Technical 4 years old, 24k miles, needs a new aircon condenser

[nick130]

Hi all, bought the missus a 69 reg 500x cross, firefly 1.0 in February.
Two months later, no air con. Got it regassed, and now 4 months later, no air con again, and just been told it needs a new condenser, £550 sir.

Anyone else had this problem?

I will be having a go at fiat for this, the condenser has a hairline crack, the tech said they're shite quality and he sees loads of them go.

Anyone had joy getting fiat to cough up for this?

I used to drive fiats 25+ years ago and thought that build quality problems would be a thing of the past, clearly I was wrong!

 

[vexorg]

They are front line for any road debris and abuse, quite common for them to go on all cars these days.

 

[nick130]

They are front line for any road debris and abuse, quite common for them to go on all cars these days.

It's not stone damage though, it's a hairline crack

 

[AndyRKett]

As in the 3rd year of waranty the dealership picks up the bill and the car is now over 4 years old the gist here is it’s unlikely they would pay up.

Absolute best case you might get a contribution to the cost if you kick up a big enough fuss, bust also bare in mind many of the dealerships have closed down in the last couple of years and others may be closing so they may have zero motivation to help you out if they have no intention of continuing to sell fiats.

A crack is unusual certainly not a common fault that pops up on the forum, but it does depend on the history of the car, you bought it used you probably can’t guarantee it’s never had a bump or knock on the front that could have weakened the alloy

 

[nick130]

Thanks Andy. Really disappointing and unwelcome cost, having spent good money on the thing in the first place.

Do we know if £550 sounds about right?

 

[The Panda Nut]

You should look on eBay for prices but yes its sounds thereabouts. I replaced the Panda one albeit at 7 years old as it was disintegrating. As you know the gas is expensive. The Panda was about 250 fitted 5 years back.

 

[AndyRKett]

Do we know if £550 sounds about right?

That sounds a little on the high side to me. I would ask them to break it down.

Looking around the condenser can be as little as sub £100 but a genuine one seems to be less than £200. Then say £100 for fitting and £100 for the regas seems more inline. you could throw another £50 on that for slightly more for the regas and abit longer on the labour but I think its about £100 over priced personally.

But then I also think he was BSing you about them coming in all the time cracked. This just isn't reflected on the forum, if it were common issue I would not fit a genuine condensor as its obviously going to do the same thing again, So an aftermarket condenser would be the cheaper end of the price range.

 

[nick130]

Thanks guys that's really helpful. I'll update on events, I shall be having a proper moan at Fiat. As with most families could really do without the expense having shelled out bloody good money for the car in the first place.

 

[vexorg]

If it includes re-gassing then probably about right for a dealer.

If you can get aftermarket ones then maybe nearer £100 for the part and half a day of your time to fit. Then get it re-gassed.

 

[AndyRKett]

It’s worth noting that your car will have R1234yf gas which is much more expensive to re-gas than the older r134a the cost of the gas is higher and so while you may see prices for gas advertised cheaper this is usually for the cheaper gas on averages it’s about 50% more expensive

 

[nick130]

Thanks again guys. Is it a bumper off job, and are any specific clips involved?

 

[s130]

Suggest you give Small Car Services a call and ask for a quote. They are excellent and unlike other places only charge for the gas they use. That said it sounds you will need a full refill.

https://smallcarservices.co.uk/#contact

 

[jrkitching]

Do we know if £550 sounds about right?

That sounds to me like a main dealer price using an OEM part.

As others have said already, an aftermarket part fitted by an independent should be significantly cheaper.

Aftermarket A/C condensers are generally widely available, as they are quite likely to be damaged in even a minor front end crash. Which leads me to wonder, if yours failed due to a hairline crack, what caused that crack in the first place?

 

[nick130]

I don't know what caused it but the car hasn't been bumped, it's immaculate. The guy who diagnosed it, a mobile aircon specialist, said it was really common and that the condensers in many modern cars were made from thin lightweight aluminium. He showed me in his van, he had about a dozen in boxes waiting to be fitted. I expect they may be made by the same factory on mass and flogged to the motor industry.

 

[nick130]

Suggest you give Small Car Services a call and ask for a quote. They are excellent and unlike other places only charge for the gas they use. That said it sounds you will need a full refill.

https://smallcarservices.co.uk/#contact

Thanks, I'm in SW London so might be too far for me, but would be good to get a specialist opinion. It will need a complete regas.
P. S. I used to have a lovely black 1985 Strada Abarth 130TC, sold it 23 years ago now, wish I'd kept it with prices now!

 

[jrkitching]

The guy who diagnosed it, a mobile aircon specialist, said it was really common and that the condensers in many modern cars were made from thin lightweight aluminium.

He's right; take a look through the grille of many cars >3yrs old and you'll see that the A/C condenser is in a surprisingly sorry state.

At least it means there's a good supply of reasonably priced new aftermarket condensers.

 

[jrkitching]

Thanks, I'm in SW London so might be too far for me, but would be good to get a specialist opinion.

From SW London, it's not as far as you might think, and there are plenty of local attractions nearby to make it worth a day trip out.

 

[nick130]

He's right; take a look through the grille of many cars >3yrs old and you'll see that the A/C condenser is in a surprisingly sorry state.

At least it means there's a good supply of reasonably priced new aftermarket condensers.

True but its just poo that the poxy things go wrong in the first place. I've got a 11 year old lexus, never needed any gas, or come to think of it, anything! Poxy 4 year old car shouldn't be a money pit already.

 

[nick130]

From SW London, it's not as far as you might think, and there are plenty of local attractions nearby to make it worth a day trip out.

I've got to try Fiat first, I'll be kicking backsides for some goodwill, I do recall SCS from previous ownership

 

[s130]

Thanks, I'm in SW London so might be too far for me, but would be good to get a specialist opinion. It will need a complete regas.
P. S. I used to have a lovely black 1985 Strada Abarth 130TC, sold it 23 years ago now, wish I'd kept it with prices now!

Small Car Services may be a little distance from you but they have a custmer coming from Liverpool or North of there. Others also long distance.

They have a loan car(s) and the local attraction is Marwell Zoo just 3 miles away.