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

[s130]

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!

That is what they all say. At on time the varoius dealer/insurance guides (Glass etc.) would not give you 5 pence for a 130TC. That era is past and there are people like you who just want to get a 130TC again so prices have risen substantially. We are talking £15K+ for a decent one at auction. More with prividence.

 

[nick130]

Mine had providence but at the time you couldn't get the front suspension arms and fiat said they were discontinuing parts. Had some cracking motors since so no regrets, but lots of reminiscence!

 

[jrkitching]

the local attraction is Marwell Zoo just 32 miles away.

It's more local than that!

According to the AA, Marwell is less than 3 miles from SCS.

Both are well worth making the trip for.

 

[s130]

It's more local than that!

According to the AA, Marwell is less than 3 miles from SCS.

Both are well worth making the trip for.

Yes I meant to say 2 to 3 miles away and it ended up as 32! I'll accept that wally award graciously. I've corrected the original post.

 

[vexorg]

Nissan charge over £200 alone for just re-gassing with the newer gas. I'd expect any dealer to be a similar price for re-gassing.

 

[AndyRKett]

Nissan charge over £200 alone for just re-gassing with the newer gas. I'd expect any dealer to be a similar price for re-gassing.

Usually around £120 - £140 obviously it depends on the weight of the charge as well.

Also needs new equipment so quite a big investment for companies to buy the new kit in, I can imagine early adopters of the tech where able to charge quite a premium

 

[s130]

Usually around £120 - £140 obviously it depends on the weight of the charge as well.

Also needs new equipment so quite a big investment for companies to buy the new kit in, I can imagine early adopters of the tech where able to charge quite a premium

And the newer equipment actually extracts and weighs any remaining gas and does a vaccum test. Then uses that gas and whatever elese is required to top up to the required amount.

For my 500X airco service with Small Car Services back in June 2021:

Gas extracted = 431 grams
Gas refil = 450 gram
Gas required = 19 grams at £0.12 per gram = £2.28 + VAT
Labour 0.5 hours @ £46 per hour = £23 + VAT
Total In. VAT = £30.34

I hate to think what other places would have charged!

Note! A full 450 grams would have cost £54 + VAT. How Nissan justify £200 who know. Probably £120 per hour labout for starters.

 

[nick130]

That's flipping excellent. I'm sure it would be more now though.

My local FIAT dealer (Wilson's Epsom - not impressing me so far!) said £120 to diagnose and £169/hour labour.....harumph etc

FIAT UK said I must get it diagnosed at Wilson's and before paying them to ring them to see "if" they will make a contribution. They were unable to enter into a hypothetical conversation about "if" what I am told is correct what would happen of course! Will speak to SCS and update on what happens.

 

[AndyRKett]

And the newer equipment actually extracts and weighs any remaining gas and does a vaccum test. Then uses that gas and whatever elese is required to top up to the required amount.

For my 500X airco service with Small Car Services back in June 2021:

Gas extracted = 431 grams
Gas refil = 450 gram
Gas required = 19 grams at £0.12 per gram = £2.28 + VAT
Labour 0.5 hours @ £46 per hour = £23 + VAT
Total In. VAT = £30.34

I hate to think what other places would have charged!

Note! A full 450 grams would have cost £54 + VAT. How Nissan justify £200 who know. Probably £120 per hour labout for starters.

This is absolutely excellent service !!
So many places will charge a Flat rate for a recharge usually based on the labor cost and an assumption it will need a full charge. so to have someone who will actually charge you for the amount of gas used is superb.

That's flipping excellent. I'm sure it would be more now though.

My local FIAT dealer (Wilson's Epsom - not impressing me so far!) said £120 to diagnose and £169/hour labour.....harumph etc

FIAT UK said I must get it diagnosed at Wilson's and before paying them to ring them to see "if" they will make a contribution. They were unable to enter into a hypothetical conversation about "if" what I am told is correct what would happen of course! Will speak to SCS and update on what happens.

even if it were more now, the amount would not be a lot. Also as time goes by R1234yf is becoming more and more common which is bringing prices down, so it might actually just have stayed about the same.

Honestly though if you get a good garage who will charge you the right amount for the gas, they charge for a quality aftermarket part and fitting, it could still work out cheaper than the dealership even with a contribution, which you can't be sure they would ever do.

 

[vexorg]

450g is small for aircon, usually nearer 800g on other cars I've had.

Anyway, i thought the Nissan stuff would've been under warranty, so a bit of a surprise they wanted anything paid.

 

[nick130]

Thought I'd update that local fiat dealer (Wilson's Epsom) have quoted £1,673 and yes you read that number right (I've asked them to double check) and SCS quoted £420
FIAT themselves have said I have to take it to dealer then before I pay the dealer to ring them to see what goodwill they will do. But they refuse to tell me how much this will be, if in fact it is anything at all. So as much use as a chocolate teapot. Their stroppy "customer service agent" hung up on me yesterday when I asked them not to repeat the same reply and to tell me how much the goodwill would be!

Truly sh!t service to add to a sh!t product and a sh!t situation all round.
I won't be buying a fiat again.

 

[vexorg]

£420 seems a fair price, £100-ish for the condenser, £150 for the regas, and £150 for labour.

 

[nick130]

£420 seems a fair price, £100-ish for the condenser, £150 for the regas, and £150 for labour.

Yep. And it will be going to SCS. Marwell zoo here we come! Thanks for recommending them guys.

Still reeling at fiat and the dealer's price. Are they on drugs or what?

 

[jrkitching]

Yep. And it will be going to SCS. Marwell zoo here we come!

Cool!

 

[nick130]

Having pondered, I rang wilson's (dealer) back after the post above, and after 25 minutes of telling them their price must be wrong, it can't be FOUR times as much, they said oh yes sorry we quoted you for a compressor, it's ONLY £723 to replace, oh and plus the £120 to diagnose of course. Bargain. Really not impressed, the experts being told they're wrong by a novice customer. Waiting for their service manager to call back, three days on the trot now, nothing so far. What happened to good customer service? Grumble grumble etc

 

[s130]

Yep. And it will be going to SCS. Marwell zoo here we come! Thanks for recommending them guys.

Still reeling at fiat and the dealer's price. Are they on drugs or what?

Did you get a quote from Dean / Mark at SCS and what was it?

 

[nick130]

Did you get a quote from Dean / Mark at SCS and what was it?

Yes, £420, much more reasonable! Just got to work out when we can take it down there. Thinking I might as well get them to do the service too.
Can't believe how sh! te main dealer customer service is, 4th day on the trot I've called them and had no response. Also rang fiat UK back today to talk about goodwill and was told they could not discuss our car because it was registered to someone else. Ffs are they all this inept or what? !!!!

 

[nick130]

Thought I would update this, 4 months later. Fiat insisted there would no goodwill gesture unless we took it to main dealer. Main dealer then diagnosed manufacturer failure of an O ring. £118 please or we can't order the part. The missus got fed up and coughed up. Oh and £400 labour.
Since then I have spent the last 4 months chasing them up repeatedly, and they finally said a week ago that they would contribute £303.15 plus vat to the labour, but would not contribute anything to the part, why?, I asked, "because it's already been paid for" the reply came, but the dealer would not order the part if we didn't pay for it "oh well it's company policy" and where is the part we paid for FOUR MONTHS AGO??? "Oh I'll chase that up and get back to you", that was a week ago, I'll chase them up again.
Ffs have they always been this bad??