Car to mechanic before or after NCT

J

jim

Registered User
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Is it better to bring car to garage pre nct and to pre empt it.

Or better to just do nct, see what they call out, adress it all and then bring bk to nct?
 
I Hear you tommy. But im going to assume car will fail for something. It would be more annoying if i went to mechanic beforehand and still failed on somerhing.
 
I went to the mechanic before my last NCT and it still failed, so I had to go back to the mechanic again a second time regardless. I decided from then on that I'd do the NCT first.
 
Seems logical to go to nct 1st, and then to mechanic esp if i think theres issues with car.

Either way ill need to go to mechanic at least once. But i go before nct theres chance ill need to go to mechanic 2nd time
 
jim said:
Seems logical to go to nct 1st, and then to mechanic esp if i think theres issues with car.
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A friend had a car in which they had an issue with the window washer thingy.

They spent a small fortune trying to remedy and each repair would last but a few days.

On the day of the test, it flat out wouldn't work. They put it it though anyway and resolved to sell this vexatious vehicle :)

Passed with zero observation.
 
A lot of mechanics will not have the test gear that the NCT centers use. If you want a mechanic to do rolling tests for brakes, suspension, side slip, exhaust emissions, headlight alignment etc you are going to have a hefty car service bill. Let NCT do these tests first.

If they pass your car then you just need a basic service from your mechanic.

If your car fails, your mechanic can deal with the specific issues.

Even if you get your mechanic to do all these tests first, you are still not guaranteed to pass the NCT. The mechanics equipment might be slightly out of calibration compared to the NCT centers, or someone could nudge your headlights while parking and knock out your aglinment, or a bulb could blow etc.

Do your own basic checks before the NCT test. Lights, horn, wipers, screen washer level, tyre thread depth.
 
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S class said:
Even if you get your mechanic to do all these tests first, you are still not guaranteed to pass the NCT. The mechanics equipment might be slightly out of calibration compared to the NCT centers, or someone could nudge your headlights while parking and knock out your aglinment, or a bulb could blow etc.
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And the NCT might skip some of the tests it seems...
Persia said:
A friend had a car in which they had an issue with the window washer thingy.

They spent a small fortune trying to remedy and each repair would last but a few days.

On the day of the test, it flat out wouldn't work. They put it it though anyway and resolved to sell this vexatious vehicle :)

Passed with zero observation.
Click to expand...
 
Yes, nobody is perfect. Some things will not be noticed or forgotten during the very short NCT test.

My car failed a number of years ago due to windscreen washer not working. I had topped it up and checked it before the test and it was working. When I rechecked it after the test, the plastic hose on the underside of the bonnet lid was detached. Maybe I hit it while closing the bonnet or the NCT guy hit it while opening it.

It passed on the free visual recheck the next day.
 
I had my annual service about a month before my first NCT. I failed on light beam. So after unless you know something needs fixing.
 
S class said:
Some things will not be noticed or forgotten during the very short NCT test.
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That seems very odd if it's supposed to be a systematic and thorough testing process. On the other hand, in the case of the windscreen washer mentioned earlier, maybe it was tested and fortuitously happened to work at the time of testing...?
 
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