425 Quid for Condenser and Dryer change - About right ??? W209

[poormansporsche]

Hi,

My air con is not working and my local air con specialist wants to charge £425 all in for a new OEM spec Hella condenser and dryer unit and regas to my 2006 W209. Does this sound about right or am I being shafted ? He said the unbranded $hite would be 100 quid cheaper but not recommended ?


Thoughts???


Cheers

PMP

 

[Trickythemerc]

Just had mine done for £325.00 They can be a problem if the pipes are corroded and the bolt won't come out. My air con man did mine without removing the front bumper which can also be a pig of a job.

 

[wu56Shoozz]

I bought the OEM Hella Replacement for the Vito (Yet to be installed) but it was only £95 quid! To regas and check the system my indie wants £45 notes so I'd say yes, your pants are being pulled down, by Roger..

 

[Trickythemerc]

I toyed with doing the job myself, but after working out the cost of getting my air con guy to come and leak test and re-gas after I had fitted it and all the messing about, I decided to let him get on with it. Plus I now have a warranty on the new condenser and his workmanship.

 

[Will]

Doesn’t seem unrealistic - a couple of hundred quid in parts, probably 3 hours labour and a regas?

If it’s £325 including labour, regas and the parts with the unbranded stuff he can’t be charging that much labour to fit?

 

[Trickythemerc]

He is a mobile guy, arrived at midday and done by 4.30 genuine branded condenser and done with bumper in situ. He took the slam panel off rather than mess with the bumper and risk broken clips etc. I could have sourced an OEM condenser from outside the UK for £95.00 He probably gets them cheaper, so his labour is likely to be £40/50 an hour.

 

[DSM10000]

I bought the OEM Hella Replacement for the Vito (Yet to be installed) but it was only £95 e! To regas and check the system my indie wants £45 notes so I'd say yes, your pants are being pulled down, by Roger..

The OP is having the Condenser and dryer replaced so factoring in labour, re-gassing and VAT it does not seem excessive. We have no idea how much labour is involved.

 

[poormansporsche]

Thanks for the replies - It is a reputable firm, they generally have a 2 week waiting list (3 weeks in this heat !!!)

He did say the condenser was more expensive than most MB fitting ones though !

 

[clk320x]

In this weather I’d pay double that just to get it working, it’s too effing hot

Thankfully mines working brilliantly in both cars...

 

[Ted]

Any ‘big’ jobs should include a receiver/drier.
Personally I think that price for a condenser replacement, receiver/drier, vac down, gas up and leak test is reasonable value.

 

[poormansporsche]

Shame it's going to take 2 weeks to fit me in again to do the actual job though grrrr

 

[Will]

Fit the condensor yourself, then take it to anywhere half sensible for a vac and recharge

At least you’ll have A/C for this heatwave

 

[forrester123]

Fit the condensor yourself, then take it to anywhere half sensible for a vac and recharge

At least you’ll have A/C for this heatwave

 

[forrester123]

Just had my E320 petrol, W211, a/c regassed for £40 at local garage.
Certainly useful this weather but my fuel consumption has increased by 20%!!

 

[alabbasi]

Not a bad price. Price for the parts is probably around 250, labor then evac and charge for 175... not bad

 

[E55BOF]

The receiver/dryer is integral with the condenser. The 'going rate' for a Nissens part (good make), retail, on eBay is about £140, so that's just under £300 for labour and gas. That seems a bit steep to me, but with temperatures as they are, it's a seller's market.

Temperatures are forecast to fall to near normal in a few days, so I'd do what Will has recommended rather than wait two weeks, but if there's still gas in the system you would need to get it evacuated first.

 

[DSM10000]

Just had my E320 petrol, W211, a/c regassed for £40 at local garage.
Certainly useful this weather but my fuel consumption has increased by 20%!!

Then something else is wrong, A/C does not increase consumption by that amount.

 

[alabbasi]

The receiver/dryer is integral with the condenser. The 'going rate' for a Nissens part (good make), retail, on eBay is about £140, so that's just under £300 for labour and gas. That seems a bit steep to me, but with temperatures as they are, it's a seller's market.

Temperatures are forecast to fall to near normal in a few days, so I'd do what Will has recommended rather than wait two weeks, but if there's still gas in the system you would need to get it evacuated first.

Repair shops charge a mark up on parts. You're not got to find many that will charge the same as online vendors for a couple of reasons.

1) They will need to get it quickly after they order it
2) they will have to warranty it which means they will need to send it back and get a replacement

It's only fair that if they warranty the work and have to eat the labor. They make money on the parts.

Any shop that doesn't will not remain open very long.

 

[E55BOF]

Repair shops charge a mark up on parts. You're not got to find many that will charge the same as online vendors for a couple of reasons.

1) They will need to get it quickly after they order it
2) they will have to warranty it which means they will need to send it back and get a replacement

It's only fair that if they warranty the work and have to eat the labor. They make money on the parts.

Any shop that doesn't will not remain open very long.

All true, but the repairer won't be paying the retail price to their parts supplier either. I use a very good one-man-band near me for aircon work, and he would charge about £100, plus the cost of the gas, for a straightforward removal of the old condenser, fitment of the new (supplied by the customer), and regas.

 

[alabbasi]

I have a wholesaler account with both IMC and Worldpac which are the two biggest wholesalers serving the import car business. I can usually find everything they sell online for less money. I can't get it delivered to me in under 2 hours if I buy online. Their value proposition is not price. It's vast availability of parts delivered at short notice.

Plus they don't carry crap and give zero hassles on warranty returns.