$200 just for diagnosis?

[gordontrue]

Took in my wifes car to get the AC checked this morning.

Mechanic called 1.5 hours later saying that the repair would cost $1800 including the fee for diagnosing it. I'm considering getting another opinion so I asked how much the cost for diagnosing it was if I decided to go somewhere else. He said it was about $200.

Is this normal? I understand they aren't going to work for free, and I'm happy to pay it if that's standard, it just seems high to me.

In the past, mechanics have done the diagnostics for free and called me before any money was spent so I could decide how to proceed.

 

[tabascojet]

had to pay for an electrical test and computer diagnostic once to find a drain on the battery. both came back fine, couldnt find the problem and still charged me for both test about $130. never went back to that shop for sure.

 

[outofyourmind]

What are shop rates now?? about $100hr??
2hrs to track down the problem and diagnose it and put together an estimate????
sounds about right I think.


What's wrong with the A/C???

 

[fordman84]

Sounds about like $75 to $100 an hour labor. Little steep but yeah, I figure that is about right. Sucks, but some shops stick to that.

As for $1800, what happened? That must be a whole new compressor and condenser for that cost. I'd go back and make sure before you pay $200 for the diagnosis tell him you want a written and detailed repair writeup. You paid him for his time, make him write it up. Then you have something in hand to call around for parts or free over the phone estimates. If he says you need A, B, and C call someone and tell em your car and what it would cost to replace those things. Much cheaper and much faster.

 

[Gooch1034]

The place I go to never charges me for diagnosis unless they have to take shit apart.

 

[gordontrue]

Sounds about like $75 to $100 an hour labor. Little steep but yeah, I figure that is about right. Sucks, but some shops stick to that.

As for $1800, what happened? That must be a whole new compressor and condenser for that cost. I'd go back and make sure before you pay $200 for the diagnosis tell him you want a written and detailed repair writeup. You paid him for his time, make him write it up. Then you have something in hand to call around for parts or free over the phone estimates. If he says you need A, B, and C call someone and tell em your car and what it would cost to replace those things. Much cheaper and much faster.

Good info, thanks. Good to know that the rate isn't outrageous. And great idea to get a detailed diagnosis if I decide not to have him repair it. I will definitely do that.

He says the whole system needs replacing. He said I could risk trying to replace just the "coil" or just the "compressor" but it might not be a great permanent fix and I wouldn't get the warranty that would come with a whole new system. So the quote was for replacing the entire system.

Apparently the particular model of car has known AC issues so he would put in an after market system.

 

[fordman84]

Good info, thanks. Good to know that the rate isn't outrageous. And great idea to get a detailed diagnosis if I decide not to have him repair it. I will definitely do that.

He says the whole system needs replacing. He said I could risk trying to replace just the "coil" or just the "compressor" but it might not be a great permanent fix and I wouldn't get the warranty that would come with a whole new system. So the quote was for replacing the entire system.

Apparently the particular model of car has known AC issues so he would put in an after market system.

yikes, aftermarket sounds like trouble to me. If factory was a problem, the factory replacement probably has fixed it well enough.

As for replacing the whole system, that's iffy as well. When we were dating, my now wifes explorer had her compressor implode, sent shreds of metal all into the system. But there is a filter in there just for that. bought a new filter and compressor, popped em in, pulled a vacuum and charged the system. It was a pain, but took me a few hours and the thing never had another issue. There are checks in the system to contain failures, so replacing the entire thing sounds like overkill to me.

As part of his write up, ask him what he would charge just to replace the part that broke.

 

[outofyourmind]

is it making noise?? or just not blowing cold??
does the compressor cycle on and off??


what's up with it.

 

[gordontrue]

is it making noise?? or just not blowing cold??
does the compressor cycle on and off??


what's up with it.

All I know is that it doesn't blow cold. Was working seemingly fine yesterday, then today when we turned it on it just kept blowing hot air.

I will ask for more specific details from the mechanic, but from our 1 conversation he said there is something wrong with the "coil", but that he recommends fixing the entire system. He said "if you just fix the coil it may or may not fix the issue. It may turn out the compressor needs replacing as well, or it might work for a week and then the compressor stops working and now you don't have a warranty"

 

[fordman84]

All I know is that it doesn't blow cold. Was working seemingly fine yesterday, then today when we turned it on it just kept blowing hot air.

I will ask for more specific details from the mechanic, but from our 1 conversation he said there is something wrong with the "coil", but that he recommends fixing the entire system. He said "if you just fix the coil it may or may not fix the issue. It may turn out the compressor needs replacing as well, or it might work for a week and then the compressor stops working and now you don't have a warranty"

If the coil is gone bad, the only thing i know of that could be going on is it has a leak. The coil is just the finned part that looks like a little radiator. They are notorious for developing pinhole leaks. They aren't tough to change, just pull the refrigerant out (probably out if you have a leak), pull two hoses, put the new coil on, and recharge it. Probably would need a mechanic to recharge it for you unless you have the tools, few do though. A recharge should be another $100 to $150 I guess, been a while though. Certainly wouldn't replace the entire system because of a coil leak.

