Volvo air conditioning - Stuart
Can anyone recommend any non franchised garages in the Worcester/S Midlands area who either specialise in Volvos or air conditioning?

I have a Volvo 850 that needs a complete a/c system - £1100 at the Volvo dealer for an evaporator, condensor and a/c radiator. Surely I can get this done cheaper.

Volvo 850/V70 buyers beware - take heed of honest john's assessment on the a/c - it will fail if not serviced by someone who knows what they're doing and that doesn't always mean the Volvo main dealer.

thanks
Re: Volvo air conditioning - chris watson
have you looked in the good garage part of this website.
Re: Volvo air conditioning - honest john
There's also a FAQ answer on this website listing a/c specialists.

HJ
Re: Volvo air conditioning - Dave N
Unfortunately you've found the achilles heel of 850 a/c, and in this case, even regular servicing would not have helped.

They are well known amongst us a/c guys for having poor evaporators. I can't believe it needs all those other parts, I think the dealer is covering his arse by quoting for everything. They sometimes do this as the evaporator is impossible to see, and therefore confirm that it is actually leaking.

Unfortunately it's not an easy job as the whole passenger side dash comes out. I think it's only booked at about 5.5 hours, but you're lucky if it can be done in that time. Last one I did I ended up taking it back to Volvo to get the airbag light extinguished, but there are all manner of things that can go wrong with ecu's and stuff, so a main dealer is a safe bet, if nothing else. If you can get to Birmingham, you can try www.motorclimate.com (or .co.uk), but make sure when you pick it up that everything is working ok and all the warning lights go out. And I mean check EVERYTHING. All the climate control, up down etc. You might like to also look at www.volvoclub.org.uk for other owners with the same problem, there's plenty of them! If you go to Volvo, you may be able to get a long warranty on the repair, you may need it unfortunately, as it's more a case of when, not if, it goes again. Just in case you're wondering, all Chryslers, Audi A4, and Galaxy's (et all) have the same problem. Virtually nothing else does.
Come to us! - David Lacey
We might be in Devon, but we can surely do this job cheaper for you.
We are part of the Autoclimate network with full backup.

Thanks for your info Dave N - I run an Audi A4!

Try www.richardsons-group.com, I am situated at the Tiverton MG Rover Branch

Kind rgds

David
Re: Come to us! - Dave N
Touting for business on the back room? Do you have no shame? Where's that moderator person? Tell us what we want to know - how much?