NCT and Hub Caps.

Grizzly

Registered User
Messages
980
Do I still need to take off my hub caps when having my car NCT inspected? I have a car with alloy type wheels. Looking at them closely for the first time this week since I bought the car new 4 years ago , they look as if they are almost part of the wheel.

Is it an automatic fail if I don't remove them?
 
If they are alloys then there's no hubcap.
 
The reference to hubcaps on the NCT mail states "The wheel hubcaps are removed, (only in the case where the wheel nuts are not visible)."
I think it refers to those plastic covers that cover the whole wheel (and are usually held on by zipties).
If you have actual alloy wheels, that you can see the nuts, you are fine. If you have wheel covers, that cover the wheel nuts, then you have to remove them.
 
I have those as well and I can confirm they have to be removed before the NCT.
 
Me, too. A completely unnecessary annoyance. Far easier for the inspector to take them off when they're up on the ramp.
My car has one hexagonal cover on each nut(20 in total).
It takes about 5 minutes to remove them all.
Are you really suggesting that the NCT inspector does this multiple times a day,and takes responsibility for all those tiny bits of plastic?
That's just not credible.
 
A garage or tyre fitter would manage it no problem! Not every driver is young and fit. An 80+ year old might have problems bending and doing it. Like I say, far easier to whip them off when the car is up on the ramp.
 
My mechanic thinks it was a spoof
My wife failed on a windscreen wiper that had nothing wrong with it. We had to buy a new one for the re-test. Then took the new one off and put the perfectly good one that failed back on. Drove around with the "failed" wiper on. (Still do) Completely forgot about this and had the "failed" windscreen wiper on the car for the next year test. It passed, no problem.
 
My alloys have a centre cap, and cover over the nuts that look like nuts. I never noticed well because they look like nuts. Was brought to my attention when getting new tyres changed realised it had locking nuts under the cover.
 
A critical safety item has failed on a car that's so old that parts aren't still available and you're attacking the guy who found the fault ,not your useless mechanic?
Obviously all your other assertions are absolute twaddle.
Common failures are lights and tyres.If a lot of people can even get these 2 right ,no "quota" is necessary.
 
I'm curious what are they checking for. That all the nuts are there? They don't test they aren't lose or anything.