Just had my non functioning air conditioning diagnosed at a local reputable garage ...

 

Apparently the condenser is full of tiny holes, hence complete loss of gas :(

 

Been quoted a max of £420 for replacement, new seals throughout and re-pressurising. Apparently the replacement condenser (he did tell me the brand) is black, rather than silver (aluminium) do hopefully stronger ??

 

At least there was no charge for today's fault finding, saving me £30 odd.

 

Roll on next Tuesday (as I can't stand this current mugginess / heat).

 

Is this a reasonable price ?

Replacement condensers start at £109 on Euro Car Pats (plus there is a 30% discount code on at the moment) I replaced mine myself and it took a couple of hours on the drive. The radiator had to be removed so a coolant top up was also required then a re-gas once it was all back together. I guess with labour charges these days anywhere between £50 and 100 an hour the price seems right.

Same here, did mine myself after getting it degassed first, had to change the compressor anyway, and they recommend changing the condenser also.

 

Regassed nice and cold again.

 

 

 

Trev

I considered doing mine myself. It's a straight forward job I think. But due to work etc I decided to let my trusted vag indie do the job. Genuine condenser came in at £170 iirc. Total price with gas was about £320. Ouch!! It's nice and cold now for the two days of summer!!

It is a quite easy job, once you get the bumper off, and the dog can see the rabbit so to speak.

 

Front crash structure has to come off too.

 

 

Trev

£300 for mine to be replaced at home and regassed.

Had the work done today - £402 in total.

 

Don't think my AirCon has ever been this cold, so I'm happy.

 

Apparently a couple of seals had to be replaced as well ? Comments above were spot on (re work involved) .. as mechanic was having a chat after saying how involved it was, and apparently worse than a VW Passat Estate (for comparison).