NCT Advice

jo.king

Hi Guys,

I have the NCT coming up next month and I just wanted to prepare for it.

What are the most important things they look at in this test i.e. what is a car most likely to fail on?

Any advice?

Thanks,

Jo.

fletch

Don't forget to take the hubcaps/wheel nut covers off the wheels beforehand....easy to forget

PhoenixRising

I have to get mine NCT'd for the first time next week also. How long does the test usually take? Do you have to leave your car in for the whole day or is it done while you wait?

Seth Brundle

Brakes, steering & suspension, emissions, rust holes & structural damage, lights & headlamp alignment, reg plate font size.
Make sure your tyre pressures are correct for the vehicle load (including spare) & that they are in good condition. Make sure wheel trims are off (so that nuts are visible to examiner) and make sure seatbelts are visible as they get snotty if they have to do any bit of work like unbuckling them!

How old is your car? If it is fairly new you may be alright.
See www.ncts.ie

jo.king

kbannon wrote:

Brakes, steering & suspension, emissions, rust holes & structural damage, lights & headlamp alignment, reg plate font size.
Make sure your tyre pressures are correct for the vehicle load (including spare) & that they are in good condition. Make sure wheel trims are off (so that nuts are visible to examiner) and make sure seatbelts are visible as they get snotty if they have to do any bit of work like unbuckling them!

How old is your car? If it is fairly new you may be alright.
See www.ncts.ie

Its 2000, i have alloys - no need to bother with hub caps. I only got it serviced last month, fingers crossed ill be ok!

Any more advice is welcome.

Thanks guys!

Seth Brundle

As it is fairly new I would be reluctant to fork out money getting things fixed when they may not need it. Try getting the car tested and if somnething fails then just dort that item out.

koneko

Make sure the seatbelts aren't stuck in the backseat. Best to clip them in so they don't have anything to moan about.

Emissions and lights is usually what I hear people failing on. If you had it services you should be okay, but might be worth getting a guy to check the lights if you haven't done so already.

PhoenixRising, they do it while you wait, shouldn't take too long.

jo.king

koneko wrote:

Make sure the seatbelts aren't stuck in the backseat. Best to clip them in so they don't have anything to moan about.

Emissions and lights is usually what I hear people failing on. If you had it services you should be okay, but might be worth getting a guy to check the lights if you haven't done so already.

PhoenixRising, they do it while you wait, shouldn't take too long.

Do you mean if all the lights are working or is it something to do with the angle?? I have a light in my dash that tells me if there is a light blown - does that mean im ok? (Better make sure that one is working!! )

PhoenixRising

koneko wrote:

PhoenixRising, they do it while you wait, shouldn't take too long.

That's great, thanks.

frodi

Any one know where I can get some stickers with the county name in Oirish. My car is 00-KE wirh no county name.

koneko

Well, not only that they're working, but that they're aligned properly. Did they check that at your service? Did you tell them it was going in for NCT or was it a regular service?

The lights have to be aligned properly otherwise you could fail (happens a lot on lights).

Seth Brundle

jo.king wrote:

Do you mean if all the lights are working or is it something to do with the angle?? I have a light in my dash that tells me if there is a light blown - does that mean im ok? (Better make sure that one is working!! )

Any bulb gone = fail! (even if it was working on your way to the center!)
Dipped bean alignment must be spot on otherwise fail! Yours are possibly fine unless you somehow adjusted them (dent or whatever).

As I said, just do the test. if something fails then sort it out. Don't bother paying someone to fix things that may not fail!

foxirl

kbannon wrote:

As I said, just do the test. if something fails then sort it out. Don't bother paying someone to fix things that may not fail!

I aggree. If they want to fail you they will even if you have serviced it before hand. About a year ago I was failed as they said my "busshels" in right rear wheel needed to be replaced.
I bought new busshels from Honda dealer and brought car to garage to have them replaced. Garage mechanic charged me 30 euro to tell me that teh bushells were fine and did not replace them.

Brought car back for retest in 2 weeks and it passed even though i had not replaced busshels. As you can imaginge I had a few nice words to say once I got my cert. Didn't get a refund though - - I have new busshels for Honda civic for sale now if anyone wants them ; -)