Air con really cost £300??
- Thread starter briniuk
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Have no idea about the cost but seems very steep ! I would be questioning why at the most a 2 year old car that is still in warranty is being charged to be re gassed !? and why has it escaped ...
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My local Audi centre charged me £79 for AC service a year ago , so that seems rather OTT.
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RichardT
Registered User
I would echo that you shouldn’t be expected to fund this when under warranty.
AC is a sealed system so you would not expect any gas to escape unless there is a fault with the parts aka hole in the pipework which should be covered under warranty.
Garages like to just top up as it means you will be back for more but they need to identify the hole and fix it or replace the part.
As to the cost of the gas I’m not sure, I know prices have shot up in recent years due to them now phasing out R410A in favour of R32. They have heavily reduced output of 410 despite there not being enough R32 supply.
AC is a sealed system so you would not expect any gas to escape unless there is a fault with the parts aka hole in the pipework which should be covered under warranty.
Garages like to just top up as it means you will be back for more but they need to identify the hole and fix it or replace the part.
As to the cost of the gas I’m not sure, I know prices have shot up in recent years due to them now phasing out R410A in favour of R32. They have heavily reduced output of 410 despite there not being enough R32 supply.
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While you would definitely be covered under warranty at say 1 year old, I think you might struggle at 2 years old because this is a recommended interval to have the air con serviced and it is chargeable. Air con systems naturally lose gas over time, which can be quicker if it's not been used at regular intervals due to the seals drying out.
Regardless of that £300 seems extortionate so I would definitely get a second opinion from an air con specialist.
Regardless of that £300 seems extortionate so I would definitely get a second opinion from an air con specialist.
Has your AC stopped pumping cold air? If not, I would leave well alone.
If it has I would go to a specialist who will probably charge about £50.
If it has I would go to a specialist who will probably charge about £50.
Sounds about right.
Cars using R1234yf filled air conditioning use different gas and oil, and must not be allowed to come into contact with the older R134a gas or oil. So, they must be serviced only with special equipment which has never been used on an older car.
The R1234yf gas is also expensive - costing around £100 just for the gas for 1 car. Add the special oil and labour, and the fact that the garage needs to keep a separate very expensive service machine which will only rarely be used (R1234yf cars are still a max of 2 years old), and £300 is not a terrible deal.
Cars using R1234yf filled air conditioning use different gas and oil, and must not be allowed to come into contact with the older R134a gas or oil. So, they must be serviced only with special equipment which has never been used on an older car.
The R1234yf gas is also expensive - costing around £100 just for the gas for 1 car. Add the special oil and labour, and the fact that the garage needs to keep a separate very expensive service machine which will only rarely be used (R1234yf cars are still a max of 2 years old), and £300 is not a terrible deal.
The going rate for R1234yf seems to be around £100/kilo. My A3 uses 400gm, so gas cost around £40. R1234yf has been in use for quite a bit more than 2 years (my own car which was first registered nearly 3 years ago has it). Charging £260 more than the gas cost for a recharge seems like a clear rip off to me.
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There seems to be an elephant in the room here.
In an effort to find it, I rang Hereford Audi and asked them how much a recharge would cost for my car. My car - like Mike's - uses R1234yf.
I was put through to the service manager, who was very helpful. He cross-checked my registration number, as you'd expect.
Hereford Audi charge £99 for an air conditioning service, including a recharge.
They charge the same for a car using R1234yf as they do for an older model using R134a.
This is straight from the horse's mouth.
I reckon the best thing the OP could do is ring a different dealership and get another price.
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In an effort to find it, I rang Hereford Audi and asked them how much a recharge would cost for my car. My car - like Mike's - uses R1234yf.
I was put through to the service manager, who was very helpful. He cross-checked my registration number, as you'd expect.
Hereford Audi charge £99 for an air conditioning service, including a recharge.
They charge the same for a car using R1234yf as they do for an older model using R134a.
This is straight from the horse's mouth.
I reckon the best thing the OP could do is ring a different dealership and get another price.
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I think initially dealers and garages will try to recoup some of the cost of the new machines and eventually it will be cheap to regas.
These air con machines aren’t cheap easily £10k+ and the gas isn’t cheap. Even old r134 has gone up as there seems to be a shortage of it and prices as I’ve been told have gone up almost ten folds in the last few years. Now the new r1234 isn’t readily available so not gonna be cheap either.
It’s good to hear some dealers are gonna stick with same pricing for both but you got to remember it still takes a lot of refills to make back the initial capital. Dealers/garages are businesses so not always out to rip folk off although the Audi tax is normally pretty high. Bigger dealerships/chains can absorb the costs easier than smaller ones.
