Motors Analysis: NCT pre-tests are big business these days but they don't always work out as planned. Daniel Attwood asks if they're worth it
With almost half of all tested cars failing their NCT, motorists must decide whether it is worthwhile availing of a pre-test offered by many garages to increase their chance of passing.
With 57 items being inspected, there are many opportunities for faults to be found on your car during its NCT. No surprise then that since the beginning of this year, some 200,000 cars failed their first €49 test, although close to 95 per cent passed when re-tested.
Many garages now provide a pre-test service that, while offering no guarantee, should mean the car will pass first time. However, this is not always the case.
Dubliner Bernard Potter took his car to a garage for a full service and a pre-test just prior to its first NCT test. "I was told at the NCT centre that the car failed because there was a part at the base of the steering column, which, although working, was actually for a different car. I ended up paying for the pre-test at the garage and then the NCT test. Then, when it failed, I had to pay for the remedial work and for the re-test. So this time, I will just put the car in for the test and see what happens."
This wait-and-see approach is recommended by the Consumers Association: "Pre-NCT tests have generally proved to be not worthwhile," explained the association's chief executive, Dermott Jewell. "We would suggest that motorists put their car through the NCT first, unless they are particularly concerned about the car."
But garages argue that the pre-test service can save customers both time and money. They also say that they will stand over their work - a claim that is backed up by the Consumers Association's experience.
Jewell cites two recent cases where motorists returned to their garage after failing the NCT following a pre-test, the garages carried out all the remedial work for free and paid for the re-test.
Clearly though, pre-tests do not always detect every problem, as Fianna Fáil TD, Dennis O'Donovan, knows. He was full of praise for the NCT after one of its technicians spotted a potential fault that his garage had missed.
"I had a nine-year-old Mercedes . . . I had it serviced thoroughly and checked out for its NCT," the west Cork TD explains. "However, when I took the car for its test, the NCT team found a serious fault with the brakes . . . I think I owe my life to the NCT because if I hit the brakes hard when travelling at, perhaps, 60 mph, the brake fluid would have escaped because a valve or washer was gone."
O'Donovan does not blame the garage, rather he says he is relieved the NCT applied more rigorous testing of the car's brake system.
So is it worthwhile getting a pre-test? An AA spokesman thinks not: "There is no guarantee that when a car is put in for a pre-test it will pass the NCT. Our advice is, if the car is well maintained and serviced, then the motorist has nothing to fear from the NCT."
While an NCT spokesperson says that it does not offer advice to motorists regarding pre-tests, its website does say motorists should visit their garage before going for a test.
Motorists should "coincide the servicing of your vehicle with its NCT," says its website. "During the servicing of your vehicle, we advise that you pay special attention to headlights (alignment and condition); brakes (front, rear and handbrake) and exhaust emissions (in most cases a slight tuning of the engine is sufficient). As these are the most common failure points."
But for those not wanting to pay for a pre-test and are willing to play around under the bonnet, there is the option of studying a detailed 79-page manual available from the NCT that comprehensively explains the testing procedure and failure reasons for each of the 57 items in the test.