Motorists wait up to five weeks for NCT

EXTRA mechanics have had to be drafted in to deal with a summer backlog at National Car Test centres, with motorists now facing waiting times of up to five weeks for a booking.

Some NCT centres are booked up until the end of August, resulting in extra days being opened and additional mechanics being called in to deal with the surge in cars requiring testing.

The backlog is attributed to the Garda crackdown from the start of the year into vehicles not deemed roadworthy, and the fact that people have been buying fewer new cars, meaning older vehicles, including a large number of cars bought in 2006, now face NCT tests.