Never ever seen a second hand car salesman as honest as this. Most of the car sales garages up here in Yorkshire would chase you out of the door, a couple of the notorious ones nearby have been on the bailiff programmes on the TV.

Hi James I think that’s was handled extremely well by both parties and it’s good to here that someone actually returned it in the condition it was sold and well done to you both

THIS is why I'd never ever run a car sales pitch. I'd probably have been in court for assault by now, hearing some of the horror stories that dealers have to face.

With regards to aircon, generally they benefit from being used reasonably frequently. I live in Perth Western Australia where it is very hot in summer and aircon is essential. I had a 2nd hand Skoda Octavia for 10 years and did have the aircon compressor replaced once in that time at 6 years of age. In the 7 years I had the car after fixing the aircon, it was faultless and required no further regassing. I was told infrequent use can result in seal failure and leaks forming (not a problem in Perth for the most part!) but running it in winter as well as summer kept it working well. Of course aircon works great at dehumidifying the air, so useful in winter for fogged up windows.

Try replacing the Schrader core valves, often these get damaged when system is topped up, watching from Florida, we like our A/C cold ❄

I recently bought a Vauxhall Tigra Exclusiv (after you sold the VW Up I enquired about) locally. It's an 07 with only 38500 miles from new, almost full service history and the bodywork and all the important bits are immaculate. Yes there are a few faults such as the radio only playing through one speaker and the air con being a bit weak but in the UK I can open a window or, in the Tigra's case, drop the roof if it gets too hot! Keep up the good work James!

I just don’t know how you have the patience to deal with people at this end of the market…

Whoever valeted the Mitsubishi deserves a medal.

The jump pack looks good. Our Engineering Director and I once started a 510 powered Leyland National officer my XR2.

In most car manuals it will tell you to operate the aircon regularly regardless of temperature to ensure optimum lifespan

wow that seems mad to return a 10 year old car for just AC problems that still drives fine!? I think they just wanted to engineer a reason to get rid of it as they didnt like the gearbox. They will just be out of the frying pan and into the fire if they buy another 10+ year old car, they will all have faults like this lurking....

It's not something I would have felt it was my right to return a car for after nearly 6 months so fair play James once again. From my experience in using the CRA to return a car that kept going into limp mode, my solicitor said you had to show it wasn't fit for purpose which clearly even without the Aircon working, it is. It also has to be as described though so if you had advertised it with air con and it doesn't work then I guess he can invoke the CRA for that. Either way, wish there were more dealers like yourself!

Hi James, completely agree with you, things like air conditioning shouldn't be covered under warranty after ten years old. people shouldn't expect so much from an older car, if you want all that then buy new. 😉👍

It’s the evaporator behind the dash , the condenser is in the engine bay, they are not expensive to replace , just a pain getting the dash removed

Always a bummer when you have to buy them back but as you say, they’re few and far between. Can’t win them all, may as well be fair and remember the ones that didn’t cause you any issues 👍 Customer service doesn’t really get tested until something goes wrong!

Can't believe you're so patient and fair with people. Who goes whinging back to the dealer after 6 months?

The gentleman returning it obviously had integrity

Mate of mine bought an ASX for 6 grand with only 8 thousand miles on the clock , hes a plasterer in London and never had any issue with it now in 2 years of hard driving.

The aircon condenser is behind the front bumper as it needs airflow to cool. It’s not unusual for a condenser to fail at that age. The heat exchanger is behind the dash and much less likely to be at fault. I’d not trust a main dealers diagnosis, get it checked with a dye before doing anything.

Any car I trade in goes back fully detailed by myself. As a hobby Detailer of 20 years I could never trade in my car not near perfect. I know I’m weird 😁

fair play to you - basically staying within the spirit of the regulations and being fair all round, happy subscriber, happy dealer, happy life :)

Mad respect to both parties 😙 a true gentleman and sales person

You're the best used car seller I've ever seen very fair

You never switch your fridge off... A neighbour bought a Megane Scenic in 1998 , switched the air con on and left it on , 14 years later still working flawlessly...The problem with repairing Air con is if it has not been used the seals dry out , separating pipes becomes very hard as the aluminium joints corrode and have steel bolts which all seize , and then the seals shred themselves . The costs start to mount very quickly..as for removing the evaporator in the dash ..........Best of luck , I don't envy your mechanic

Nice of them to return the car looking so immaculate!

