We live in a very unsentimental age and the latest target in the new order of higher standards is the old jalopy. You may think your car has character and has served you to the best of its ability for many years. You may even think of your motor as an old friend, but the EU doesn't care about silly notions like that.
A vague sense of panic is sweeping the community of pre-1992 car owners, as they feel the strong arm of the superstate reaching down to take their wheels away from them, or, even worse, make them pay dearly to stay on the road.
First things first. The new national car test is not called the MOT, it's actually called the National Car Test or NCT. We will know all about it from January on as it will probably spin off more pub anecdotes than the driving test. There are 440,000 to 450,000 pre-1992 registered cars on the road in the Republic at present, and all are to undergo the test in 2000.
The concept of a test is not entirely new to owners of older vehicles. Some insurance companies already look for a certificate of roadworthiness for cars over 10 years old when renewing motor policies. The difference with the NCT is that it will be standardised and carried out throughout the State on all pre-1992 cars in 43 purpose-built centres. The 10-year contract for the NCT was won by a Swiss company, the SGS Group, the world's largest inspection, testing and verification company.
Testing of private vehicles begins on January 4th and the order in which cars will be called for testing will be based on the month in which the car was first registered. All cars must be tested up to eight weeks before the anniversary date of first registration of their car.
The National Car Testing Service (NCTS) will notify the car owner by post in the eight weeks leading up to the anniversary month and the testing procedure will be explained in a letter and brochure. The NCTS will propose a testing date and centre which then has to be confirmed or changed by the car owner.
The test will cost £35 (€44), including VAT. A re-test is cheaper, at £19.80, but re-testing on a minor point which can be established by a visual inspection will be free of charge. There's no subsidy for disabled drivers or pensioners, it's one car one price.
When the car passes the test, the owner will receive a test certificate which will be valid for up to two years. The Garda will enforce the test as all eligible cars will be obliged to display an NCT disc on car windscreens. Also, motor tax offices will not tax a car unless the owner produces an NCT Certificate. But in an on-the-spot inspection, who's to say the car isn't due its NCT until December?
The NCTS recommends that all cars have a pre-test service to save time and trouble. Mechanics are already seeing an influx of a different type of customer.
"In the past when people had a regular service, the attitude would be `why touch it if it's not broken?'," says Mr Niall O Horain of Nigel Motors in Glasthule, Co Dublin. "That whole culture will have to change and in some cases people will have to pay several hundred pounds on bodywork or steering to make sure the car is up to scratch."
It's not only the customer that has to fork out because of the test. Nigel Motors invested £5,000 in new equipment to provide a full pre-test service. Without the new gear - a headlamp aligner and a four-gas analyser - a pre-test would be a waste of time. According to pilottesting around the State, the main points people are likely to fail on are headlamp alignment, car emissions and brakes.
Mr O Horain believes the real bangers will be scrapped but a well-maintained older car will pass the test.
NCTS marketing manager Ms Samantha Breen says test notification is being sent to the first round of January-registered car owners next week. "But anyone can get information from the NCTS at its LoCall customer enquiries number 1890 200 670," she says. The Department of the Environment also has a detailed publication explaining the technical side of the test, the National Car Test manual. It's available from the Government Publications sales office in Molesworth Street,
Dublin, or in most bookshops. It costs £5. The NCTS website is very thorough and easy to follow, www.ncts.ie. In case any post-1992 registered car owners are feeling complacent or even smug, their time will come too. Testing is being introduced on a phased basis and in 2001 cars first registered between 1992 and 1996 will have to undergo the test, followed by all four-year-old and older cars from 2002.
Car importers haven't let the new wave of car ageism pass them by and scrappage schemes are back with a vengeance. Nissan is offering £1,500 off the Micra and Almeira provided the new car is booked before January and Fiat has been offering £1,000 off the Bravo and Brava since September. Whether it's worth ditching your old car ahead of the test or not depends entirely on its condition.
"If you maintain your car reasonably well, it should sail through the test," according to Mr Conor Faughnan of the AA. "Initially, a lot of cars will fail and disappear but once the system has been established it will lead to better maintained cars across the board."
It has been said that the NCT will lead to cheaper insurance, but Mr Faughnan says this is not necessarily the case. "It may lead to cheaper insurance indirectly in the longer term because it will encourage a better standard of vehicle maintenance," he said.
Finally, if you are looking for a way out, you have two chances. There are only two categories that will be exempt from the test. All cars taxed as vintage and cars permanently based on islands not connected to the mainland by road will not have to be tested.
