Bought 3 year old car, air conditioning not working

sparkysteve

why do people think that air con is for hot weather!!!!!!
it's ideal for the UK climate, as it drys the air as well as cooling it.
so you can have hot air conditioned air, this helps with demisting the windows and drys you out on wet days..

so use your air con all the time.
if you don't then the seals dry out and the gas escapes
so every year it will cost for a regas.
if you really don't want to use your air con all the time, use it for 30mins
each week, this will keep the seals wet and the gas in!!
will save you £££ each yr

4743hudsonj

realitybites wrote: »

Again, thanks for all the info, the revs don't alter at all when turning the air con on, no clicking under the bonnet either.

IF the revs dont alter at all it may well be a faulty compressor then as turning it on should instantly put more resistance on the auxiliary belt and therefore the engine.

Searcher

4743hudsonj wrote: »

IF the revs dont alter at all it may well be a faulty compressor then as turning it on should instantly put more resistance on the auxiliary belt and therefore the engine.

Not so long ago I'd have agreed but TBH I don't notice any difference at all in the revs when I turn the A/C on in my car (07 BMW 520)
I just assumed that either A/C has got better or the computer compensates by increasing the revs?

4743hudsonj

Searcher wrote: »

Not so long ago I'd have agreed but TBH I don't notice any difference at all in the revs when I turn the A/C on in my car (07 BMW 520)
I just assumed that either A/C has got better or the computer compensates by increasing the revs?

the torque of the engine will affect how well it copes with extra load, i suspect your engine will have a fair bit more, its only an A class, also things like belts can effect the change slightly.

Also like i said, its not fullproof and impossible to tell without first regassing but its the best indication in smaller engines.

buglawton

The regassing station should be able to plug a test instrument onto the AC in the engine bay and tell you for sure if the compressor is gone. This is what happened when the AC on a 6 year old Vectra I owned was shot. Quoted £500 which was about 25% of the car's value at the time so not worth doing.

Anyonebuying a 3+ year old car should factor in a £500-700 repair one day if keeping the AC going is a high priority. Luckily my old Veccy had a sunroof that on tilt helped cool the car a lot.

realitybites

I should have mentioned, the dealer is getting it done for me but I will have to pay. He is getting me a trade price of £25. TBH, it doesn't give me great confidence in him.

Zeitgeist

The dealer should check the oil level in the compressor too, as well as regas it. If this doesn't fix it, the repairs will be covered by the dealer, as before 6 months the onus is on the dealer to prove the fault wasn't there at time of sale rather than on you.

realitybites

Can anyone advise me if I should be paying for the re gas at all?

tbourner

realitybites wrote: »

Can anyone advise me if I should be paying for the re gas at all?

Definitely not! You mentioned the fault to him before you bought it. Tell him it was a condition of sale that it was repaired!