Ford - Air Con CON

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Wed 8 May 2013 16:50
Ford - Air Con CON - Alf_Hooker

Just took one of our cars into the Ford Garage yesterday, A 2008 Mondeo Estate as the Air Con was not very effective, and they diagnosed a "punctured condensor" (probably caused by a flying stone ) requiring a new one at £480.00 fitted

I declined this as it seemed rather expensive, paid them £ 60 for the diagnosis and took it today to a local Air Con specialist for a second opinion.

The could find no fault whatsoever, and with a re-gas, all is up and running fine.

Now I am quite Sure the Ford garage was trying to rip me off.

How should I take this up with them ? I certainly want my £ 60 back.

Should I be reporting them to trading Standards ?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 17:07
Ford - Air Con CON - thunderbird

Have you got a written quotation from Ford with their diagnosis on it.

You are normally told that the fee is non-refundable before going ahead.

Consider that you had a lucky escape and smile.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 17:49
Ford - Air Con CON - Alf_Hooker

Have you got a written quotation from Ford with their diagnosis on it.

You are normally told that the fee is non-refundable before going ahead.

Consider that you had a lucky escape and smile.

Interesting, they didn't give a written quotation, I will ask them to send this.

I am quite happy to pay somebody for diagnosing a problem, if indeed that diagnosis is reliable and accurate.

If in this case it seems to have been made in error, they should not expect to collect a fee, when they are in effect in breach of the contract. Telling porkies about what work is needed is quite a serious matter.

If I had paid somebody to cut my grass, and they had not done it, clearly they could not expect to recieve payment.

I'm going to sleep in it and take it up with the garage tomorrow.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 18:16
Ford - Air Con CON - 72 dudes

I'm going to sleep in it and take it up with the garage tomorrow.

Surely your bed would be more comfortable than a Mondeo? Ha!

Go for it, there's too much of this going on in the name of "up-selling" and target chasing.

Trading Standards doesn't really have any teeth, but a good letter to the Service Director or dealer principal would be worthwhile.

There's always the consumer programmes on BBC (Watchdog, Don't Get Done etc) if you get fobbed off.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 19:38
Ford - Air Con CON - Alf_Hooker

I'm going to sleep in it and take it up with the garage tomorrow.

Surely your bed would be more comfortable than a Mondeo? Ha!

Go for it, there's too much of this going on in the name of "up-selling" and target chasing.

Trading Standards doesn't really have any teeth, but a good letter to the Service Director or dealer principal would be worthwhile.

There's always the consumer programmes on BBC (Watchdog, Don't Get Done etc) if you get fobbed off.

Yes sorry I meant Sleep on it.

The Aircon Specialist has happily put in writing that they have carried out all possible inspections and been unable to find any fault with the condenser. I specifically told him that the diagnosis given was that a new condensor was needed, and he could easily have fitted one and charged me for it, but has chosen not to do so.

The Ford Guy actually told me that " as fast as they were able to put gas in, it was coming out "

The Aircon Guy has absolutely nothing to gain by telling me that he's fixed it, if there is an obvious problem with it.

Think I'll run it for a few days and see how it goes.

Makes me very angry to think that Ford would have been happy to take £480.00 off me if the problem was not really present.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 20:15
Ford - Air Con CON - jc2

Nothing to do with Ford-your argument should be with the dealer.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 20:18
Ford - Air Con CON - Cyd

The Ford Guy actually told me that " as fast as they were able to put gas in, it was coming out "

This itself is BS. Air con engineers do not test for leaks by pumping gas in and seeing if it leaks out. Indeed, it is specifically illegal to deliberately vent R134a to atmosphere. The way it's done is to evacuate the system to a vacuum and hold that vacuum for some time (usually at least 30 minutes). The system will hold vacuum if it is sound, and will not if it isn't. Holding the vacuum also dries out any moisture present in the system.

Irrespective of the poor diagnosis, £480 sounds expensive for a condensor change. Probably not by main dealer standards, but by independant standards at least.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 20:40
Ford - Air Con CON - bathtub tom

If the A/C was not very effective and a re-gas resolved the problem, wouldn't that indicate a leak?

I'd suggest you leave it a few days.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 22:28
Ford - Air Con CON - Happy Blue!

We had an air con condenser puncture last year. The Mercedes main dealer wanted £600 and the local expert wanted £300. Guess who got the job?

If you have been using the a/c regularly, it can only be a leak that is causing the loss of efficiency of the system. I am not convinced that there is no problem and bathtub tom is giving sound advice.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 8 May 2013 23:20
Ford - Air Con CON - Galaxy

I had to change the aircon condenser on my Mondeo Mark 2 a few years ago, due to the bottom rotting away. This is a very common problem on these cars of a particular vintage.

The cost of a genuine Ford condenser was £350! That was just the cost of the part, not including the R134a gas nor fitting. I purchased an alternative condenser manufactured by car parts manufacturer Hella, which cost £100. Big difference to the Ford price.

I fitted the condenser myself and then got a chap round who I chose from Yellow Pages to test and gas the system. This cost a further £85. My aircon has been running fine for several years, now.

Edited by Galaxy on 08/05/2013 at 23:22

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 9 May 2013 07:45
Ford - Air Con CON - NARU

If the A/C was not very effective and a re-gas resolved the problem, wouldn't that indicate a leak?

I'd suggest you leave it a few days.

I agree. If the gas all leaks away in the next week or two you'd feel a bit foolish if it turns out the Ford dealer was right all along!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 9 May 2013 09:40
Ford - Air Con CON - Alf_Hooker

If the A/C was not very effective and a re-gas resolved the problem, wouldn't that indicate a leak?

I'd suggest you leave it a few days.

I agree. If the gas all leaks away in the next week or two you'd feel a bit foolish if it turns out the Ford dealer was right all along!

I will leavit a few weeks and make sure it really is OK, One important consideration, is that this car had sat unused for a few months from October to January, and I understand this can be a problem for the Aircon, seals dry out and the gas can escape. Then nobody noticed, as it has been so cold in these parts until the last couple of weeks.

What I cannot understand, is that the Aircon Specialist has done all the checks, including Vacuum, and nitrogen with UV Dye, and not found any fault, and has put this in writing on the invoice.

Anyway there are more important things to worry about, i'll only ask the Ford garage to send a written quotation for the work they said was neccesary, split into parts and labour, and If they refuse to do so, then i have to assume they were trying to lift my leg.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 11 May 2013 12:09
Ford - Air Con CON - Hamsafar

Pretty much all condensers on cars that have seen a few years of service are punctured - often in several places. If you put washing up water in a squeezy bottle and remove the grille and cover the condensor with the liquid, you will almost certainly see cuckoo spit forming in a few places. It thus amazes me how slowly it does leak.

It is also illegal for the garage to regas if they know there is a leak, so it's a case of better for your wallet to not look to deeply and just regas every year.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....