Quote to fix aircon - reasonable?

AdrianC

martin2345uk wrote: »

Oh gosh. Right I will make some calls tomorrow to some local garages to see how much they charge for a regas! Thanks...

Don't be surprised if it doesn't work, though. If you were to take it to an aircon specialist (or anybody reasonably clued-up), they'd pull a vacuum and make sure it held before going near it with the gas. Even then, it might not last.

The problem is that aircon needs to be used regularly to keep the seals from drying up. Once they do, the gas leaks. If it's been sat unused for an extended period, you may need a compressor (not cheap!) on it to get it reliable again. And that's assuming it leaked initially because of seal shrinkage, and not through damage somewhere.

goosander

Assuming the condenser is the problem, that sounds quite steep. 4.5hrs labour sounds like way too much unless the Clio is a nightmare to work on.

I've just had a new condenser fitted to my Fabia and that cost:

£50 for a regas at Quikfit (told me it passed the pressure test), worked for about 10 days.

£310 at a local garage who specialise in a/c to diagnose properly and replace a leaking condenser. Think it was approx £120 for the part plus 2 hours labour.

As others have said, if it hasn't worked for a while it may cost loads to fix properly. Personally I wouldn't bother if the car is over 5 years old.

fred7777

In my experience it's high

martin2345uk wrote: »

4.5 hrs labour: £211.50
Condensor: £160
Gas: £60
VAT: £86.30
Total: £517.80

I fitted a new condenser to a 56 Renault megane last summer costs were:

Condenser : £68 (inc VAT online)
Gas: £39 (in vat and pressure test from F1 autocentres)
Labour 1 hour (mine)

total = £107

martin2345uk

Blimey, wanna come and do mine?? ;-)

vikingaero

Despite all the comments about Kwik Fit I would take the car there for a a/c regas for £50. If there is a leak or fault then there is no charge. Just resist any upselling from them about your tyres, brakes, dampers, exhaust, furry dice...

I took my Mums Merc there once and they diagnosed a holed condenser. End result no charge and I could take it to an a/c specialist.

HoofeHearted

Halfords to an aircon service as well. never used them myself, but may be an option.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/AdviceArticleDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=21202&categoryId=292528&langId=-1&articleId=1042716

martin2345uk

Okay the garage emailed back and said they'd noted it on the last service that the condensor is leaking and needs replacing.

Now she says it I do remember them talking to me about it last time I collected the car from there

That being the case - obviously £500 is more than I need to pay so would you advise going to Halfords as per above? Their aircon check is free, a re-gas is £29.99, but if they concur that the condensor needs replacing, would they actually be able to do it?

AdrianC

The person who said they'd done a condenser in an hour had done so on a Megane, not a Clio. I'd imagine the packaging at the front is much tighter, so the timing may well be right. They're clearly aware of what's what and - if it's going to be anything more than the absolute basics - there's no way I'd go near Halfords or Kwik-Fit or any of the fast-fit national chains. You want a proper mechanic.

Netwizard

Forget going to all these fast fit places, it wont end well. Find yourself an aircon specialist (round by me, there is a guy who works out the back of his van, what he doesn't know about aircon systems isn't worth knowing and hes fantastic) regas cost me less than £50 and the condenser not much more than that. He even fixed a piece of holed pipework for me for no charge. Well worth finding a decent independent specialist and getting the job done right first time

bod1467

AdrianC wrote: »

there's no way I'd go near Halfords or Kwik-Fit or any of the fast-fit national chains. You want a proper mechanic.

That probably means avoid dealerships too. (You think their mechanics are really any better qualified than the ones at Kwik-Fit et al?)