I'm in Edinburgh so local recommendation also good, but anyone noticed national chains with a deal on Aircon recharge?

Thanks very much

I wouldn't let Kwik Fit & co anywhere near my car to be honest.

Not just Kwak fat. Any of the tyre places are good only for TYRES . I thought that legislation meant that recharge was a no no till any leaks had been found and fixed . But I seem to remember advice being to get system sucked out first, then checked for leaks and fixed before recharge. Bit more costly, but better for the system

I wouldn't even say they're good for tyres - unless you pre-book online a few days in advance - turn up on the spot and it's D1ck Turpin, mask and pistols.

Edited as swear filter won't allow the diminutive of Richard .

It's done by machine that most air con services use.

They also guarantee if it fails to work then it's free.

TBH aircon recharges are the only thing I ever trust Kwik Fit to do. The machine pretty much does it all for them, vacs the system, pressure tests it for leaks and gives a printout of the amount of refrigerant and oil extracted and the amount put back in. They were doing a £29 offer over the winter but its gone back up to £49 now.

_{Lots of places doing air con regassing these days and the price has gone down due to so much competion. Pick a more established garage though , who have being doing it for a while.}

I would find an independent to do it. I use a local guy in my area who is actually a trainer for the air-con re-gassing machines. During a proper re-gas, as well as the refrigerant gas, oil should be pumped in (at the correct quantity for the car) to make sure the air-con system is kept well lubricated internally as well as the UV die to check for leaks.

He says that when he turns up to most Kwit Fit style places to do training the machines are not properly equipped (e.g. no UV die for spotting leaks, no oil, non working UV light gun etc) to which he normally takes his own so he can carry out the training correctly. However, he knows once he leaves they will not buy the correct supplies and will just pump the refrigerant in, wont put the oil or die in (as these are expensive) take the £50 and run.

They are breaking the law by not checking for leaks thou as the refrigerant gas should not be allowed to leak into the atmosphere due to the CFC's it has in it. And they are harming your car by not putting the oil in with it and will just be drying out the system internally.

Bottom line - use a specialist. They actually care, will do a proper job and will not be much more expensive than the tyre monkeys..

UV dye is an optional extra in my experience, don't knw anyone that put the dye in as a matter of course.