NCT should be yearly?

Idbatterim

Would like others thoughts on this, IMO the NCT should be yearly, a mini test of the essentials like brakes, tryes, lights, horn, glass, mirrors & windscreen wipers, would be followed up by full normal test the following year and so on. Currently it doesnt matter how you drive, what kind of roads you drive on, or whether you drive 1k miles a year or 100k!

Another joke IMO is that all cars 4 years and over are tested, which is totally nonsensical for such obvious reasons Im not going to waste time stating them.

So halve the test fee, to stop people complaining its a money making excercise, the nct would still surely be better off, because when it came to rechecks they could charge again, even if it were just for a visual fault (which they could start charging a nominal amount for). Im imaging an "essentials check" could be done in 25-33% of normal test time?

Thoughts?

TestTransmission

Idbatterim wrote: »

Thoughts?

Yeah,one question.why?

You do know cars over 10 years are tested yearly as it is.

For Forks Sake

TestTransmission wrote: »

You do know cars over 10 years are tested yearly as it is.

Tell me about it *mumble mumble, thieving b@stards, rabble rabble, mumble mumble*

johndaman66

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Tell me about it *mumble mumble, thieving b@stards, rabble rabble, mumble mumble*

You can be damned sure and certain you will be hammered if you say anything much against the NCT on this forum. Trust me Ive bring there.

I too agree with the OP. Quite a lot can go wrong with a car in the space of a year to make it unroadworthy, in particular if its covering high mileage. The logic in applying this rule to cars only 10 years old and older does not make any sense whatsoever to me. We all know that there are cars over 10 years old that are maintained and kept in much better order than younger cars...and thats certainly not to say that is the case for all cars over 10 years old either.

I think NCTS would attain much more respect from the general public if they applied more common sense and many more of the testers actually engaged thier brains. I've seen many cases now where they failed cars for silly little absolutely non dangerous issues and conversly so passed cars with very dangerous flaws (I will give examples if anybody so requires). Also they would do very well to calibrate their equipment more often or better as the case may be. No doubt I will have certain keyboard warriors all too eager to get up on their high-horse now.

Morlar

-1 from me.

Keith186

I don't agree with having an annual NCT, too much cost and administration. There's no way they could do almost twice the work for the same tests.

However in saying that I wish they could have a system where peoples headlights were forced to be aligned twice a year. Maybe add €10 (or cost price) to car tax and then once you have valid tax you can get them aligned in participating garages where they stamp your tax disc, tale a photo and claim the money from the council.

Maybe you could have a €50 fine if caught by the gardai and you haven't got your stamps on your tax disc.

Probably 1 in 3 or 4 cars have bogey lights, its very annoying and dangerous.

Gophur

There is an obligation on every driver to have his/her car roadworthy every time you take to the road. The NCT has no relevance to the road-worthiness of your vehicle, in fact they don't even guarantee it is road-worthy 10metres from their centre.

The current set-up is good enough. I wonder why they moved to annual testing, though. Was there some startling statistic on the NCT results of all such cars? Were they involved in increasing numbers of crashes where road-worthiness was an issue?

MugMugs

johndaman66 wrote: »

You can be damned sure and certain you will be hammered if you say anything much against the NCT on this forum. Trust me Ive bring there.

Not bitter then, huh?

OP as Gophur has already pointed out the onus is on YOU to ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy each and every time you go to use it.

Yearly NCT? They can hardly cope as it is!

unkel

Not again...

johndaman66

MugMugs wrote: »

Not bitter then, huh?

If you must know I am a wee bit.

MugMugs wrote: »

OP as Gophur has already pointed out the onus is on YOU to ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy each and every time you go to use it.

I do certainly agree with you in principle and if you knowingly take a car on the road which has a dangerous flaw shame on you to say the least. On the other hand how the hell is a 76 year old woman how to know her steering rack is past its best?...Thats is the reasoning behind NCTS I would have thought?

dr.fuzzenstein

It would certainly completely erode what little remnants of "personal responsibility" are still to be found in Ireland.
I'm amazed people don't try to sue the NCT/garages if things go wrong on their car.
It will foster a culture of "the condition my car is in has nothing to do with me, the NCT should have told me something was wrong with it".
+1 to MugsMugs, the NCT is not a magic bullet that will find each and every fault with your car, get off your ass and check your own car or maybe, just maybe, get it serviced more than once every 50000 km or 5 years, whichever comes first.

