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Dear STW,
My a/c has a leak and makes odd noises so I need a grown-up to look at it (has been refilled but back to dysfunctional within a few weeks):
Do assume that an "expert" is better than a main dealer ?
How likely am I to find an competent person via google ?
Any recommendations for anyone near soton/portsmouth ?
Thanks
I wouldn't go near a main dealer. When the a/c compressor in my Ibiza packed up, the dealer wanted 'at least' £800 for the part alone, with fitting on top.
Luckily the place I take my car to for all of it's servicing also do air-con work.
They replaced the compressor for £500 fitted.
Sorry, no recommendations though....
Try the likes of Kwik Fit.
They offer a service where they will recharge the system and add dye to it for leak checking.
If they cant sort the problem they refund the money.
Not sure of the details so please check..........
Try the likes of Kwik Fit.
I would never recommend them – too many bad news stories from them charging for work that wasn't required/wasn't done etc.
Ie - (quick Google found this)
Must admit, I'd pencilled in KwikFit right down at the bottom, just below Main Dealer
(will take a look at their website though splashman - thanks)
I'd go to an a/c specialist and ask them to diagnose the leak. It's probably either that the seals on the compressor have dried out or there's hole in the condenser (which looks like a radiator). Then find out how easy the fault is to fix; if it means taking off lots of other stuff to get at it, I might go to an independent specialist for the car brand/model, if it's straightforward I'd stick with the a/c.
A new compressor (if your AC is making odd noises then it’s likly to be the fault) could easily be £600 to £1000. One for my MiTo was £900 but we found a recon unit for £600.
Most places will use the same automatic machine as Kwikfit, only specialists will manually vac it down, weigh what comes out, calculate how much to put back in etc. I’d be inclined to take it to a garage who specialises in your particular make of car as they will find it far easier (and therefore cheaper) to source and replace any bits.
My aircon is making funny noises but still working: given the prices that fly around for the cost of replacement condensers & compressors, it'll be opening & closing windows that'll be our climate control if it does fail 😐
yeah, that's what I did nuke - right up 'til the day I had to take 6 people to a wedding (2hr drive) in the middle of the hot spell. The importance of aircon was impressed upon me quite enthusiastically 🙂
While not the cheapest, I was quite surprised with Honda actually telling me straight out that I shouldn't even bother with the genuine Honda part for the air con as it's only available as a whole kit and would set me back £1k plus fitting, but they could do a third party compressor fitted for half the price. The odd noises I was getting was a seized compressor so the aux belt was in danger of wearing away.
I’d go for a local air con specialist. We did this for my wife’s little Mk6 fiesta a number of years ago. It was the condenser that was FUBAR’d. Think it cost about £360 all in so on a bigger car I’d imagine you could hit 4 figures canny easily.. However in terms of a diagnosis I reckon the A/C specialist is the way to go.
Car AC is so full of bull, it's just a scam, service your AC sir, certainly sir that will be £XXX
Bollocks it's a sealed system, just how often do you need to service your fridge at home?
Look up the price of the most common parts on sites such as eurocarparts & google the time taken to fit them. Admittedly the price of AC gas has quadrupled in the last year or two but nothing is a grands worth for a single problem.
HTH.
AC system isnt fully sealed. All the joints have be designed for a lot more vibration and shocks than your fridge so that allowable movement needs seals which can leak. Stick your fridge in your car and see how long it stays working for. Also the compressor shaft seal can leak unlike a fridge which has a very different sealed pump system.
I had a hole in my condenser so got someone to gas it down (after finding it still had some gas in somehow) and then stripped it down and replaced the condenser along with a pipe I found the dealer that did the condenser 3 years ago had damaged so could leak in future.
Cost me about £110 for the condenser (Hella so OEM not cheapy), £60 for the pipe from Mercedes and a degass and then regass charge.
For a decent independent motor engineers/garage in Southampton try E & J Jarvis. Old school "fix it" attitude applied to everything from the new to the old and sensible knowledgeable people IME.