AC diagnostic

[mauveroses]

Now then,

This may be a completely daft question but bear with. I am the lucky owner of a 7-year-old VW Jetta. So far this year, the below events have occurred:

- Rear exhaust fell off. Repaired by local garage
- Supension bushes/arms knackered. Sorted out by local garage.
- Faulty oxygen sensor. Sorted out by local garage.
- Diagnostic for the above sensor, care of local garage.

All this has cost some £1,500 due to the price of the parts, the scarcity and unpopularity of the car, the fact they don't flog them in this country anymore etc. My local garage charges £55p/h labour plus VAT.

Yesterday, I took it to the local garage for its oxygen sensor replacement. Before I dropped it off, I sent them an e-mail saying "please could you take a look at the AC as it's recently stopped working". They replied saying "yes we will have a look at the air conditioning too" (direct quotes).

I received a call yesterday evening information me that the pump had gone, and required replacement. The figure quoted was something like £300 including labour. I said hold your horses, I can't afford that so i'll have to take it under advisement (they couldn't source a second hand one).

When I called this morning I reiterated that I didn't want the pump replacing yet as I'm skint. I then said "so it's just the £227 for the oxygen sensor to pay is it?" (price was agreed on e-mail beforehand).

They then informed me that I actually owed them £305 for re-gassing the AC (which, as may recall) was only requested to be 'looked at'. I said, well, i'm sorry, but I didn't authorise any work to be carried out and this is the first I'm hearing about this. The receptionist told me that they should have 'phoned yesterday in order to authorise any diagnostics/repairs etc, but due to staffing issues, nobody did so.

The owner then emerged and informed me that re-gassing was part of the AC diagnostic process, and that I ought to have known this would be a chargeable diagnostic. I queried how I, as a layperson, was supposed to know that. I also pointed out that when I took the car in to have its suspension checked, I was simply given a quote in the usual manner, which I took away, with no unexpected charges. His answer to that was "yes, but you accepted the work" and I said "I did, several weeks later, and I wasn't obliged to."

So who is in the wrong here? Granted, I should have enquired whether AC diagnoses were chargeable but I've never had such a levy added to an invoice for the numerous jobs they've previously carried out. And admittedly, there's some ambiguity around the directive to "have it looked at". Any assistance would be appreciated and most welcome.

[blue_haddock]

I would suggest you have a word with them about recharging a vehicle that has a suspected leak, which breaches fgas regulations and is technically illegal.

But anyway over £300 just to diagnose a pump failure is seriously expensive.

[mauveroses]

Sorry I should say the £305 included £227 that had already been agreed to for the o2 sensor replacement, leaving £80-odd for the 'regassing' incl labour.

[stevemcs]

We would charge £75 for the regas, however before we even get that far we would pressure test the system, if it held pressure we would go ahead and regas, if we then found the compressor didn't work (it needs gas to function) we would extract the gas, confirm the compressor was faulty and charge £30.

From a garage point of view you did ask them to investigate the AC system, they have done that, some don't charge some do, and with these they have charged, yes its slightly unfair but they have done the job you asked.

From your point of view, yes I can understand where you are coming from, however you did ask them to investigate it and must have assumed there would be a cost

[Evil.soup]

mauveroses said:

Sorry I should say the £305 included £227 that had already been agreed to for the o2 sensor replacement, leaving £80-odd for the 'regassing' incl labour.

£277 is a bit mental for an O2 sensor replacement, are you taking the car to a main dealer? A branded O2 sensor for a Jetta is around £50 and removal and replacement should be less than 1hr labour, unless of course there is an issue such as the sensor welding itself in place. Given that they told you in advance the price of the job, it sounds like you are getting fleeced!!

[mauveroses]

thanks for the replies.

i got about five quotes for the O2 sensor and they all came back at anywhere between £210 and £300-odd.

it was the sensor behind the cat (Jetta MK6 2.0TDI (110/150) and the part online seems to be in the region of £80 to £100 quid.

parts for this mark of Jetta are an absolute nightmare, the back box (which fell off earlier in the year) ended up costing £500 not including labour, cheapest I could see it for online was about £480.

[Rawhide]

I'd suggest to suck this one up. Next time agree how much diagnostics would cost. I think laypeople don't understand often time spent on diagnostics could be spent on other repair jobs and as such the garage would typically charge.

That said I think they should agree how much diagnostics is likely to take. About an hour seems about right.

Next time take it to quikfit. They will test the system for free and advise if there IS a fault. They won't often tell you the fault but it's useful information.

[e21Keith]

I think the last place I'd take my car is Quikfit or any of the similar chains as I've had and heard so many bad experiences. One of my neighbours had a fail at first MOT because they said all the tyres had cracked on a car that had done 15k miles and was always garaged! A relative took their car to a local branch because it was pulling to the left when exiting a corner, they wanted to fit new shock absorbers, tyres and wheel alignment, however there was an issue with the Differential (LSD), nothing wrong with any of the parts they wanted to replace. They love to find faults that mean they can sell their standard products, tyres, brakes, suspension. The staff are on a bonus, the more they sell, the more they make.

Sounds like you might have two aircon faults. If they needed to regas it then the old gas must have leaked out, then they found that the compressor wasn't working either.

The cost of changing the O2 sensor seems a bit high unless there was a particular problem which they should have explained.

Think I'd look for a trustworthy local garage who aren't just trying to charge you as much as possible for as little as possible.