The Filter

If your vehicle is six years old or more it will have been tested twice by the NCT. It is perfectly reasonable to expect a six year old vehicle to breeze through the first two tests with ease. After that it may become the case that general wear and tear, poor roads and high speed bumps, will make it a little harder for your vehicle to pass the NCT first time. Ideally we would all like our vehicle to pass the test first time, every time, but as the car ages that becomes a hope more than an expectation.

On the NCT’s official website they recommend you carry some simple tasks on the vehicle in advance of the test and they are:

• 1.       You car has adequate oil and water
• 2.       The boot is empty and the seats are free or personal belongings
• 3.       The vehicle is reasonably clean (especially the underbody)
• 4.       The hubcaps are removed (only where wheel nuts are not visible)
• 5.       The tyres are inflated to the correct pressure
• 6.       The engine is in a fit state to be tested eg. The timing belt is replaced on schedule
• 7.       Seat belts and seat belt clips are visible
• 8.       Your registration plates comply with current regulations
• 9.       NCTS recommend that you have  your lights checked and set prior to your NCT

As you can see most of those tasks are straight forward and can be done at home or at your local petrol station free of charge. Should you wish to have the headlights focused in advance of the NCT be sure to inform the garage that you only want the lamps focused as some garages might see this as a perfect time to up-sell additional items to you.

In cases where your vehicle is 10 years old or more, many people are simply following the NCT guidelines above and then putting the car through and only repairing what the NCT fail the vehicle on. By doing so you are ensuring you are only spending the minimum amount necessary in order to receive your certificate.  Remember, items that fail and do not have to use any machinery for the re-test will not incur a re-test fee. Making an appointment for a re-test for a visual item is much more relaxed too and most NCT centres set aside a time of the day where they view all visual re-tests.

So don't be too stressed about your NCT, it may not be as bad or as expensive as you fear!And if you do need some parts you know that you can come to MicksGarage to sort you out.

For all concerned Toyota drivers, Toyota Ireland have a statement here: http://www.toyota.ie/about/news/story/d71a5529-4963-47e0-add7-a77b7b163ab4

They're recalling:

With the ice and snow over the past few weeks, most of us have been driving around on salted roads (or at least those of us who were lucky enough to get salted roads!). What you may not be aware of is that salt can cause damage to your car. It can cause corrosion and can speed up rust, which is particularly relevant to older cars. Without getting too scientific on it, salt increases the electrical conductivity of water and so accelerates corrosion.

Now that the cold spell seems to have subsided, it is probably a good time to give the car a good wash and try and get rid of the salt off the bodywork and undercarriage of the vehicle. Make sure in particular to wash the underside of your car to get rid of the salt which will have bounced up from the roads. When you’re washing the car make sure also to get the mud and muck out of the wheels and wheel arches. Give rubber, trims, door seals and tyres a good wash and rub also. If you’re using a hose at home make sure it has a high pressure nozzle so that you can get the water at power into those hard to reach places.

You may also find that your car mats have turned white in sections. This can be caused by road salt from your shoes.  Mostly this can be removed with soap and water but if this doesn’t do the job you can also try some vinegar diluted with water.

A freezing Ciaran from MicksGarage was on TV3 discussing some useful winter products for the car.

Ciaran himself had to be de-iced when he came back from TV3.

Okay we've covered this before but the Irish Times has some handy tips here on safe driving in the snow. Unsurprisingly we've seen a fairly significant demand for bumpers, wing mirrors, window regulators, wiper arms over the past few days of bad weather, as motorists come into trouble on our icy roads.

So keep the speeds down out there!

We can all do DIY repair work on light paintwork scratches on a car. These scratches are very common on cars, and are commonly from tree branches or bushes etc. but some minor collisions can also result in light scratches that may be able to be repaired without the need for a bodyshop.

Light scratching is where there is a scratch on the paintwork but the scratch is not so deep that it has gone down to the primer coat. We tested a range of scratch repair products before we decided on the Quixx scratch repair as our product of choice. I've used it several times since then and it has never failed to deliver. You can see how to repair light scratches on the video here:   

           Replacing wiper blades is one of the most common small DIY jobs that a motorist will do. If you find that your wiper blade is squeaking, is not clearing away water effectively or is stuttering / jerking across your windscreen then you probably need to replace them. With our rainy climate it is recommended to check and change your wiper blades at least once a year.

There are various wiper blades available on the market, from standard wiper blades to high performance flat blades. A wiper blade assembly consists of a piece of rubber strip attached to a metal arm, with the clip to attach it to the wiper arm (the wiper arm is attached to the car). Flat blades dont have the metal arm, they are just the rubber strips combined with the clip (see the photo above). You will certainly notice a difference in quality with a set of flat wiper blades on your car. They have an aerodynamic low profile design and the reduced height improves visibility and minimizes vibrations/wind noise. Make sure you purchase the correct size wiper blades by cross checking against the make, model and year of your car as there are different sizes. 

Changing your wiper blades will literally take a minute. Here's a few tips:

1. Lift the old wiper assembly away from the windscreen. Observe the positioning of the wiper assembly, as your new wiper blade will be slotting in the same position.

2. Locate the clip which connects your wiper assembly to the wiper arm. There is usually a tab on the clip which you can click up to detach the wiper blade assembly from the wiper arm. Open the clip and remove the old wiper assembly.

3. Now position your new wiper blade in the same way as the old one was positioned, click the wiper assembly into place and click down the tab on the clip so that the wiper assembly is now securely attached to the wiper arm. Test the wiper blades while the car is stationary - don't wait until your driving!

Click here to watch a video of changing a wiper blade.

        The most common minor car accident is when you (or another driver) clips your wing mirror and shatters your wing mirror glass. But fear not, if it's just the glass that is cracked, then you can replace it at very little cost or effort. Replacement mirror glass is different for most car makes / models as it designed to an exact shape, but it is available for most cars and vans, without having to replace the full wing mirror.

Your wing mirror glass is stuck onto a backing plate which in turn is attached onto the wing mirror body. The mirror glass can be purchased on its own or with the backing plate. If you find that your wing mirror glass is cracked you have two options:

1: if the glass is cracked but is securely attached onto the backing plate you can simply stick new mirror glass onto the old glass. The adhesive on the back of the mirror glass is extremely strong and the replacement glass will stick on securely.

2: if your existing glass is badly cracked / damaged, you can scrap it off the backing plate and then stick your new replacement mirror glass directly onto the backing plate, again using the adhesive on the back of the mirror.

Here's a video to help you with your repair.

The Sunday Business Post had a good article in their Computers in Business magazine last weekend with advice for businesses setting up a website. The article is up on the web here. It was also very nice of them to mention MicksGarage as a great website.

By the way, I found this great website with tutorials on digital marketing. Well worth a look.

Very good article here by Conor Pope in the Irish Times on comparision websites. Have a read of it to save some money on your shopping bills.