Citroen garage ripping me off to replace heater control panel?

[robjwood]

My heating blowers aren't working and the local Citroen garage had a look. Their summary was:

• Relay burnt out
  
• Wiring burnt out at the main heater control panel (heater ventilation control)
  

To fix this they quoted me £575.06 for parts and labour.

I know a local dealership is always going to be a little more expensive but does anyone know if this seems reasonable or way over the top for this kind of work (they've already charged me £80 for investigation and replacing the resistor).

[brodfather11]

I dont know what is involved replacing the burnt out wiring but if its done properly then it may mean taking out the dash, its a big job. The parts may not be that expensive but the labour will.

[notsofast]

I'm not experienced with this kind of thing, but I can't help wondering why the wiring there has burnt out - might it have been caused by another issue which, if left unresolved, causes the burnout to occur again?

[Pedronicus]

The garage aren't "ripping you off". They have quoted you a price that they want for the work which will be based on the charges and labour times that Citroen set. If you want to pay less then you are free to go elsewhere and get it done cheaper but that in itself could end up working out more expensive.

[robjwood]

Yeah, quite possibly notsofast. When they investigated they replaced the resistor (which is what I'd already tried with no luck). They then told me that the relay had burnt out. They replaced *that* and then told me they found that the wiring was burnt out at the main heater control panel.

They've disconnected so there's no air blowing out but you can still feel that it heats up and cools down if you place your hand over the blowers.

[cancunia]

Did they give a break down or explanation of the work needed, for example, remove the dash?

[robjwood]

This was the breakdown they gave me:

Heater control panel - £415.57
Resistor - £48.08
Relay - £10.61
Labour - 100.80

They didn't detail exactly what they needed to do though.

[Oi69]

I just had a look the heater control panel is buttons and knobs as on the k9 no moving parts/cables all electronic must be quiet simple to fit as only £100 labour part £100 ebay there is 1 at £60 and £11 to £30 resistor pack depending on what 1 you need. I would pull it apart as i bet they didn't get the dash out for that and see if it is wiring or the unit looks damaged

And i bet they are fitting bits working there way through i would just go straight for the panel replacement first as i bet they didn't have 1 to test with and if they tried the other 2 bits the panel is all that's left to change

[Tikki]

Check it your self. that the parts are not working. Behind the fuse box inside the car under the dash, there is a green relay. take it out and you will see if the pins are burned/brown. mine is brown on pin 30 and the relay is sticking some times. i give it a whack on a hard surface and it works again.
To the right of the cabin filter on the white duct there is a resistor for the heating speed/fan. loosen it with a 6mm socket and move it to one side, and it will pop out. Mesure the resistanse between the left and right pin. if you got a reading here. fan speed should work on nr 5 if the rest of the system is ok.

take out the shelft under the cdoplayer and take your hand behind the cd player and push it out. no you can see behind the fan controll panel and see if the wires are ok.

[cancunia]

This was the breakdown they gave me:

Heater control panel - £415.57
Resistor - £48.08
Relay - £10.61
Labour - 100.80

They didn't detail exactly what they needed to do though.

I think you need a second opinion, maybe from an Indie garage. Based on your first post, it looks like they may have started with the resistor, then decided a belts & braces approach to fix it. If it is the control panel, I'm sure one could be bought second hand at a lot less than £415.

For example:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284508360287?...SwEvRhelgc

Or (without aircon):
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284450457939?...SwwzhhPQd4