These air con machines aren’t cheap easily £10k+ and the gas isn’t cheap. Even old r134 has gone up as there seems to be a shortage of it and prices as I’ve been told have gone up almost ten folds in the last few years. Now the new r1234 isn’t readily available so not gonna be cheap either.
It’s good to hear some dealers are gonna stick with same pricing for both but you got to remember it still takes a lot of refills to make back the initial capital. Dealers/garages are businesses so not always out to rip folk off although the Audi tax is normally pretty high. Bigger dealerships/chains can absorb the costs easier than smaller ones.
I just paid £45 for Regas and Anti Bacterial Clean last week at ATS on a Groupon Deal.
R134A. Thats what it says to use under the hood. Does anyone know whats involved when ATS do an Antibaterial clean? Do they just use an Aircon Bomb becuase theres still a slight musky sock smell when I turn off Aircon.
Hi all my wife's qashqai AC has just cost us £250
to be repaired but it needed a new condenser .
I paid £50 for it to be regassed that was in the total price.
to be repaired but it needed a new condenser .
I paid £50 for it to be regassed that was in the total price.
R134a is the old and still cheap at many places. Kwik fit was doing it last year at £49 with a guarantee to lower cabin temp or your money back.
Most air con treatment is an aerosol the let off inside with windows shut and air con on recirculate.
Yes this is correct, it just became law to use the newer refrigerant 2 years ago.
As you say though, a complete rip off!
Yes this is correct, it just became law to use the newer refrigerant 2 years ago.
As you say though, a complete rip off!
There’s a cost to saving the planet.
R1234 is probably cheaper to produce but it’s the new thing so someone has to pay
Absolutely....I'm not going to argue with that.There’s a cost to saving the planet.
The problem arises when far too often unscrupulous people seek to take advantage of this by lining their own pockets.
Our government can be included in this.
I think the gas is so expensive because only a small of companies hold the monopoly on producing it, Dupont and Honeywell are two. Once there are more producers then the cost will decrease, unless, like barrels of oil, they form a cartel...
I had my re gas done, r1234yf (new gas) and a service for £95 as Audi said they had a special offer on.
RichardT
Registered User
I agree. During my 3 years free servicing deal, the dealer said, at year two I think, that there was a recommendation to service the aircon (which would be chargeable). It was working fine and still is so I said no thanks. The car is now nearly 5 years old and aircon still working fine. I do run it most of the time. In fact in all the cars I’ve had with aircon, never had any problems - maybe just lucky.
I got my Mini Countryman recharged recently as it wasn't cold anymore, there was literally 10g of gas left it. If it's working (and not smelly) doesn't really need doing. Every couple of years is overkill.
However you are risking it breaking, do you have the same philosophy with every other mechanical parts of your car?
No but never had a problem, my countryman is nearly 9 years old and been regassed twice but once was due to a clip snapping to the AC hose which caused the gas to escape.
If you use the AC regularly all year it doesn't need doing every 2 years, simple. If you want to do, it's your prerogative. Each to their own and all that.
If you use the AC regularly all year it doesn't need doing every 2 years, simple. If you want to do, it's your prerogative. Each to their own and all that.
Agreed, your choice, I prefer my cars to sell on with everything serviced within it's correct schedule. It might not be worth more, although prospective owners might avoid one that hasn't.....
You've got a point I suppose. My S3 was the first second hand car I bought and I've seen the car from new (it was a colleague's). Although A.C. never regassed and Haldex not serviced at 42k miles, all I had to pay was the balloon payment which was a very good deal. Did a major service on it as soon as I bought it and so far so good (except for a couple of matters sorted out under warranty, airbag control module going crazy and the fairly common thermostat housing leak)
Yeah I certainly wouldn't be plowing too much cash into a nine year old mini either and your 'ain't broke' would apply...
Just a note. If you don’t service your air con at 2 years your 3rd year warranty won’t cover any air con components. It’s the same with the sunroof service. At least that’s what I was told at least.
Interesting point @AlS3BE, let's hope I don't have AC problems!
@cuke2u - to be fair to the Mini, in almost 9 years of ownership (since new) it's had very few problems, still on original battery which is going strong. So far only had a failed engine thermostat and a wheel bearing, besides the aforementioned detached AC hose. Less than £500 in non-maintenance related repairs in that time is pretty decent I think.
@cuke2u - to be fair to the Mini, in almost 9 years of ownership (since new) it's had very few problems, still on original battery which is going strong. So far only had a failed engine thermostat and a wheel bearing, besides the aforementioned detached AC hose. Less than £500 in non-maintenance related repairs in that time is pretty decent I think.
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Dealership. I had issues with my a6 in the 3rd year(wasn’t cold enough) and they came back and said it’s not covered cause there’s no record of a service. Luckily for me I had a similar issue the previous year and it fell as part of the previous warranty claim.