The other thing you can do is buy a can of coolant and charge it yourself. Likely what happened is you have a tiny leak, and it finally leaked enough out of the system that the over-ride came on that keeps your compressor from working if the system pressure is too low. Just putting a bit more coolant in could fix it up. Depends on how much you want to spend, how long you want to keep the car, and how often you want to pop the hood to refill it. Could be a slow enough leak that one charge gets you through the summer. Or could be bad enough it doesn't even last a week. Freon is cheap though, unless you have a really old car that is still on R12.

 

[gordontrue]

The other thing you can do is buy a can of coolant and charge it yourself. Likely what happened is you have a tiny leak, and it finally leaked enough out of the system that the over-ride came on that keeps your compressor from working if the system pressure is too low. Just putting a bit more coolant in could fix it up. Depends on how much you want to spend, how long you want to keep the car, and how often you want to pop the hood to refill it. Could be a slow enough leak that one charge gets you through the summer. Or could be bad enough it doesn't even last a week. Freon is cheap though, unless you have a really old car that is still on R12.

This option intrigues me very much. Is charging it with a can of coolant as simple as it sounds? Keep in mind I'm almost useless when it comes to cars. (The extent of my experience is checking/filling oil and replacing a battery)

 

[fordman84]

This option intrigues me very much. Is charging it with a can of coolant as simple as it sounds? Keep in mind I'm almost useless when it comes to cars. (The extent of my experience is checking/filling oil and replacing a battery)

Depending on what type of refrigerant, yeah it's very simple. I don't remember what year cars went from R12 to R13a, but I think it was late 80s or early 90's, so newer than that and you can go to walmart or any autoparts store and buy something like this:

EZ Chill Measure and Charge Can with Inline Gauge: Motor Oil, Transmission Fluid & Car Lubricant : Walmart.com

It has the gauge on it, so just unscrew the cap on your A/C line (they are different sizes, so you can't accidentally hook it up to the wrong pressure line), clip it on, and see what the pressure is. Then squeeze the trigger to fill until it settles in the acceptable range.

The absolute worse that can happen is you way overcharge the system which could blow the seals. If that happens, you have to replace parts. Sounds like you already need that, and this one guy wants you to replace the whole system. However, it would be tough to over fill the system like that as long as you are watching that gauge.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Went to the doctor once paid $500 for a diagnosis that I knew my whole life I had... We ended up challenging the bill and never had to pay it...

 

[gordontrue]

Depending on what type of refrigerant, yeah it's very simple. I don't remember what year cars went from R12 to R13a, but I think it was late 80s or early 90's, so newer than that and you can go to walmart or any autoparts store and buy something like this:

EZ Chill Measure and Charge Can with Inline Gauge: Motor Oil, Transmission Fluid & Car Lubricant : Walmart.com

It has the gauge on it, so just unscrew the cap on your A/C line (they are different sizes, so you can't accidentally hook it up to the wrong pressure line), clip it on, and see what the pressure is. Then squeeze the trigger to fill until it settles in the acceptable range.

The absolute worse that can happen is you way overcharge the system which could blow the seals. If that happens, you have to replace parts. Sounds like you already need that, and this one guy wants you to replace the whole system. However, it would be tough to over fill the system like that as long as you are watching that gauge.

Awesome. I'm going to give this a try. Thanks for your help man!

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Sounds about like $75 to $100 an hour labor. Little steep but yeah, I figure that is about right. Sucks, but some shops stick to that.

As for $1800, what happened? That must be a whole new compressor and condenser for that cost. I'd go back and make sure before you pay $200 for the diagnosis tell him you want a written and detailed repair writeup. You paid him for his time, make him write it up. Then you have something in hand to call around for parts or free over the phone estimates. If he says you need A, B, and C call someone and tell em your car and what it would cost to replace those things. Much cheaper and much faster.

I know a small mechanic shop owner real well, and he said the diagnostic equipment for these newer cars is very expensive. But, you really can't function without one now...you'd spend half the day trying to figure out the problem vs a an hour or so...if the job is big enough to absorb the fee he typically would waive it or cut you some slack on the diagnostic fee.

$1800...yeah, he had to lose the compressor and then some it sounds like.

 

[gordontrue]

Got a lucky break this morning.

I suddenly remembered some sort of extended warranty that was included when I bought the car used. I didn't think there was any chance of it still being in effect, but I took a shot and called the dealership.

The extended warranty covers AC with a $100 deductible. It ends in Feb 2015. It is good up to 86K miles. The car is currently sitting at 85,700. Man did that put me in a good mood.

I'm kicking myself for not thinking of that earlier, cause I have to pay the $200 diagnostic fee, but hey $300 and a brand new ac system I can handle.

 

[Nascar Addict]

I'm kicking myself for not taking car repair at tech school.

Easy ways to make money.

1. Chase ambulances. See also, lawyers.
2. Car repair.
3. Politics.
4. Insurance.

All four are shady most of the time.

 

[raider bill]

Depends on which coil.. if he's talking about the evaporator coil a lot of times you need to rip out the entire dashboard assembly.