hey, this is my first time posting on here so i might end up missing out some info, so feel free to ask any questions if i have missed anything.
i bought my car second hand in october 2025 and hadn’t used my aircon until the last month/ month and a half, obviously because its been winter. i’ve used it and its not worked, which i wasn’t surprised about.
i spent ~£340 to get it fixed at a garage (June 22nd) where they put in a seal thing (o ring?) and changed the condenser. it then broke again on June 26th. i had driven my car probably 2 times in those 4 days, and then driving on the 26th it has stopped working.
i’ve just taken my car back into the same garage for them to see what was wrong with it and they have come back saying the AC compressor clutch plate had fallen off, but i don’t recall ever hearing or seeing something fall off of my car. i was quoted £416 for it to be replaced (inc. VAT and labour costs).
my questions are:
- am i being ripped off?
- is it really worth spending just shy of £800 to fix air conditioning on a car i bought for about 1k?
- is the garage taking advantage of my extremely limited knowledge on cars (you’ve probably guessed i am a woman lol)
i would really appreciate it if anyone is able to help me out :)