Car Air Conditioning Costs

[aust240378]

Hi All,

I recently acquired an 07 plate Vectra that has non functioning air conditioning, It's been a while since I had to get a pressure check/Regas as I've been lucky with my last few cars. Rang a local garage that had merged with an Air conditioning company a few years back and had a good reputation, they wanted £35 for a pressure check and if that's ok then another £84 to refill with refrigerant/Dye.

I know it's been a while but is that the going rate? What's everyone else paid recently?

Cheers

Austin

[Dog Star]

Sounds fair enough.

You will probably find that the condenser is leaking - I’ve replaced several of these over the years and it’s confirmed by the guy who refills them for me; in his estimation over 90% of ac faults are a knackered condenser.

If you can change a radiator you can change a condenser - just be scrupulously clean and use the correct o rings. Condensers are cheap as chips nowadays.

[sinbaddio]

Kwik Fit is either £65 or £125 depending on the gas type. They also offer a free check but I'm not sure it includes a pressure check:

https://www.kwik-fit.com/air-conditioning

[Denis O]

Check ATS via Groupon. Somewhere around £40 all in.

[roltyid]

I had a mobile engineer do a bit of fault finding, pressure test and regas / dye for £110 this week. Also included replacing the two valve covers which were missing on the system.

Can be done cheaper, but convenience of not having to drop off and collect the car offset that.

[Fastdruid]

sinbaddio said:

Kwik Fit is either £65 or £125 depending on the gas type. They also offer a free check but I'm not sure it includes a pressure check:

https://www.kwik-fit.com/air-conditioning

IMO if it doesn't work then it'll be holed or otherwise failed somewhere.

There is a very slim chance it's because its never ever been used for many years the seals have dried out and all the gas has leaked out but I'd give that one a 5% chance.

If it's a big leak or the slight chance it's just needs a refill then Kwikfit are a no brainer, they'll vacuum it, see it leaks like buggery and no charge *or* it'll work fine.

The problem will be if it's a small leak, we had that with a Mazda 6, refilled it, was nice and cool....for about three days.

Personally I'd be looking to what "typically" fails on that model, going back to the Mazda 6 again there was a common fault on them with a pipe that wasn't wrapped with some foam tape would chafe and rub through. Sure enough, that's exactly what it was. When I phoned up the parts dept I didn't even need to specify *which* hose it was, just gave the model and that I needed an AC hose...

[Deranged Rover]

Let me guess - the advert said “Air conditioning not working - just needs re-gassing” and you believed it?!

Seriously, though, I had mine pressure tested and re-gassed by a local mobile air conditioning specialist for around £80 last year.

[P700DEE]

I can highly recommend a mobile guy in kent who is still £45 for a refill.

[BenS94]

Mini quoted £85 yet charged my mother £150. The £85 "Service" covers (second hand information, might be wrong) up to 100g of refridgerant, hers took over 300g. We wouldn't have a problem had this been explained over the phone. They also marked her brand new 200 mile old tyres down at 6mm...

[bloomen]

"Needs a regas" is one of the most clapped out phrases out there. I couldn't bring myself to type it in an ad. I'd just say it wasn't working.

I did ATS. They don't charge if it can't be regassed so it's a free diagnosis. New condenser every time for me.

[3454.5]

Don't assume fault, our 2016 Hyundai i10 shopping car had aircon failure at 4 years old.

Evaporator had sprung a leak, lots of trim and dash out to replace.

Hyundai 5 year warranty, so no cost to us. I had to properly refit some trim though but all worked afterwards and no rattles from dash.

[stevemcs]

We charge £35 for a pressure test if there is an issue, otherwise it’s £85 for pressure test and regas. No idea why you need to add a dye to it as there is no need to.

[NMNeil]

An honest question.
Provided that there's still some R134a in the system can't you just refill it yourself?

[Tommo87]

NMNeil said:

An honest question.
Provided that there's still some R134a in the system can't you just refill it yourself?

Yes, with one of the kits but it won’t be perfect as all you do is top up the high side pressure, unlike an evac and pressure test of both circuits.

[21TonyK]

Local garage did Mrs21's mini for £40 the other day. Said it was completely void of any gas but so far, so good.

[stevemcs]

21TonyK said:

Local garage did Mrs21's mini for £40 the other day. Said it was completely void of any gas but so far, so good.

I take it they pressure checked the system ? If its empty its very rare it holds pressure - especially on a mini

[21TonyK]

stevemcs said:

21TonyK said:

Local garage did Mrs21's mini for £40 the other day. Said it was completely void of any gas but so far, so good.

I take it they pressure checked the system ? If its empty its very rare it holds pressure - especially on a mini

Apparently he did check it (albeit this is a very basic garage) but it seems to be okay two weeks on. It's a 2011 car so I half expect it to need some work but fingers crossed it was just age.

[alabbasi]

Good prices

[ro250]

Is it true that you're better off having A/C on all year to prevent seals failing or is that a load of nonsense?

(I realise the benefits of using A/C in the winter for demisting, I'm asking in relation to keeping the system in good shape)

[blue_haddock]

ro250 said:

Is it true that you're better off having A/C on all year to prevent seals failing or is that a load of nonsense?

(I realise the benefits of using A/C in the winter for demisting, I'm asking in relation to keeping the system in good shape)

The pag oil in the refrigeration circuit lubricates the seals and prevents them persihing so yes it is advisable to use it all year round.