I've got some time so a long write up with hopefully some useful info given the time of year.
My 997tt went into Autofarm late last summer for a geo and an air con check (coloured gas put in to look for leaks). They found a hole in the condenser, for which they quoted £1073 to replace the pair. I was due a 4 year round of serving (plugs, belt, the works) at £1800 too, so decided to put it off with autumn rapidly coming around.
I had a look around online and found a chap with a business called Mr Cool in Derby who specialises in air conditioning, and more to the point in AC for Porsches (having a dedicated page on his site about them built my confidence). Such is his expertise and confidence that he quoted a fixed price £350 including aftermarket condensers, dryer and ancillaries. He would do OEM for a little more. He knew it would take 2.5 hours (if the bolts didn't need drilling, which they didn't) and that's exactly what it took.
He does it from home. I think he's mostly a mobile guy going to the region's garages to fix AC when they are prepping a car. He seems a very sound, trustworthy guy and I'd highly recommend him if you have AC issues and don't want to pay OPC or even specialist mechanics who may not do AC day-in day-out.
I've been unable to drive the car much recently (first it, then me) so a sunny drive up to Derby was my first opportunity for road trip for a while. I took the back roads through the Cotswolds then up the Fosse Way. In yesterday's sunshine it was truly wonderful, and on the way back it wasn't too hot either! My knee is healing quickly now and in the warm weather the gear changes were a breeze. Reminded me why manuals are so fun on quiet A roads, something I was questioning after some painful gear changes stuck in my mind (and dwelled upon) in the time between my mishap and yesterday.
Here are some pictures he took for me. Looks like the bumper will be coming off again soon though, he discovered a broken T connector in the headlight washer hose. I'm surprised it hasn't drained the washer fluid tank, but the main windscreen washers seem fine, no leaks. On an old BMW something similar leaked the whole tank on the floor inside 24 hours.
The second photo shows the leak in the condenser. The other side seemed ok but both Autofarm and this guy said to do them in pairs. The first picture is the broken washer hose. Thankfully he hoovered out some of the leaf litter too.
My 997tt went into Autofarm late last summer for a geo and an air con check (coloured gas put in to look for leaks). They found a hole in the condenser, for which they quoted £1073 to replace the pair. I was due a 4 year round of serving (plugs, belt, the works) at £1800 too, so decided to put it off with autumn rapidly coming around.
I had a look around online and found a chap with a business called Mr Cool in Derby who specialises in air conditioning, and more to the point in AC for Porsches (having a dedicated page on his site about them built my confidence). Such is his expertise and confidence that he quoted a fixed price £350 including aftermarket condensers, dryer and ancillaries. He would do OEM for a little more. He knew it would take 2.5 hours (if the bolts didn't need drilling, which they didn't) and that's exactly what it took.
He does it from home. I think he's mostly a mobile guy going to the region's garages to fix AC when they are prepping a car. He seems a very sound, trustworthy guy and I'd highly recommend him if you have AC issues and don't want to pay OPC or even specialist mechanics who may not do AC day-in day-out.
I've been unable to drive the car much recently (first it, then me) so a sunny drive up to Derby was my first opportunity for road trip for a while. I took the back roads through the Cotswolds then up the Fosse Way. In yesterday's sunshine it was truly wonderful, and on the way back it wasn't too hot either! My knee is healing quickly now and in the warm weather the gear changes were a breeze. Reminded me why manuals are so fun on quiet A roads, something I was questioning after some painful gear changes stuck in my mind (and dwelled upon) in the time between my mishap and yesterday.
Here are some pictures he took for me. Looks like the bumper will be coming off again soon though, he discovered a broken T connector in the headlight washer hose. I'm surprised it hasn't drained the washer fluid tank, but the main windscreen washers seem fine, no leaks. On an old BMW something similar leaked the whole tank on the floor inside 24 hours.
The second photo shows the leak in the condenser. The other side seemed ok but both Autofarm and this guy said to do them in pairs. The first picture is the broken washer hose. Thankfully he hoovered out some of the leaf litter too.