mountainsoft
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
We're planning a road trip this summer, so I thought it would be nice to get the AC working in my car. It hasn't worked since I bought the car 8 years ago, so I had no idea what was wrong with it. I had a local mom and pop shop check it out. They replaced a pressure switch and recharged the system for about $250. Everything seems to work, but unfortunately it's not enough to cool the car down even on a sunny 60 degree day.
I contacted them again about replacing the compressor, drier, and expansion valve. No response. Two other attempts also when unanswered. I'm not sure why, I enjoyed working with them for the initial recharge. Small town shop, friendly, and close to home. Nothing but crickets now...
So, I tried contacting a few other places in town. Again, no answer on the phone, and no response to emails. How do these people stay in business? I finally got an estimate back from one place in town, $2300! Ouch. That's more than paid for the car ($1900). Another company responded today at $2100. Crazy. Obviously, I'm not going to spend that kind of money on a 25 year old car when we may only use AC 3-4 times a year here in Washington state.
I've always done my own car work anyway, so I figured I would just order the parts and do it myself. I had no problem finding an OEM quality compressor and drier for $240 total and had them in hand 4 days later. I still needed to order the expansion valve (~$30) and some O-rings, but total parts would be less than $400. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a shop anywhere in town that would evacuate the refrigerant for me so I could do the work. One shop said they could do it, but when I arrived for the appointment they said they don't work on VW's? I called a shop specializing in VW's and they don't do AC work? Grrr... So frustrating. I mean even the local drive up oil change place will evacuate and recharge AC systems, but they wouldn't do the evac by itself.
So now I have a brand new AC compressor that I'm returning back to the supplier tomorrow. If I can't get the system evacuated, I can't do anything with it. It's not a job I wanted to do in the first place, but it's not that difficult. Remove the serpentine belt, two bolts to get the alternator out of the way, disconnect the AC lines, and three bolts to remove the compressor. I watched several YouTube videos showing how it's done. Couldn't take more than two hours tops. I don't know where they're coming up with a $800-1000 labor charge, or $1000 for parts I paid $240 for. Quite the markup. Unfortunately, they have the industry locked down. I can't afford their prices, and they make it impossible to do the work myself.
Sadly, I have spent 3+ weeks stressing about this, often keeping me up at night. It feels so defeating. The only option I have is to return the parts I have and do without AC in my car. I guess I'm no worse off than I have been the last eight years...
I contacted them again about replacing the compressor, drier, and expansion valve. No response. Two other attempts also when unanswered. I'm not sure why, I enjoyed working with them for the initial recharge. Small town shop, friendly, and close to home. Nothing but crickets now...
So, I tried contacting a few other places in town. Again, no answer on the phone, and no response to emails. How do these people stay in business? I finally got an estimate back from one place in town, $2300! Ouch. That's more than paid for the car ($1900). Another company responded today at $2100. Crazy. Obviously, I'm not going to spend that kind of money on a 25 year old car when we may only use AC 3-4 times a year here in Washington state.
I've always done my own car work anyway, so I figured I would just order the parts and do it myself. I had no problem finding an OEM quality compressor and drier for $240 total and had them in hand 4 days later. I still needed to order the expansion valve (~$30) and some O-rings, but total parts would be less than $400. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a shop anywhere in town that would evacuate the refrigerant for me so I could do the work. One shop said they could do it, but when I arrived for the appointment they said they don't work on VW's? I called a shop specializing in VW's and they don't do AC work? Grrr... So frustrating. I mean even the local drive up oil change place will evacuate and recharge AC systems, but they wouldn't do the evac by itself.
So now I have a brand new AC compressor that I'm returning back to the supplier tomorrow. If I can't get the system evacuated, I can't do anything with it. It's not a job I wanted to do in the first place, but it's not that difficult. Remove the serpentine belt, two bolts to get the alternator out of the way, disconnect the AC lines, and three bolts to remove the compressor. I watched several YouTube videos showing how it's done. Couldn't take more than two hours tops. I don't know where they're coming up with a $800-1000 labor charge, or $1000 for parts I paid $240 for. Quite the markup. Unfortunately, they have the industry locked down. I can't afford their prices, and they make it impossible to do the work myself.
Sadly, I have spent 3+ weeks stressing about this, often keeping me up at night. It feels so defeating. The only option I have is to return the parts I have and do without AC in my car. I guess I'm no worse off than I have been the last eight years...