# NCT = just buy a new car!



## WicklowMan (24 Apr 2011)

Hi all,

Brought my car for the NCT lately. It failed on a number of things (it's 17 years old, but well cared for) First off, the valid ones. A sizeable hole was discovered in one of the sills, and being structural it'll have to be welded (mind you it wasn't spotted 18 months ago when the car was last there!)

It also needs a ball joint. The two of those are perfectly reasonable: both relate to safety and have to be done. The next bits are complete nonsense. Due to a .3% factor the car has been deemed to have an emissions problem. Apparently it's - wait for it - running lean!

I showed the report to a Scottish friend. He chuckled at that one. As he correctly pointed out "you could put that up on the machine again and get a different result". Last but not least, a bit of rust on the wheelarches ... on the 1 cm wide 'ledge' that's bent back in over the rear wheels that is. The rear wing is fine, just the flange part is rusted in places. That's no more structural than taking the maker's name badge off!

Apparently this upsets the NCT people because it's "not painted". We are now 10 years into the NCT (11 even?) ... is it not time that motorists demanded consistent standards from these people? It is beginning to look more and more like a con job to me ... they keep moving the goalposts.

The car drives no different to me, and the wheelarches are no different than they were the last time. The beginnings of that hole should have been spotted, which would probably have negated the need for now welding the car. It's a Volvo, and they don't exactly deteriorate fast with rust!

Incidentally, I wonder what the standards are like in Spain? Anyone know? It's a Spanish company that got awarded the contract in January for 10 years ... presumably we can't do things like test cars in Ireland, despite record unemployment.

Incidentally the mantra of the NCT being for "a _*safer*_ enviornment" is completely bogus. In the worst of the worst days of people driving dodgy cars, less than 1% of accidents were caused by defective mechnicals. More people probably died through picking their nose while driving!


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## steph1 (24 Apr 2011)

Being a taxi driver I have to get my taxi nct'd every year and not every two as it is for private motorists though that is changing now for older cars where it will be every year from a certain age.  
There is no consistency with this nct testing.  What seems to pass in one centre will fail in another.  I have gone to my local test centre in Mayo and have never once passed an nct test on the first go with either my taxi or any private car that I owned.  The last time I could not get a test in my local centre for the taxi as they were booked out so I ended up going to the next county where I got a cancellation and the car passed no problem.  
While I am all for safety etc etc this whole thing is a racket.  And certain centres seem to fail on the slightest thing and then the whole system is choked up with people doing retests and those of us who need our cars to earn a living cannot get a test within a reasonable time and end up travelling miles in order to do our tests.
There must be some amount of money being made off the backs of the Irish motorist, whether you are a private motorist or drive for a living.  And now with the price of petrol and diesel owning a car or driving for a living is becoming one very expensive business.


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## z107 (24 Apr 2011)

Can you not just get the holes filled?
I did that for the rust holes in my last NCT and it passed on the second attempt.


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## Time (24 Apr 2011)

Rusty wheel arches? That sounds spurious to me.


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## bullworth (24 Apr 2011)

umop3p!sdn said:


> Can you not just get the holes filled?
> I did that for the rust holes in my last NCT and it passed on the second attempt.



Or cover them up yourself. Sand most of  the rust and flaky paint off down to the original bodywork with a rubber block and sandpaper dipping the block into a bucket of water to keep dust down ( or use an angle grinder if u have to). Then get some isopon from a motor factors:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_167469_langId_-1_categoryId_165625

Its a flexible putty in a tube or carton that hardens after application.Theresa few different types. You can get a fibreglass putty too for really bad holes. The fibreglass usually has to be mixed with an activator to make it harden later which u can do on a piece of cardboard. A lot of mechanics do exactly this.
Apply with some cardboard. Sand the area down after the putty hardens so that it is flush with the rest of the car. Use stronger sandpaper at first and then towards the end use a finer grain. Then you can paint over it yourself or have it sprayed. A lot of car bodywork issues are simple DIY problems that are not too difficult to fix cheaply yourself. Enginework is more complicated by comparison. A DIY job makes a lot of sense if the cost of repair is a sizable % of the cost  of the car.


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## BurrenTech (24 Apr 2011)

bullworth said:


> Or cover them up yourself. Sand most of  the rust and flaky paint off down to the original bodywork with a rubber block and sandpaper dipping the block into a bucket of water to keep dust down ( or use an angle grinder if u have to). Then get some isopon from a motor factors:
> 
> Its a flexible putty in a tube or carton that hardens after application.Theresa few different types. You can get a fibreglass putty too for really bad holes. A lot of mechanics do exactly this.
> Apply with some cardboard. Sand the area down after the putty hardens so that it is flush with the rest of the car. Use stronger sandpaper at first and then towards the end use a finer grain. Then you can paint over it yourself or have it sprayed. A lot of car bodywork issues are simple DIY problems that are not too difficult to fix cheaply yourself. Enginework is more complicated by comparison.



Don't do this, sills are structural, and it will affect safety if you bodge it like this person suggests. Have the rust cut out and fresh metal welded in.

A lean mixture increases Nitrous Oxides (NO) which is known health issue.

I totally agree though, the whole NCT is a racket to get people to buy new(er) cars. How many new cars did Toyota recall because of safety issues? If they're going to test cars every year it should be ALL cars, regardless of age.

Write to your TD!


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