Hi Rich.
I applied in the middle of August. Kept ring up for a cancellation but no joy.
Won't start driving it untill the begining of October to avoid loosing a
months tax. Tight git lol.
Cheers Mark.

Why do you have have to wait so long? I just turn up. The garage doesn't actually take bookings (but you do have to get there 1/2 hour before they open to get in first thing without leaving the car. Maybe this is rare even here these days. It did take me several days to get the transit done last week as I take it to another place for work and they take it to another M.O.T. station (for twin wheelers). They must have a booking system there. Maybe more M.O.T. stations needed where you are!

@HD

Government run in NI

RoI is a government sub-contracted out to a private company on a ten year deal. Currently with a Spanish outfit.

Both suffer from backlogs.

Ni has added more test lanes and shifts after the big delay fiasco from about 7 years ago. I haven't had any problems in the last few years, all online, semi automated etc. You can get an mot anytime but it does need booked a few weeks in advance, but I think you can't get any better than that for a specialist centre.

Of course you can get better than that.

There are quite a few places on the mainland that just specialise in MOTs, nowt else, and you can just turn up early-doors and get a test done that day. All this booking nonsense is a load of pish.

Councils might have there own test centre and any test centre has to be open to the general public. Years back I used to go down the telephone exchange in town as the BT Motor Transport Worksop was there and did MOTs. No vested interest in drumming up business for unnecessary work there.

Shortest notice was just before VND took over Vari-ho. Went scouting around Ashington on a Saturday morning early-doors looking for a MOT testing station that wasn't a fast-fit place. Found a garage that did MOTs for 30 quid booked it for 10.30am. Guy took it round the yard unprompted with a Tapley to test the brakes. 11.15am had a fail on one light bulb and emissions. Said they could try and squeeze it in and sort it before 1pm when they closed, so I disappeared to Greggs for a steak bake. Came back with a nice pass cert and they only added 14 quid to the bill for the work. Sorted.

The last NCT that took 7 weeks and 4 phone calls - needless to say, as it was outside the 4 week window due to their booking incompetence I eventually got the €55 test fee refund I was due. Given that vehicle registration years were an annual issue in January up to 2013 AND the test due date is tied to the date the vehicle is registered, there is a massive bulge in the numbers of tests need in January. Whoever devised that system is/was a F&&kwit. A couple of Dublin centres run round the clock at the minute to keep the backlog in check. Useless.

Not all bad down here. Have the pre-1980 test exemption which is a nice bonus!

That explains the delays. I always wonder what would happen if I get stopped by the old bill on a way for a test, as the one I go to don't do bookings and you supposed to have a booking. Often the car may have no M.O.T and therefore no tax either as I swap around which one I use a bit. I don't see how they can force you to use a booking M.O.T. place as it's your choice of station as long as it's not too far away. I do sometimes ring ahead to let them know I'm on the way but other times it's a spur of the moment decision at 7.30am (when I've got no work on first thing).

Well done on getting the car MOT'd Mark! It's always a relief when that's successful.

macplaxton wrote:Not all bad down here. Have the pre-1980 test exemption which is a nice bonus!

That is indeed a bonus. Wouldn't mind that here too

Cheers

Tom

Regardless of any incompetence or inefficiencies with the NCT booking system let us at least be grateful that there is such a thing as the NCT. Having lived there before the NCT was introduced it was very alarming to see cars in everyday use that should have been condemned years before. I was laughed at by local garage for insisting on work being done on my 360 because 'there's no need for that here' - you know, trivial things like welding of structural parts, or replacing corroded brake lines etc.....!

Ahh, shure. It'll be grand.

Hi all.
Last night at 04.00hrs some dirty F*****g scumbag tried to steal
the banana. Next doors dogs went ape shit and they went out to
see what was wrong and they fled down the road. Bloody lucky.
As the altenator is currently knackered, they wouldn't have got
far. If i was still in work i would have shot the bastards.
Cheers Mark.

Bawbag bastids.

Time for a Disklok. One of those big yellow/silver chunks of steel over the wheel. Either that or take the rotor arm out every night

Wire up the thing for electric shock.

If it goes to court, look up R v RODERIC MINSHULL (1994). "Electrical engineer's acquittal on various charges where a security guard received an electric shock from defendant's home made anti car theft device in a hotel car park."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/gu ... 24714.html

The jury acquitted him after hearing tales of how several men with baseball bats forced the door locks and smashed the steering column while trying to steal it in January 1993. It was after this incident that he decided to fit the home-made device.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 17997.html

Don't know if he did get a diesel after all that or not

Oh dear Mark, I'm sorry I hope they didn't do any damage ...

It's probably enough just to pull the spark plug leads off. The probably won't go to the effort to pop the bonnet and see what's wrong ...

Cheers

Tom

I hope the bastards die slowly and painfully.

The cops will do nothing no doubt, car theft should have greater punishment after all if someone stole £2k in cash from you they would end up in prison for a lot longer than stealing a £2k car.

MCHUDD wrote:If i was still in work i would have shot the bastards.

What's being in work got to do with anything? Just shoot the feckers anyway...........