Air COn

[brown121]

I have just taken my 57 Plate X3 into the Dealership because the air conditioning has stopped working. They have informed me that it requires regassing and this is chargable. They say its because I have not used the aircon during the winter even though its set to auto and the air con light is lit up.

I have had other cars for 3 & 4 years and never had a problem with re gassing. Has any one else had this problem?

[trapdoor]

My E46 (330i) didn't need re-gassing in the whole of the 4 years I owned it. This X3 needs doing every 18 months to 2 years for some reason, and I have only just had mine done again. Each time the guy re-gasses he tells me it's got moisture in and he can't understand why.

Now, the BMW stealership wanted to charge me £200+VAT for an Air Con 'service' which is basically connect up to the automated system which exctracts the gas, weighs it out, pumps down to a deep vacuum for 5 minutes, weighs in a new charge of gas and oil and then beeps when it's finished. Hardly a 'service'. The chap I use who comes to the house charges £45 + VAT and maintains most of the big dealerships machines and trains most of their staff too.

I'd suggest you look on Yell.com for a mobile re-gasser and at least you can save yourself £150 or pop into a Quickfit as they have the machines and can do a cheap/quick regass, but have hardly any expertise if there is a problem - oh, and you'll probably come out with a new set of shocks all round too!!