General Help please!!!

[hogey25]

..... i have a 2000 w reg multipla which i dearly love, its a 1.6 ELX (petrol) my air con has stopped working quite suddenly, having spoken to a relative they said there must be a leak and getting it booked in to be topped up (£75+vat) wont fix the problem as it will stop working again is this true or is it just that it needs topping up? i dont know if its relevent but the car has only done 48,000 miles. is it like oil etc.. that needs topping up from time to time or is there a leak? i am a young female with NO experience with cars, this is my first 1! and i dont want to get ripped off by greedy mechanics! :yuck: also what about fuel consumption what should i get out of it on average? (i know the mileage is low, it is genuine though)

Many thanks for any help you can give me.
Amanda

 

[Troy McClure]

Amanda,

Any decent mobile air conditioning service (put "car air conditioning" into Yell.com) will be able to help diagnose and sort the problem. Ask around to see if anyone can recommend someone or phone some local garages and ask for a recommendation. If more than one recommends a company then that generally bodes well.

Good luck.

 

[T14086]

Mechanics are not greedy

 

[hogey25]

Mechanics are not greedy

I understand you are a mechanic and can only assume you are not greedy however having lived in many places and met many people over the 8 years i have travelled around with the HM forces, most wives of soldiers and airmen have been conned by greedy mechanics as when their husbands have returned (often from frighting overseas!) they have found that had they taken the car to be fixed it would not have cost nearly as much. So I'm sorry if i offend you but most mechanics ARE greedy.

Also i posted my message for help not silly responses that can only call into question your reasons for acting so defensively. I understand now why other people appear to have a problem with your attitude.

And by the way , when did i say ALL mechanics are greedy????? all i said was that i didn't want to be ripped off by a mechanic that might be a greedy one.. (guilty conscience perhaps?) and my brother is a mechanic (for Audi HE is not greedy but lives too far away for me to get the car to him)

 

[hogey25]

Amanda,

Any decent mobile air conditioning service (put "car air conditioning" into Yell.com) will be able to help diagnose and sort the problem. Ask around to see if anyone can recommend someone or phone some local garages and ask for a recommendation. If more than one recommends a company then that generally bodes well.

Good luck.

Thank you very much for your help, will try that.

 

[T14086]

I understand you are a mechanic and can only assume you are not greedy however having lived in many places and met many people over the 8 years i have travelled around with the HM forces, most wives of soldiers and airmen have been conned by greedy mechanics as when their husbands have returned (often from frighting overseas!) they have found that had they taken the car to be fixed it would not have cost nearly as much. So I'm sorry if i offend you but most mechanics ARE greedy.

No,thats unfair to classify everyone as the same because of personal bad experiences.99% of 'technicians' are employed at dealerships on a basic salary so we cannot rip anyone off!

Also i posted my message for help not silly responses that can only call into question your reasons for acting so defensively. I understand now why other people appear to have a problem with your attitude.

If I posted something bad about people in the armed forces? would you not defend them? of course you would.
Perhaps if you didn't include the 'greedy mechanics' statement you would of got a helpful response.

 

[T14086]

And by the way , when did i say ALL mechanics are greedy????? all i said was that i didn't want to be ripped off by a mechanic that might be a greedy one.. (guilty conscience perhaps?) and my brother is a mechanic (for Audi HE is not greedy but lives too far away for me to get the car to him)

Just noticed you 'edited' your post(16mins ago)so let me clear a few things up;

1)Your first post stated "I dont want to be ripped off by greedy mechanics"(not 'A' greedy mechanic)...now that to me (and no doubt everyone else)means all mechanics.As I stated 99% of technicians have nothing to do with making up the bills,most are on a loyality bonus scheme-in other words it does not matter how much a customer is/is not charged therefore 99% of us are not greedy as we have not control/say in the customers bills.My dealership infact gives discount to those in the services & taxi drivers!
2)I have no guilty conscience,why should I? What reason have I? Please elaborate on this.
3)If I have a attitude(which I hope I dont)then maybe it is because of comments like you have made towards me.Like I stated,without that comment you would of got a positive helpful from response from myself & the other technicians.
4)If I was a greedy mechanic (with a conscience) would I come here everyday(with nearly 3500 posts!)helping out others? I have also wrote(spending many hours)guides on puntos if you care to look at the punto section....

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-guides/70703-punto-steering-column.html

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-guides/52068-punto-coil-ecu-checks.html

....have I done this for my benefit? no they are for the benefit of fellow users of this forum.I have had many personal thanks from others here for the help I have given them...I have never asked for anything in return or expect it!
5)There are a few really good Fiat tecnicians on this site,infact one is 'technician of the year' & we all come here to help others,not to rip fellow members off in anyway!

If you are worried about getting ripped off while your husband is away get a friend to take the car into the garage for you,someone who knows about cars or put a copy of the bill up here on this site(like others have done)for all us to see.