Got a astra and on it's 3 year service at main dealer was informed by local dealer it's air con level was low needed recharge I answered it's the west of Scotland it doesn't get that warm !! Two years later workmate had a tester and recharge unit so we checked it !! Absolutely nothing wrong as it was a easy £60 + labour for the garage !! Car now 8 years old and it still works perfect !!

never saw your videos in ages mate nice one

The detail is everything.

The secret to having air-con working long term is to never switch it off at all. Even so it could develop a leak somewhere which either results from bad design, poor installation or just pot luck. My daughter’s Qashqai has a slow gas leak just now and the gas is the latest Y1234, so expensive. When it needs topping up next time its going to get the front end matrix replaced, which is a common problem on 2014 Qashqai.

Air Con is a interesting subject for me. I spent 16 years living in Thailand where every car needs to have working Air Con, you literally cannot get into a car in the hotter season without Air Con, opening windows does nothing and in really hot countries they just do not have sunroof. Due to every car having air con, good air con repair shops are everywhere and lots and lots of seriously experienced and skilled repairers. Compressors can be rebuilt, condensers and evaporators can be repaired and are quite cheap usually to replace, and seals and pipes are cheap. The problem in the UK is that it's hard sometimes to find proper air con shops, you should really never go to Halfords where they only check and gas the low pressure side with no regard for volume or PAG oil which is essential for reliability. A proper air con shop will evacuate the system and weigh the volume of gas and oil rather than simply depending on pressure. If you had a leak the air will have entered the system and this carries moisture that destroys the components unless its properly evacuated and re-filled. Its not rocket science, but its an expensive repair in the UK and nobody gets air con serviced until it fails, I expected the cost of repairs to fall in line with the increased popularity of air con in UK.. but it does not seem to have happened.

If the paperwork says it's the condenser, that is leaking, that's in front of the rad. It's the evaporator that's in the dash. Check what was recommended because the conservator is an easy fix.

Air con should never need regassing unless it has a leak. The gas is a non consumable, and should be there for life. You should actually run the ac every few weeks or month. For you guys in the uk, you can put it on and turn the heat up in winter, and it defogs the screens really quick, and still blows warm dry air.

Bit weird … digging back through invoices to find an advisory to call it a known fault, without reconfirming a diagnosis by dye testing, to me is iffy - smacks of some background reason for wanting rid of it. But you’re a Saint for taking it back, and good on the buyer for detailing the car before return. Any 10 year old I’ve bought has never looked that good, or been fault free … and as you said, cars would be a lot more expensive if you had to warrant everything … for ever. Customers can’t have their cake etc …

think you handled that better than most would ! I have the same car and imagine the same problem, I've gone old skool with windows open :)

Sounds like they just wanted a different car and the air con was the perfect reason to swap!

What a lovely subscriber the ASX owner is, getting it valeted before returning it and on a trailer. There are still some decent people about. Top work Mr Chops and Top work the Lovely Suscriber.

I bought a PX off you last year and ive just noticed the tyres are downm to1.6mil and ive only done 40k, i want money back or im taking you to small claims court!

Started as a foreman in Glasgow in the 80s,they bought all their cars in England, they asked me if can clock cars after i Started told them f..k off,didnt stay in that job long after seeing a few insurance scams they were up too,would love to name and shame them.

Bought a 2000 406 Coupe in 2013, A/C still working fine, no regas needed so far after 11 years.

A lovely looking used car ..I think I would have dealt with the air con issue …but FairPlay for doing the right thing and also to the buyer for returning it in A1 condition.👍

Corrosion in the aircon pipes is one of the banes of bigger systems, after a couple of regasses it was obvious there was an issue with the dual aircon on my now 18 year old Landcruiser, sure enough like many of the type (landrovers/shoguns they all corrode eventually) the aircon rear piping had corroded and i had to have the lot replaced. Could have had the rear aircon disconnected which would have been cheaper but as its our dog transport we had it repiped to the tune of over a bag of sand. All part and parcel of running older stuff, but i don't blame you stepping back from warranting aircon over 10 years. Seeing the now ridiculous cost and ever more complication of new cars, keeping the older stuff going still makes sense if you can at least service well and perform reasonable repairs yourself, ie brake overhaul change alternators etc. Impressive how you deal fairly with customers, well done.

I always look thru the paper work, bin old failure sheets, maybe from 2013 anyway, only leave the good news in,

Should try replacing the schrader valves , where you fill it up. Have a tendency to leak , pretty cheap to replace , they might be able to check them while still in. AC man should be able to tell you if there leaking. Cheap fix if it works. Maybe worth a try. Dealers always go for the expensive fix , just a thought

That's life with air con! I face a minimum £500 bill to have my 14 i10 sir con repaired! V.low mileage - problem is the system is rotten!

Im an AC engineer, its the evaporator thats in the dash, the condenser sits front of the radiator.

I agree very nicely handled James,,have yourself a good weekend,👍👍

What a joke we only get a week of heat tops in this country just open the bloody windows

Lots of respect to you so damn honest, had one dealer who said to me the car revs up sometimes when i jumped in had a go straight away new the clutch was going he also tried to say hes not a trader hes selling his uncles car giveaway sign did not have answers to my simple questions so many out there dishonest.

James your a true gent fella hats off to you as the fairest trader I’ve seen !!!

What a service after 6 months most would send you on your way well handled , fair play to the subscriber and trailered it back at there cost , I valeted my px car to garage and he was as happy as you with the condition, I think it's the right thing to do rather than px a skip that's not fair shows respect for vehicles

a very rare example, thing is the car is a ‘gooden’, u wud always keep it, even with shoddy aircon in arctic Britain..but if they need an auto.. unlikely to get as mint a car for the same money, but its all amicable and you’ve done your best by them..again. Your a gooden James👌

Great video James. Great guy. 👍👍👍👍👍👍

What an honest chap you are. Fair play.

That little black car - I recognise it on Fake Taxi🤫

They need to change the law in this country. In the US you can sell cars without warranty no problem, aslong as the buyer is aware

You seem like an honest seller I have a budget of £5500 we are looking for a mini (I know) but it’s the 1.5 petrol 3 cylinder 3 door (black,white preferably)2014 onwards preferably sports seats I drive controller model not bothered about sat nav

That little Mitsubishi looks as good as when it left! Personally I wouldn't have returned it for the aircon, but having done so i would have snapped your hand off for a £400 gift and then opened the windows 😂.

All's well that ends well🤞✌️👍😊💜 Nice to see seller and buyer working together, compromising etc. Plus repeat business is the most cost effective as is maintaining a solid, repeat business customer base (and you kept your customer ✌️😊). The six year rule, really only applies, iirc, to new cars in reality, as does the reasonable amount of time rule (I'm more familiar with the old SoGA et al though). I like Topdon products, perfect for my DIY needs, gives me a heads up and allows me to make informed decisions etc, great value too.

I can't believe a customer expected the AC on a 63 plate to be faultless and sent the car back after 6 months! Those are the sort that want a Rolls Royce for Reliant money. At that age its highly likely that the compressor seals are shot.

I had to invoke the CRA on a Beemer I bought a few years ago, reluctor rings and funnily enough - air con. Well known dealer tried to run rings around me, but I did my homework and stuck to my guns, and after months of back and forth the Financial Ombudsman found in my favour and I got a sizeable refund plus interest. This country does nothing to target the cause though, manufacturers who use poorly made parts on the production line, then it seems to be their discretion on whether a recall takes place or not. Countries like the US seem to enforce this and punish the manufacturer, whereas here its the used dealers who get stiffed. All being said, sensibly dealt with James, much better to avoid the hassle and time wasted.

Aircon will work issue free if used. I told customers to make sure they used the Aircon for at least 20 mins every couple of weeks even in winter to keep the seals oiled. The problem is here in the UK they don't use it for 6 months while it's wet and cold (even tho it takes the moisture out of the car in winter) and they then moan it doesn't work because the seals have dried out or even worse cracked and the gas has escaped. Fridges run pretty much forever because they constantly turned on, it's no different for AC units in cars.

Here in W.Australia, (where summer temps regularly top 40C) I've bought about two dozen used cars over the years, and only a handful ever had "working" AC. Without exception, the sellers of the non-working AC always tried the old "just needs a regas". To which I've always replied, "if it just needs a regas, why haven''t you done it..?." I was always 100% correct too - it never "just" needed a regas. Usually its been a case of the compressor is cooked, or there is a major hole/leak/tear in the pipework. But knowing that, I've always managed to haggle the price down accordingly.

Great advert for that Topdon James. 👍🙂

You should fix it properly and not use a sealant. Sealant is just putting a sticky plaster on the problem.

Add inflation and scarcity to old cars. Then introduce people who can't afford to run them and you have a potent mix.

This kinda makes it all worth while. Just shows that if you run a fair game people by and large will respond in kind. I hope you manage to get him another car.

Air con doesn't matter anyway ,just put window down 😂

Think you’re honesty is being taken advantage of ! Whatever happened to sold as seen ?

Surely this is why you supply a warranty with your cars. I sell sub 3k cars and I put a minimum of 12 months on everything I sell. I’ve even put 24 months on some when they had a deal on. Even when I supply all my cars with a advisory free new Mot and a full service I still put a minimum of 12 months on as it’s peace of mind for the customer.

I think 10 years is very fair, I have an 18 year old volvo and the aircon has never had any issues and works fine, but that's a volvo, fords, nissans, Mitsubishi, saabs, never had one reach 10 years without an aircon failure.

They have been lucky that the aircon issues had the paperwork to back it up as a presale fault. Most garages would still have said not our problem. Shame that the car was not sutable for them as a manual, i must admit that due to arthritic knees an automatic is a must for me these days. Fingers crossed that the sealant and regas works, taking out the dash will cost a fortune in labour. If i was going that far, i would fit a new unit, second hand aircon parts are not worth the risk.

As always mate 👌👌👌👌

If i was a taxi driver and i ordered the wood option id be dissappinted 😂

If a zircon unit needs regassing every 2 months they is obviously a problem and should have never been regassed in the first place due to polluting air with leaked gas. If that customer had bought it in the summer time the problem would of been there for them, I also do believe they did regret buying a manual car though.

I fitted a new condenser drier (definitely leaking) to my beater Mazda 6. 50 quid for a chinesium condenser from Aliexpress, downloaded copy of the factory service manual off some dodgy site, bit of googling / YouTubing, bit of spannering, 30 quid for a vacuum and gas … sorted … Brrr 🥶

Hi james,so as usual you doing the right thing for the customer,it did sound to me as they we're using that as an excuse to get an automatic but who knows,hopefully you dont have it to long🙂👍

My grandfather's Toyota AC stopped work about a week ago. He's had it from new, now 6 years old & Toyota dealer said that's about right, need to re gas about every 5-6 years.

Love the content chops

that Mitsubishi lovely car

Wow the buyer is a very honest person and to valet it a trailered to you. Also you offer to them was a very good the one thing I would say is the title of video I understand KZfaqrs have to make a jazzy title but when I saw it I thought that’s bad someone returned it after 6 months but then watched your the vid

Lesson learned…. Thoroughly read the paperwork and shred it 😂

The condenser lives behind the bumper I think you mean the evaporator in the dashboard

Had a problem with my air con not getting as cold as normal and also at same time engine got hot in traffic, turned out one of the electric fans was seized, replaced the fan and all is good now. Just thought I would mention this. I am in western Australia.

On the subject of air on - leak sealers are a bodge job and will cause more problems down the line. You should definitely not need to be regassing a cars air on system ‘regularly’ - in fact if you are you or your mechanic is technically breaching the regulations. I ran two Mercedes for 12 years apiece - never but an ounce of refrigerant gas , currently running a 2008 Focus had it 12 years so far - again not an ounce of refrigerant has been added. The secret is quite simple - use your air on regularly even through winter keeps all the seals lubricated - using it in winter also dehumidifies the inside of the car and reduces windows misting.

Looking forward to watching the Chops Garage Mitsubishi dashboard tear down video series 😂🤘🏻☺️

I have a 25 year old car,a nissan primera,bought 15 years ago,only normal wear and tear parts replaced,went through 12 mots without a fault,a bit of welding on seals last 2,fixed for £100,runs beautifully never broke down,body paint work still perfect,only one headlight bulb replaced no others,air con never worked,do I care NO,wait for it,payed £500 for it. HAPPY DAYS

So basically the customer didn't want it as they had changed their mind and now wanted an auto. They then trawled the history to find a reason to offload it. Very much the 'I know my rights' legal bully type.

Must say, having run lots and lots of cars and many having developed air-con faults including condenser and evaporator and seized compressor faults, at that age and considering the cost of the vehicle, I would run it without air-con. Done it loads of times and currently have three vehicles here with inoperative air-con. The most I have gone without re-gassing a vehicle in daily use is with my Toyota Land Cruiser which worked great for 15 years before I bought a DIY gas can from Halfords to top it up and it worked for another seven years until another expensive fault, not air-con related, caused it to be scrapped.

Will say you have the same attitude as me be honest treat people with respect and making sure there safe in the car you sell them.

This law is just stupid, that’s why we took the decision to close doors, everyone expects a brand new car when they buy a 10-12 years old car and call in ask money for everything or wanting to return the car back for any silly reasons..

Massive con re-gassing, it should never need doing if the system is good. If it does need doing there's a problem, like a leak somewhere and a re-gas will never solve it. You know who throw away the most public money with this scam? The police with their dodgy Vivaro vans, stone chips the condenser they go for a re-gas, lasts a day 🤦😂

If you are complaining about a fault within the first six months of purchase, it is presumed this fault was there at the time of purchase. If the seller is unable to repair the fault because the same fault persists or a new inherent fault has developed, or the replacement car has an inherent fault, then you can ask for your money back or partial refund if you wish to keep the car. Sounds like both of you reached a sensible conclusion. Nice car.

20 years ago and more, cars of this age were truly end of life and would auction for a few hundred pounds. I drove dozens of 'em and didn't care about faults that weren't deadly.

You shouldn't have to top AC up unless it's got a leak. And you don't have to refresh gas. It's a closed system. Don't let the garages bull s.h.i.t you 😊

Friend of mine is hiring a car as hers has blown up, 460 for 3 weeks, that's cheapest from a back St place, I'd have come in at say 50 quid a week, take it or leave it.

Assume they had a UV dye in with the regas? Get a UV torch around the pipe work and pump etc. before you start replacing parts or attempting a leak cure additive.

In the United States used vehicles are sold with the remaining factory warranty if they have any remaining or " AS IS". AS IS WITH NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. Buyers are expected to have the common sense to understand that they are buying a used vehicle and shouldn't expect new car reliability. They are free to and encouraged to get an inspection and purchase an aftermarket warranty. If they chose to do neither they assume all responsibility and if the engine fails ten miles later it isn't the dealers problem.

Ladies and Gentlemen that's how grownups negotiate business....

Sounds more like the heat exchanger if its behind the dash, a simple sniff test will locate the though.

Have a Focus St mk3.5 had it for 6 and half years, Have always run the aircon constantly, still blowing freezing cold air. Think the more you use it the longer it lasts.