The mechanic by my house quoted me $1400 to fix my car. The AC compressor seized up and the belt broke. How much damage does something like this do to my car and what parts do I have to replace? Everyone I know says I just have to put a new compressor and belt and it's good as new. My issue is that doesn't sound like $1400 worth of work and the mechanic made it seem like he would have to replace multiple things and flush the system and a few other things I don't quite understand. So is this mechanic trying to rip me off or is there really lots of work involved in this job?
Everyone I know says I just have to put a new compressor and belt and it's good as new.
Everyone you know is wrong,
If your AC compressor seizes up it invariably contaminates the system with metal shards that get distributed throughout. Every component must be replaced in that situation. Parallel-flow condensers and evaporators cannot be reliably flushed since the flushing compound will just route around any metal pieces that are stuck in place. Those can come loose later.
Any contamination left in old parts can dislodge and quickly destroy the new compressor.
Awesome thank you. That helps alot.
No doubt there are people who take short cuts and get lucky. If not done right it's a real gamble though. The warranty on a new compressor would be null and void if it is destroyed due to contamination, not to mention the job having to be done all over again.
So would you say $1400 is a fair price for this kind of job. I forgot to mention the belt also broke when the compressor seized up
The belt is the least expensive part to be replaced. Whether $1400 is a good price depends on what that includes.
I'm going to be looking at the quote tomorrow since the guy just called me today to tell me what was wrong with it and I'm pretty sure he said he would end up replacing the compressor, the condenser and the belt as well as any gaskets etc. He also said he would flush the system and replace the freon. I'm pretty sure there was a few other things he mentioned that I can't remember.
It sounds like they're taking a chance and not replacing the evaporator. That's not ideal but it is understandable since on most cars you have to take the dashboard out to do that job and it would at least double the cost of the repair. That would be more than the car is worth. Do you know if they're using a new compressor, or a rebuilt, or even a used one?
Hopefully they'll get any debris out of the evaporator with flushing but as I described it's a bit of a gamble when dealing with parallel-flow components. Make sure you get a written guarantee and read it over to see how long they'll stand behind the job and to what extent.