None of this is in anyway a 'personal attack' on you,no doubt you are a good honest person(like me believe it or not!)but please dont tarnish all technicians or infact even garages with the same brush from your personal experiences.I have been ripped off by plumbers/heating engineers but will not call them all cowboys because of the bad few.

Now to prove i'm not a greedy mechanic,even though its 11.23 & I have to get up at 6am & still to have a bath/hairwash & shave,I will stay online to help you;
You need to get the air-con system vacuum tested,basically any gas remaining in the system is evacuated & the system is pressure tested for leaks.If a leak is found a dye is injected into the system & a ultra violet light is used to locate the leak.It could be a burst pipe or simply a leaking seal.If not leaks are found then the system is gassed up & tested for correct operation.
First however you have to go back to the basics like is the air-com light coming on?,does the air-con compressor engage? (you should be able to hear it 'clonk' as it cuts in) then soon after the radiator fan switches on when pressure reaches approx 15bar.
Multplas are not known for breaking air-con pipes but can have electrical problems with the climate circuit.

 

[dave]

I understand now why other people appear to have a problem with your attitude.

first time ive head that, how can you work that out in 4 days?
ive been here since T joined the forum, and found his FREE advice very use full

 

[Captain Creasy]

Never noticed any attitude myself either.

 

[T14086]

As I explained to Dave last night (thanks for sparing me the time by the way,you probably know me better than anyone else here) I do tend to jump in the defence of techs/dealers,ok when they are in the wrong fine they deserve the bad publicity fair dues,but Fiat (and no doubt others) are honestly doing their best to get away from the 'dodgy dealer' stigma.Extensive training for all staff is underway at great expense & it will take time to 'filter through' so stick with it guys/girls & hopefully your visit to a dealer will be more pleasent & less expensive

However if I do come across as having attitude then I apoligise as its not intended & sometimes the written word can be taken in the wrong context.

 

[hogey25]

Took the car for a quote today (fiat dealer in Watford) after waiting 9 days for a call back) quoted me £130+ vat! my friends hubby took it to a different garage in Hemel Hempsted, quoted £75+ vat why such a big price jump? is there a genuine reason why Fiat want so much more money from me? what is it they will do that the other garage wont? (genuine question not accusing anyone of anything)

Thanks


I apologise for saying anything you found unfair but in all honesty my post was purely that i didn't want to get ripped off.

 

[rmbatty]

I for one fully appreciate the info and experience provided by T14086
Surely any complaint regarding costs and labour should be directed at the Firm that quotes the "Beastly" price.:devil:
Having experienced prices for parts and labour overseas for myself, this seems to be a "British only" problem that we all "allow".:worship: Individuals should not be questioned and corporations should take the blame...:idea:
Fight the Good Fight Folks:slayer:
Richy B

 

[T14086]

Took the car for a quote today (fiat dealer in Watford) after waiting 9 days for a call back) quoted me £130+ vat! my friends hubby took it to a different garage in Hemel Hempsted, quoted £75+ vat why such a big price jump?

Some garages will just gas the system up & give it back to you,others will use a dye to test for leaks to test the system(which takes time)thus I can only assume this will count for the difference in price.Did you ask exactly what was getting done for your money?

is there a genuine reason why Fiat want so much more money from me? what is it they will do that the other garage wont?

It's not Fiat,dealerships/garages are a franchise,Fiat have no control over the labour rates they charge...this is why,like everything else in life from a kettle to a house,you should shop around for the best price.However as already stated ask what is getting done for your money,cheapest does not always mean the best.

I apologise for saying anything you found unfair but in all honesty my post was purely that i didn't want to get ripped off.

No apology required.Nobody likes getting ripped off which is why forums like this exist to give people some idea of what to expect for their money.

edit...ooops you beat me to it Richy! you are right,for some reason we 'Brits' complain.....but do nothing about it?

 

[NumanR]

No comment regarding earlier posts but I do want to explain why there seems to be differences in what people charge for certain jobs, especially aircon.

Aircon servicing, can include the following:-

Basic gas evacuation, cleaning and drying of gas by machine, refilling system and adding dye and oil for future diagnosis of leaks.

Additionally it could also be application of an antibacterial cleaner to clean the evaporator inside the air con box.

Additionally it could also be replacement of the pollen filter.

Additionally it could also be replacement of the filter/drier.

Aircon repairs:-

If an aircon system is open to the elements (for example with a leak), the filter/drier gets clogged in a few hours and cannot be dried out using the machinery in dealerships. It has to be replaced, if you dont, then its never going to work properly. Filter/drier replacement can add £100 to a bill, for on the face of it the same job!

As with any job you pay for, always ask for a breakdown of what exactly is going to be done on your vehicle, and when comparing prices ask for the description of the job so you know that you are comparing like for like.

NumanR