Well, it's bad news if you drive a Renault and good news if you drive a Toyota as these appear to be respectively the worst and best performing brands when it comes to passing your NCT. Likewise, if you live in Leitrim, you're going to struggle to pass while those in Kerry seem (relatively) to fly through.
This is according to The Irish Times, which has analysed the data from the 1.2 million NCT tests carried out in 2013 and concluded that 52 per cent resulted in a fail and the need for a retest. That's 650,000 cars, of which 4,500 were deemed utterly un-roadworthy and had to be towed away from the testing centre.
That drove the cost to Ireland's motorists up sharply. Applus, the Swiss company that runs the NCT on behalf of the Government and the Road Safety Authority, processed €19 million in test (€55 a throw) and re-test (€28) fees. Interestingly, there's almost a 30 per cent difference in passing rates between the best and worst performing centres, a fact that Applus seems reluctant to comment on. Cahirciveen in Kerry had the highest pass-first-time rate with 67 per cent while Carrick-on-Shannon in Leitrim had the lowest rate, at 39 per cent. The national average was 48 per cent pass-first-time.
All Applus was prepared to say was: "All test centres receive frequent unannounced visits, during which independent re-inspections of vehicles are carried out and vehicles inspectors are observed undertaking tests. These show that over 98 per cent of tests are correctly assessed."
Suspension problems seem to be the thing that catches most out, leading to 83,833 test fails - something of a damning indictment of the state of our road network. Tyre condition caused 71,525 fails, followed by 65,704 for faulty brake lines or hoses, 56,715 failed on malfunctioning brake lights while steering linkages sent 54,001 back for a re-test.
Toyota had the highest pass rate with 51 per cent passing first time out, while Renault brought up the rear with 39 per cent first passes. The best-performing individual model was the Toyota Yaris.
Further reading:
Is your car's NCT due soon? You may find our eight-step guide handy then.