Search

05 Sept 2025

Over 9% of cars in Longford set to fail NCT and cost drivers thousands

New figures reveal that motorists in Longford could be paying more than they realise by holding on to ageing cars

Car NCT

New figures reveal that motorists in Longford could be paying more than they realise by holding on to ageing cars

Analysis from Close Brothers Motor Finance reveals that 18.12% of cars across Longford are registered 2009 or earlier. With cars registered in 2009 and earlier having an NCT pass rate of less than 50%, according to NCT Ireland, this could leave Longford motorists facing costly repairs just to stay on the road. 

With the average annual cost of running a car in Ireland having recently exceeded €10,0001, the added expense of keeping older cars on the road is putting pressure on already stretched family budgets across Ireland. 

Read more: Driver Released Without Charge Following Collision in Longford Town

Irish families are already spending over €1,0002 a week on living costs, and an added NCT failure can leave them out of pocket and without transport, disrupting essential trips like school runs and work commutes. 

Peter Pedlow, Director of Sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance Ireland, said:

“With the cost of living continuing to rise, the expense and disruption of failing an NCT can hit households hard. Unexpected repair bills and time off the road are pushing more drivers to consider newer, better-quality used cars.” 

Read more: Hundreds of Drivers Caught Speeding on National #SlowDown Day

“By upgrading to newer second-hand cars, it would offer Longford drivers greater reliability and efficiency, as well as improvements in safety and lower emissions. With affordable finance helping to spread the cost, these vehicles are becoming more accessible to families who want to avoid the uncertainty of large repair bills and own a car they can trust.” 

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!


Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.


Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.