NCT-didn't spot major structural defect

Yorky

I had a car NCT'd in June 2007. I had previously noticed that the rear wheel was sitting at a slight angle but never though much more about it and when the car 'sailed' through the test I was assured that the car was safe to use for two years.

I was getting the tyres changed the other day and the mechanic noticed that the rear axle was completely rotten and was posing an extreme danger. He couldn't believ that it hadn't given way and was visibly shocked that the NCT tester had not picked up on it.

Has anyone had a similar problem and/or knowledge of what action can be taken against NCT over this?

godtabh

Yorky wrote: »

I had a car NCT'd in June 2007. I had previously noticed that the rear wheel was sitting at a slight angle but never though much more about it and when the car 'sailed' through the test I was assured that the car was safe to use for two years.

I was getting the tyres changed the other day and the mechanic noticed that the rear axle was completely rotten and was posing an extreme danger. He couldn't believ that it hadn't given way and was visibly shocked that the NCT tester had not picked up on it.

Has anyone had a similar problem and/or knowledge of what action can be taken against NCT over this?

Is that one of the things they are meant to check?

My car failed the NCT because the indicator lights weren’t orange enough!

Anan1

kearnsr wrote: »

My car failed the NCT because the indicator lights weren’t orange enough!

?? That sounds fair enough to me.

BrianD3

NCTS can only test what they can see, no dismantling is allowed in the test. Is it possible that this rot is only visible when the wheel is off?

The NCT is only a snapshot of the condition of the car on the day of the test but seeing as major rot doesn't happen overnight you could have a case for saying that the NCTS missed something they should have spotted in June 2007. But in any case I don't think its worth pursuing the matter further.

Also what exactly is rotten - is it rear suspension mounting points. It would be unusual for an "axle" to be rotten.

Yorky

The axle had a hairline crack in it which clearly visible with the wheel on and when the mechanic pressed it with his hand it went straight through.

daedalus2097

My parents' car went in with a bad CV joint last time. They spotted it but marked it down for the wrong side. So my dad got the good one changed, went back in and it passed with the actual bad one still on the other side. A few weeks later it gave way and left him stranded. The NCT can't be taken as an indication that the car is in great shape as they seem to miss things like this all the time - prefering to spend time catching those nasty and dangerous people who don't have their county name on their numberplates...

BrianD3

OK, there's no way of telling whether that crack appeared before or after the test in June. The axle could have been rotting unseen for many years and it only came to light when the crack appeared. Even if the NCT tester had gone beyond the scope of the test and spent several minutes probing away at the axle with a screwdriver it may still have seemed sound.

cantdecide

I brought a friends '89 200TE for an NCT once and they spotted this. I was intrigued at that funny yanking machine for the steering. He was at it for about five minutes and then reported rot in the front beam. The same tester re-tested it and it was fixed for about €150. He proclaimed the job a good'un and O' we did praise the lord.

The NCT i think is a pain in the *ss sometimes and it's also subject to human error but whether there is a car test or not, you should always at least know what shape your car is in. If you wait 2 year intervals to find out if your car is about to cave, you should get a welt over the head with a wheel brace (if you have one). If you have a car old enough to suffer rusty suspension, it's probably a car that should go no more than 6 months before thorough lookover.

There was a thread recently about someone who's timing belt snapped not long after an NCT and I think the sentiments were the same- In an old car, you must make sure for yourself.

Henry Ford III

You've no right of action against NCTS. Why would you have?

Bogger77

Nice to see combo culture is still alive

I'd be more concerned as to who did the Pre Test, and failed to see this!
You noticed your car wheel sitting at strange angle and did nothing? At the least, I'd have brought this to get the tracking fixed.

My car is 5 years old, it has never gone more than 5 months without a trip to my trusty mechanic, it's clocking 9K miles in those 5 months. It gets a through examination while being serviced. I get a report from the mechanic, printed out, with any minor issues I may have in the next 20K miles, such as fan belt has some slight wear on it. Door strap on passenger, bit creaky, so was oiled.

Since "rot" doesn't appear overnight, it's safe to say that you and your mechanic have been extremely bad at maintaining your car to be safe on the roads.

patrickc

i find that the nct are usually good at picking up little things, mine failed last week on the front brake hoses, a slight little mark in them, i got them fixed and it's going back in on Friday but that's a good thing because would be alot worse if the hoses cracked completely or something and my brakes failed.