Aircon expert needed, Essex/Suffolk area

[Simpo Two]

Have posted on the EA forum but there may be many people who don't look there.

Anyway, my AC is buggered - I put the blowers on 'LO' and they just blast hot at at me - it's like being in a fan oven.

My first choice expert is busy until July; can anyone recommend someone ideally in the Colchester/Ipswich area please? It may just be regassing or it may be more serious, don't know.

[Dave_ST220]

Kwik Fit(i know) will do a regas for £49, if there is a leak there is no charge. The machine looked like proper kit unlike the Halfords aerosol methods!

[Greenwich Ross]

Hate to say it but the Porsche forum tends to recommend the boys in blue at Kwikfit due to it being such a simple job even *they* can't fk it up.

HTH

[Greenwich Ross]

Dave_ST220 said:

Kwik Fit(i know) will do a regas for £49, if there is a leak there is no charge. The machine looked like proper kit unlike the Halfords aerosol methods!

I shall being using them for this very purpose on Friday. Wish me luck!

[Simpo Two]

Interesting...

My last experience of Kwak-Fot was their 'Free Puncture Repair' offer (about 1995).

'My car tyre has a slow leak, could you fix it for free please as advertised?'

(Herbert takes cursory look at tyre)

'Nah mate, that's not a puncture it's a tear, but we can get you a new tyre for £135'

'Bye'



I presume that if the new gas leaks out, they won't take your word for it and refund you over the phone, you'd have to take your car back as proof and then you get the £2,000 repair estimate...?

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 24th May 14:28

[Dave_ST220]

Greenwich Ross said:

Dave_ST220 said:

Kwik Fit(i know) will do a regas for £49, if there is a leak there is no charge. The machine looked like proper kit unlike the Halfords aerosol methods!

I shall being using them for this very purpose on Friday. Wish me luck!

Better luck than me i hope, currently have very hot leather seats. Something tells me it won't be cheap to fix either so probably hot seats forever (brings back childhood memories of scorching hot vinyl seats on fresh sun burn!!). Still, sailed through MOT, not bad for 14 years old.

[Dave_ST220]

Simpo Two said:

I presume that if the new gas leaks out, they won't take your word for it and refund you over the phone, you'd have to take your car back as proof and then you get the £2,000 repair estimate...?

They do a vac test so will know straight away if it will hold the charge. They don't do repairs either.

[Simpo Two]

Aha, found the catch:

http://www.kwik-fit.com/about-air-conditioning.asp

'If we cannot improve the coolest vent temperature from your car by more than 10% when measured in degrees Celsius - then you pay nothing at all.'

So they can reduce the temp from 50C to 39C and I still have to pay. Hmm... just a gamble really isn't it!

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 24th May 14:36

[Risotto]

Kwik Fit. A re-gas is a re-gas - you won't get a better service by using a specialist and/or paying more. I got mine done a couple of weeks ago, took about an hour.

Annoyingly (but understandably) they charge about half as much if you want a re-gas in the winter!

[paoloh]

Simpo Two said:

Aha, found the catch:

http://www.kwik-fit.com/about-air-conditioning.asp

'If we cannot improve the coolest vent temperature from your car by more than 10% when measured in degrees Celsius - then you pay nothing at all.*

• Please note if the ambient temperature around the car is less than 9 degrees Celsius it may affect the results of the AirCon recharge test results. In these circumstances, it is at the managers discretion whether to offer a refund with results less than 10%.'

So they can reduce the temp from 50C to 41C and I still have to pay. Hmm... just a gamble really isn't it!

NO, as if it only has that little effect, the system is fked.

[Dave_ST220]

paoloh said:

Simpo Two said:

Aha, found the catch:

http://www.kwik-fit.com/about-air-conditioning.asp

'If we cannot improve the coolest vent temperature from your car by more than 10% when measured in degrees Celsius - then you pay nothing at all.*

• Please note if the ambient temperature around the car is less than 9 degrees Celsius it may affect the results of the AirCon recharge test results. In these circumstances, it is at the managers discretion whether to offer a refund with results less than 10%.'

So they can reduce the temp from 50C to 41C and I still have to pay. Hmm... just a gamble really isn't it!

NO, as if it only has that little effect, the system is fked.

Exactly, if there is a leak it will piss out the gas(they won't even get that far as the vac test will fail). If it just needs gas they will be cheapest option IMO.

[TommyBuoy]

For what it's worth I had my A/C re-gassed at Kwik Fit after the last re-gass only lasted a couple of months (obviously a leak, but as I got it done a few hundred miles away it was not worth the bother traveling back). Anyway, they did the Vac test and gave the all clear so re-gassed - which lasted 3 weeks.

Went to my regular garage and discovered a cracked pipe with the luminescent oil trapped in the wrap. Had been like it for a while so aircon service and another gas was required.

I guess as long as you are confident the system is healthy Kwik Fit are your best bet though.

Is a vac test the best way to test for leaks, as I would have thought the system operates under pressure, not a vacuum - or have I got is confused?

[Simpo Two]

Well it's a good job I didn't go to Kwik-Fit. I took it to an AC specialist recommended on my other thread - they found the AC was empty. They put dye in it and at 3/4 pressure it went phut and blew it all out of the front of the compressor - green dye everywhere. So it's a new compressor, fortunately not too expensive as they go, and they'll be fitting it before the weekend. So quite a good result all things considered!

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 24th May 16:50

[Dave_ST220]

So you wouldn't have paid a penny at Kwikfit. I've also found someone local who will diagnose with nitrogen & dye for £20 + VAT.

[Simpo Two]

Dave_ST220 said:

So you wouldn't have paid a penny at Kwikfit. I've also found someone local who will diagnose with nitrogen & dye for £20 + VAT.

I'd have had a wasted journey though. And for £20 I'd still have a broken AC... The object of this exercise is to get it mended, for a fair price and quickly. Marine & Auto Electrics of Ipswich are supplying a new Jaguar compressor for £171 inc VAT and with 3-4 hours fitting later this week I'm happy

[DJFish]

Bit of a thread bump, thanks to this thread I've now got ice cold aircon again courtesy of Marine & Auto in Ipswich.

Where a local tyre fitters just plugged the car into an automatic re-gas machine & ballsed it up, this guy actually knew what he was doing!
Definitely recommend this place to anyone needing work on aircon or electrical faults!

[Simpo Two]

Good grief, what a resurrection!

Reading this thread again you'd think Dave worked at at Kwak-Fot... I wonder what they charge for a Jaguar compressor?