the test completed.The car is showing on Nct website as NCT expired so I presume it will have to go through full test again.What I am wondering is will the expiry be a year from test or will it be March 2021.If the test was completed in 2020 the expiry date of March 2021 would now be extended to July 2021.Will I be losing out a few months Nct due to no fault of my own.

Pops_20 · 08-05-2020 10:14am

Was your NCT due before 28th March? In that case, you will not get a 4 month extension on your NCT due date.

I don't think you should have to go through a full test again because you already completed a partial test, and you should still be entitled to a free lift test. However if your NCT due date was before 28 March 2020, your next due date will still be March 2021.

MAYOMICK · 08-05-2020 1:54pm

Yes I will get a free test but what I am saying is that if the test was completed in March 2020 the expiry date of March 2021 would now be extended to July 2021.I am losing out on that 4 month extension plus the fact that I have no NCT for the last three months.

Polo_Cluvie · 09-05-2020 12:57am

Hi guys hoping someone can shed some light on this for me. I went onto nct website tonight put in my car reg to see about booking nct. The date on my disc and cert is Aug 20 but on the nct site my nct isnt up till December. All very strange. Anybody come across this before? The cars not imported or anything like that..

clement · 09-05-2020 1:01am

Is I because the valid date was extended by 4 months due to covid by the taoiseach.

mickdw · 09-05-2020 1:02am

There is a 4 month push out on the dates to cover the closure of the service due to covid so maybe nct have now got up to speed on it and officially updated all that info onto their systems.

Polo_Cluvie · 09-05-2020 1:04am

You know what your on the ball id say good man yourself. So am I correct in thinking that its impossible to get my car ncted anytime soon because of Covid restrictions?

bazz26 · 09-05-2020 1:20am

They are currently shut.

bazz26 · 09-05-2020 1:26am

Just checked the father's car which was originally due in July, the website is now saying it's not due until November. As they are shut you cannot actually proceed to make an online booking. There will be some backlog when they open up again.

pacman1989 · 09-05-2020 7:38am

Does anyone have an idea as to when the NCT centres might open again ? I couldn't see any mention of it in the roadmap released .
Would it be at the same time mechanics can return to work whenever that is ?

antodeco · 09-05-2020 9:51am

Just checked mine there too. Now says November (was due in July). My only annoyance is the car is always declared off the road from October onwards. Hopefully I can try and get an NCT in September/October to cover me. Otherwise when the car gets declared back on the road the following April it'll be NCT expired

garv123 · 09-05-2020 10:05am

As I've said previously that I have a NI vehicle at the min, still awaiting a rebooking for VRT. Insurance are covering me for a month extra at a time at the min while the pandemic is still ongoing.

Is the MOT valid if I did meet a fussy guard?

Went through a checkpoint yesterday with nothing in the window and he say a word about it.

User1998 · 09-05-2020 8:19pm

Garda aren’t really bothered about UK reg cars or weather there taxed, mot’d etc. Its Revenue checkpoints you need to be worried about but with everything thats going on there hardly going to take the car from you, not your fault you can’t VRT it.

_Kaiser_ · 10-05-2020 10:01am

So my car is due its NCT in mid-December, but it's 10 years old this year so I was hoping to get it done early to take advantage of that loophole where I'd get a final 2 year cert rather than the 1 year one.

No chance if the centres won't be opened for months yet then I assume?

She also is overdue a service (luckily not by too much as I have been doing almost no mileage for the last 2 months). Are garages opening back up in the coming weeks?

Pops_20 · 10-05-2020 12:42pm

pacman1989 wrote: »

Does anyone have an idea as to when the NCT centres might open again ? I couldn't see any mention of it in the roadmap released .
Would it be at the same time mechanics can return to work whenever that is ?

The following from the road map phase 2, 8th June.

"Permit phased return of workers, such as solitary and other workers that, due to nature of work, can maintain 2m distance constantly. Social distancing requirements continue to apply. "

This sounds like mechanics could open at this stage as they can maintain 2 metre distance I would think. But for the NCT, with the large numbers of public coming and going, I don't think they would be allowed open at this stage.

Oops! · 10-05-2020 3:36pm

Mechanics/Workshops will be open after the 18th of May..

CPTM · 11-05-2020 9:12am

I brought a car over from the UK and need to register it before middle of June (my insurance is due to expire and the company won't renew it unless the car is registered). Any idea when the VRT/Car registration will be open, or are any of the nct centres open at the moment for things like this?

millington · 11-05-2020 12:32pm

Oops! wrote: »

Mechanics/Workshops will be open after the 18th of May..

Yea SIMI are currently advising CVRT centres and the likes of necessary measures. Can't see NCT opening as soon but hopefully.

biko · 11-05-2020 4:56pm

Oops! wrote: »

Mechanics/Workshops will be open after the 18th of May..

Just to add the source
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/coronavirus-a-full-look-at-irelands-roadmap-to-leaving-lockdown-39174420.html

Phase 1 - May 18
Opticians, homeware, electrical and IT stores, mechanics and phone shops

This is probably not the same as NCT so we will have to wait for the gov to let us know on that one.

Atlantic Dawn · 12-05-2020 6:47pm

Interesting findings from report in to the failure of the ramps up north for the MOT, they had done far more tests than their manufacturers recommended number, perhaps the same is the case here as we used the same ramps for NCT.