Big Nasty

What are you on about?

In the first ten years of a cars life it will be tested four times, i.e. @ 4,6,8,and 10 years. From then on it will have to be fully tested every year.

Quite enough IMO.

Oral Surgeon

Most people have better things to be doing with their time than waiting in the NCT centre while a guy checks stuff that was already checked on your regular service.

It's a money racket and a waste of time for people who actually give a sh1t about their car and their safety (me).
For everyone else, its a way of just getting enough done so that the car passes and nothing more.

NCT has it's function but annual testing is not needed

OS

mufcboy1999

maybe they should reduce the price for people having to nct there car every year, not all of us have the luxury or expenses to keep our cars under the age of 10!!

robbing pri*ks and thats putting it lightly.

tommy89

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

maybe they should reduce the price for people having to nct there car every year, not all of us have the luxury or expenses to keep our cars under the age of 10!!

robbing pri*ks and thats putting it lightly.

Ya say half the price and it wouldn't feel like I should have brought a tub of lube with me when I go for the NCT!

peasant

Idbatterim wrote: »

...a mini test of the essentials like brakes, tryes, lights, horn, glass, mirrors & windscreen wipers...

That's what a service is for ...or a quick walk around the car after washing it even.

Eyes and ears open during driving and you'll spot faults with all these things yourself. (If someone can't even do that, maybe it's them who should be NCT'd )

SV

I think the NCT should be done every 3 months.

Yep.

McP2011

I dont agree with you...if you think the nct keeps a car roadworthy then i dont know what to say...Most people look after there cars well by getting them regularly checked/serviced by a mechanic especially when they notice something a bit different about it etc...look at vintage cars for example they dont get tested and are all perfectly roadworthy...a few weeks back we had a car past the test the very next day the owner came in with it...the wheel bearing was hanging out of it some testing there...I think that it is only for making money but sure mechanics cant complain lol...All my opinion of course.

firemansam4

Hmm Just heard about the new 10 year rule for older cars today. I can understand we need tests to keep cars in good condition but...

It seems like anyone who cant afford a newish car and probably struggling to keep a car on the road as it is with fuel hikes and the like, is now being hit with a new whammy!

If a car is complying with the rules of the nct, what difference does it make if its 4 years old or 10 years old?

rant over lol:D

mike65

Can anyone point me to the last serious road incident that was put down to mechanical rather than human failure?

skelliser

the NCT is a joke!
the rules of the road state that you need 2 working brake lights on the rear of your car.
Many new cars have a third light on the roof.
If this isnt working you will fail the NCT, even tho its not a legal requirement.

and again, where are the stistics of bangers involved in fatal collisions?
And the 10 year thing, its farcical, whats the difference between a 9 and 10 year old car?

Anyways the OP will be delighted as i fully expect the yearly test to come for all cars soon enough. The country needs the revenue so all the stealth taxes will be hiked.


we are getting to a stage where ya have to ask yourself do ya actually own your car?
after buying it, vrt, tax, NCT and tax of petrol/diesel. And what do we get in return, roads that wouldnt be outta place in Iraq!
motorways that are unused because of the tolls and a public transportation system thats an absolute joke.

Idbatterim

if a cars safety is the drivers own responsibility, why bother having one at all? how many people only address issues when they are forced to i.e for the NCT? Id be interested to know if Germany or maybe one of the Scandinavian countries that would generally adhere to best practice allow a car to go 4 years without an NCT? There is a real mentality here of shafting anyone in power and getting away with as much as possible, even if that is driving a literal lethal weapon... sorry a car... the cars tyres are the only thing keeping the car in contact with the road regardless of what car you drive, I reckon 2 years is a damn long time between tests, give me a car and Ill wear the tyres out in several minutes max if i wish, dont think that will matter whether car is 4 months, 4 years or 10 years old, but I stand ready to be corrected...

firemansam4

Ide agree that its important that tyres should be always kept in good condition. But isn't it a penalty points offense to have defective tyres? maybe there should be more road side checks for things like that like there is in the north.

