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A pebble is costing me 700 dollars
noir_blood
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Some might remember I made a thread a few days ago about my Nissan Sentra 07, and how the air conditioner seemed a bit wonky. So I went to the dealership on Friday, and they told me that a rock must have hit my condenser, and it's causing it to leak. They told me they would have to replace it, and since it's not a manufacturing error, my warranty won't cover it. I can put it on my insurance, but since I have a five hundred deductable, PLUS it counts a collision claim, I rather not do that.
The question I have is, is such thing plausible? I didn't run over any big rocks, so I mean, I find it hard to believe that a rock would cause that.
The question I have is, is such thing plausible? I didn't run over any big rocks, so I mean, I find it hard to believe that a rock would cause that.
noir_blood on
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The part itself isn't even over $500 bucks so they're obviously charging you quite a bit to replace it.
Even flushing and replacing your A/C fluid shouldn't take more than $50 I think. Get a few independent quotes.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Are they charging you time while your car sits in their garage waiting to be worked on???
No man should have that kind of power.(Twitter)
Run around and get some independent quotes.
Go to a junkyard where they let people go in and get parts off of cars. Do research and see which Sentra condensers are compatible with your car. Most junkyards have a flat rate on this kind of stuff so you should find it on the cheap side regardless of the model/make. From here, you can go around and quote some shops and let them install it for a decent rate. This is what I did with my radiator for my '00 Impala two years ago. Of course, this is assuming you did some research or know someone who can tell a good radiator from a bad one.
You can also cut the junkyard out of the equation there. Ask around, get some quotes but also ask how much it would be if you provided the replacement part. You can then shop around for a cheap replacement and get a cheap labor rate.
Car Talk is a brilliant show on NPR, the hosts really know their shit. That part of their website is devoted to mechanics in users areas, along with ratings and reviews. Everyone I point to that website finds someone they love.
How do they verify whether the reviews are from real people and not just mechs trying to boost their rating? Cause all the ones in my area have like 2-3 surveys and comments, I checked out a mech on there that I had a terrible experience with and even he has almost a perfect score, granted he's only been reviewed twice.
I hope you reviewed him then and put down what you think. It isn't perfect, but the cartalk recommendations are usually pretty good - and they only become good when people talk about bad experiences.
This is why you don't go to the dealership for shit. Thank God for junkyards.
Of course, that takes tons of time and patience, and a large repertoire of cusswords. And a lot of cigarettes.
My dad's a mechanic so that helps. I can just call him when I have trouble.
Seriously though, if you can't do it yourself, shops are the next best bet. You really should never have to go to the dealership unless it's a warranty job.
Having taken a few of these out of several different types of cars, I'd be surprised if it took terribly much less than 4 hours. There are generally all kinds of things in the way, like radiators, bumper covers, fans and all kinds of other things. Then once you've replaced it, you've got to pressure test and pull a vacuum back on the system, before you can refill the refrigerant. Then there's the cost of the new refrigerant, R-134 is getting rather expensive.
But I do agree with your recommendation to get an independent quote, I'd be shocked if the dealership was only charging $75/hr, most of the ones around here charge upwards of $90/hr. The shop that I take my cars to for jobs that I don't have the tools to do only charges $60/hr.
Also to the oil change guy, no, they're not charging you for four hours of shop time because that's going to be at least a couple hundred dollars. They probably charge by the half hour, so $30-45 for shop time plus $15-25 worth of oil and filter. Which is still ludicrous compared to one of those drive through lube places but that's a dealership for you.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH