Need a bit of advice please regarding 'stop Battery charging fault' DS DS4

[malccy]

Hi,

bought this 2015 ds ds4 2.0 litre diesel just over a couple of months ago and had the dashboard light up and alarm sound yesterday with 'stop battery charging fault' being displayed. I then drove home which was about 20 miles and to local Citroën dealer. The guy there booked my car in for Wednesday (this was Saturday) to be looked at but informed me that I could be looking at a bill for £1700 for a new alternator plus fitting.

When I got home I did some research on prices for an alternator that fits my car and prices range from £350 to just over £1000. I am slightly autistic and find talking to people difficult at best of times so it was not really until I got home on my own that I thought through the situation and began worrying about it all. I feel almost that the citroen dealership are attempting to fleece me a bit, or are they just saying the worst scenario?

I'm really unsure what to do or how best to get it fixed, I have left the booking for Wednesday in place but feel there has got to be a better and cheaper way to sort it. I understand that the problem could be battery, alternator, pulley, cabling etc but concerned I may be ripped off.

Please, could I get a bit of advice from you knowledgable and helpful people.

 

[Rroff]

Seems really steep though on some hybrids it can be more costly - even at a dealer it shouldn't be more than £160-200 labour and £400-500 for OE spec part or about £300 for non-genuine.

If the alternator has been playing up possible the battery needs replacing as well but that should be less than £200 all in.

 

[malccy]

Thanks for reply. I am wondering whether I should try a local mechanic/auto electrician or garage chain such as Kwik-Fit rather than a Citroën dealership for the repair. I said i'd take my elderly neighbour about 5 miles out of town on Wednesday morning to get her covid jab but do you think this is a safe journey to take with the current problem? This is one of the reasons why I feel that maybe I should try somewhere else to try and get it repaired before Wednesday.