The car I just bought has no NCT...

I just bought a 2003 Peugeot 206 1.1, but its last NCT was in 2013. What does this mean, as it is to be tested every year. Can you help me?

John Dignam (DUBLIN IRELAND)

Aug 2015 Filed under: NCT

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Expert answer

Hi John,

You need to be very careful buying a car without an NCT. For all its flaw the test does go some way to ensure that cars on the road are at least basically roadworthy and a car without an NCT can be hiding all sorts of problems. 

You also need an NCT to be able to tax (and in most cases insure) your car so you need to get it booked in as soon as possible. If you're buying it from a dealer or garage, they really should have the car NCT'd before selling it. If you bought it privately then the previous owner has missed at least one NCT test and either needs to produce an Off The Road certificate or you're into a legally murky area.

Anyway, the short answer for you is to get the car tested and sorted ASAP.

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Adviser
@neilmbriscoe