But I have to wonder if the same amount of money that road users have paid towards the nct had instead been paid to improve roads and road safety what would have saved more lives?

milltown

I'm inclined to agree with more regular testing but it should be free/included in your road tax.
Yes the onus is on the car owner, and as regulars of a motoring forum we would be, by definition, more fastidious than the norm, but unfortunately we have to regulate for the lowest common denominator. We all know people who wouldn't dream of checking their lights or their tyres if it wasn't for the NCT. To my shame, and despite my best efforts, I even know somebody who borrowed a pair of wheels/tyres for an NCT because his own wouldn't pass but he thought they weren't important enough to go spending money on!

Being slightly OCD it blows my mind when I see a BMW driving with a rear light not working. The dash tells you when there's a bulb gone! How can you look at that while driving and ignore it?

The answer, IMO, is more Gardaí on the roads pulling folk for traffic offences, be it dodgy lights or just driving like a jackass. In the UK or the US you would reasonably expect to be pulled over and fined or summonsed for driving an unroadworthy vehicle. Over here we think once the NCT is still valid, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with the car.

MugMugs

johndaman66 wrote: »

If you must know I am a wee bit.

Dont be bitter. This forum is too small for that

johndaman66 wrote: »

I do certainly agree with you in principle and if you knowingly take a car on the road which has a dangerous flaw shame on you to say the least. On the other hand how the hell is a 76 year old woman how to know her steering rack is past its best?...Thats is the reasoning behind NCTS I would have thought?

How am I meant to know my Steering Rack is beyond it's best ?

I self service my motors most of the time. If she drives any different then it's off to Mr T to take a look and let me know the story.

A 76 year old woman will know her Micra isn't acting quite right just as well as a 25 year old lad will know his Civic isn't acting quite right.

Legally, the 76 year old should be checking lights, mirrors, tyres, washer fluid and Daniel O Donnell CD's for each journey.

If she is unable to do it, Don't drive the car.

Where would this all end ? Annual NCT ? Then every six months. Then every month.....

ShadowHearth

It's a nanny state already...


You want Something that is common sence to be monitored yearly by some fella and pay for it...

I guess fools are always easy targets to make few quid out of them.

MugMugs

ShadowHearth wrote: »

It's a nanny state already...


You want Something that is common sence to be monitored yearly by some fella and pay for it...

I guess fools are always easy targets to make few quid out of them.

Good point.

ShadowHearth, I'll MMT your vehicle for 50 quid if you want. This is the MugMugsTest. it has no legal standing and I have no qualifications to perform this however you will get a pretty Coconut smelling Magic Tree at the end and a fancy Word Document certificate I will print off for you too !

Chuck Stone

The government should fit real time diagnostic equipment to all cars. Then the equipment can be directed by an overpaid unaccountable public sector bureaucrat to disable the car if it doesn't conform to strict predetermined parameters* such as exhaust emissions, speeding, cornering too fast, tyre pressure and general driving ability.

If the car was disabled due to exceeding the parameters you would then have to pay a fee (let's say €150) to have the disabled car re-activated and you would have 48 hours to take it to an approved centre for testing.

*These parameters would be set by agreement between the Roman Catholic Church, the Democratic Unionist Party and Cyclists.

metzengerstein

absolutly no need for an nct test every year .its a money making ,get old cars off the road sham.old cars should be brought back and stop making the putrid new cars of today .any mechanic can look your car over and tell you if its roadworthy or not ,so why not have this in place that after every service which you pay a bloody nuff for and a check over ,the mechanic gives you an updated nct cert .

turbodiesel

I think it is a good idea but only if you combine it with 12 month road tax renewals that would cut down the administration in doing two things seperately and maybe reduce the NCT fee by 30-40%.

Twin-go

My 2cents:

Get rid of the NCT testing centers. Have cars tested at approved service centres.
You bring your car in for a service and if they find a fail point they fix it for you. After the service/test you are giving your NCT cert valid for a year.
High milers will get the car serviced more regulary and will have a more up
to date NCT. Low milers will be certified at their annual service.