Faulty vehicle lifts in Northern Ireland did thousands more MOT tests than manufacturers recommended, an independent report said.

New equipment was purchased after cracks discovered in 52 out of 55 of the existing machines led to large numbers of roadworthiness checks being cancelled.

The defects were caused by “fatigue”, engineers said.

Another report found that the overall standard of record management observed within the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) was less than satisfactory.

A review said: “The lifts have clearly undertaken significantly more than the 22,000 design load cycles.”

Inspections have been undertaken every six months.

Use of the lifts equated to approximately 150,000-160,000 cycles since their installation in 2011/2012, a report said.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/faulty-vehicle-lifts-in-northern-ireland-did-thousands-more-mot-tests-than-recommended-999072.html

challengemaster · 12-05-2020 6:50pm

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Interesting findings from report in to the failure of the ramps up north for the MOT, they had done far more tests than their manufacturers recommended number, perhaps the same is the case here as we used the same ramps for NCT.

There's not a lift anywhere in the world that's getting replaced after 1 year of use

Pops_20 · 13-05-2020 8:40pm

Looks like the NCT won't be back up and running for a while yet..

https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0513/1138224-face-coverings-transport/

Atlantic Dawn · 13-05-2020 9:49pm

Will be some backlog between Covid and the lifts, maybe 6-8 months worth, perhaps solution will be to give 2 years test when passing 10 year old cars not the current 1 to clear them.

CPTM · 13-05-2020 11:22pm

Is there any other way to register a recently imported car in ireland? My insurance is set to expire next month and they wont renew it if the car isn't registered.

challengemaster · 14-05-2020 12:05am

CPTM wrote: »

Is there any other way to register a recently imported car in ireland? My insurance is set to expire next month and they wont renew it if the car isn't registered.

I'd suggest ringing them up and having a chat about the situation. The suggestion that Gardaí / Customs are aware cars cannot be VRT'd at present and will act accordingly, would also suggest that insurance companies should act accordingly also.

If that doesn't work, get onto your TD.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/communications/covid19/vrt-and-excise.aspx

VRT registration and export appointments
All VRT registration and export appointments in the National Car Testing Service (NCT) Centres have been cancelled from 28 March 2020 until further notice. Customers who have an appointment should keep their booking confirmation in their vehicles when driving. This can be shown to Customs Officers or Gardaí should the vehicle be stopped. When the Centres reopen, Revenue will work closely with them to ensure that any backlog is quickly cleared.

Customers will not be charged additional VRT as a penalty at registration if they:

had an appointment scheduled during the period when the NCT Centres are closed
or
cannot get an appointment due to the closure and exceed the 30-day period.
Please see https://www.ncts.ie/1155 for further information on making appointments. Customers can contact Revenue via MyEnquiries with any questions they may have.

From https://www.ncts.ie/1155

7. What happens if I am stopped by Customs or the Gardaí for driving an un-registered vehicle?

Customers who have appointments already booked should keep confirmation of that booking with them in the vehicle. This can be shown if your vehicle is stopped. Enforcement teams are aware of the situation.

PrettyBoy · 14-05-2020 12:16am

I've got a second car that's been lightly restored over the last year. It's current declared off the road and the NCT expired in July 2018. It's been ready for the road for months and I insured it and intended on driving it from March 1st but held off because of the lift fiasco (Why go and pay to do a test when they can't pass it due to their own equipment not being fit for purpose?). Everything shut down then and I've been checking the NCT website almost daily since in the hope that there'd be some update. Now that we know there's no hope of them being open before September I couldn't care less about the cert in the window, I'll be driving it from June 1st. It'll be taxed and insured and if I'm stopped what's could a guard say? Ask me why I haven't got a disc that's literally impossible to get, more than likely for the rest of the year? Don't usually rant like this, just made up my mind now after the long awaited update!

Ciano35 · 14-05-2020 12:31am

CPTM wrote: »

Is there any other way to register a recently imported car in ireland? My insurance is set to expire next month and they wont renew it if the car isn't registered.

I just insured a uk reg no problem, insurer just said to let them know as soon as it’s on Irish plates.

selectamatic · 14-05-2020 12:46am

Ciano35 wrote: »

I just insured a uk reg no problem, insurer just said to let them know as soon as it’s on Irish plates.

Has it a current MOT? I have a car I was hoping to have vrt'd and tested and on the road for the summer but the MOT is out on it.

challengemaster · 14-05-2020 12:51am

PrettyBoy wrote: »

It'll be taxed and insured and if I'm stopped what's could a guard say? Ask me why I haven't got a disc that's literally impossible to get, more than likely for the rest of the year? Don't usually rant like this, just made up my mind now after the long awaited update!

NCT website is pretty clear on this tbh - if your NCT cert expired after Mar 28, you're grand and it's extended for 4 months. If it expired before that, or you didn't have a cert to begin with you're effectively driving with no NCT and your car will be seized.

Ciano35 · 14-05-2020 12:56am

selectamatic wrote: »

Has it a current MOT? I have a car I was hoping to have vrt'd and tested and on the road for the summer but the MOT is out on it.

It has a northern Irish mot alright, I don’t think they asked about it though.

NCT during the 2020/21 Covid19 pandemic

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