Broken Car AC advice

jairaj

The air conditioning on my Seat Ibiza 2008 has stopped working.

I took the car into a garage this morning. They have done some investigation and found a leaking pipe. They have quoted me ~£370 for all the work (assuming no other leaks or problems are found). The price includes recharge, investigation, new parts and labour.

Does this sound reasonable to you? I have no idea what is involved in replacing a pipe for the air conditioning but to my ignorant mind this seems a bit expensive. Should I try somewhere else or even have a go at fixing it my self or is their price about right?

paul_mck

depends on the pipe and how accessible it is but I replaced a pipe on an alfa 156 before. £50 for the pipe, bolt off/bolt on new one. Then get it gassed (£40-50 from kwik fit etc).

If the pipe is broken there will be no gas in it so no issues with emptying the system first etc.

sounds like a stroke to me. If you price the pipe from seat then youd know better as it may be £200 or something silly.

mpatts

I found that the mobile air con guys are a lot cheaper - worth calling them. Fixed our passat (similar car I guess) for abotu half that.

gavbarron

I could build a sodding ac system for £370!!! Tell them to do one.
All it is is a repair, vacuum down the plant and then charge with refrigerant (Likely r134). A mobile refrigeration engineer will be cheaper, doesn't even need to be an automotive one as a fridge system is a fridge system, be it in a car, kitchen or shop.

thekickingmule

I was quoted something similar about a year ago. They said they would need to investigate it as it wasn't working ( :roll: no shoot sherlock, that's why I brought it in!) but due to the high pressure the system was under, it would be expensive.
I just said no, as for the few days of the year that it's needed, I'll roll the window down!

jairaj

I popped back at lunch to pick the car up. The guy gave me a break down and the pipe, washers, connectors etc are about £150 then 2 hours labour £100 + VAT. Seems like the parts are the expensive bits.

I like my AC but not sure about paying that much for it. Might have a look to see if I can replace the pipe myself and take it back for a recharge. Or just wind the window down...

paul_mck

hit the local breakers get a second hand part if you want to keep costs down.

The Northern Monkey

Open the window.

Seriously, the Air con on my 206 packed in about 21k miles ago....

nicklouse

when my Aircon went it was 700 notes for a new pump and charge.