I sometimes wonder if the ability to be dogged and determined is a blessing or a curse.
A few weeks back we dropped the Patrol in to get her wired up for electric brakes and a couple of other things. The air con would occasionally cut out on very hot days and I wondered if it was a switch problem or something more serious. I asked them to have a look at it.
So we got the car back and all was good but no problem was detected with the air con. Fair enough because it was intermittent…
However the day after getting it home I start it up and the air smells like a cat has died in my vents. It clears after a couple of minutes but is pretty nasty. After a week the coolness loses punch and I take it back…
They regas it with dye to be able to check for leaks but can’t see any reason it is smelling. $180.00 thanks…
I go back again on my way home from work one day because it still stinks. They spray deoderiser on the evaporator. Now it smells like body odour mixed with deoderant.
I drive away and it continues to stink. In one week it has lost its cooling punch yet again. I go back and they look it over. The evaporator is leaking. They change it over and regas it. $480.00
I drive away and it doesn’t stink. I am happy.
However my once very cold air con is no longer up to its usual standard. It packs a punch in the morning but come afternoon it struggles to keep up.
I ring and book a time to go back. They tell me it was spot on when I left.
The elec runs some tests and discovers the head pressures aren’t what they should be. “Its the thermo fan not cutting in at the right time. I can fix it for under $200.00.” I ask if this will solve the problem. “Yeah – should do! Its all I can see”
Can you see where this story is heading?…
As I drove off assured that the temps were now right in the spec range I noticed it wasn’t cold. It was ‘cooler’ because they wired the fan to be permanently on with the air con, but still not cold.
So far it has been the best part of $800.00 for no result and I am a tad annoyed.
I rang today… He had no answers…
I borrowed a vent probe off my own mechanic and checked the temps. Instead 6-7 degrees they were 9-10 when running and 12 when stationary.
I am running out of options here, but I am so far down the road now that I am not about to just leave it and have a lamo air con.
How many times can you go back?…free get smart
To the same place? I probably wouldn’t go again, they’re out of ideas. Time to find a new place and get them to check it out.
airconditioning in cars is a real pain when it goes bad….there are so many factors that can cause it to be a pain, but I would be agro that becauase they have not found the problem originally, you are up for regasses.
It is a bit like that verse in the bible about the unrighteous judge…sometimes you have to be a pain in the butt…to the point that the hassle they have to go through to fix the problem is more that the pain you are being to them.
But also…sometimes its better to cut your losses..and go somewhere else, explaing exactly what is going on, and get them to quote before the job..and make sure they guarantee the problem will be fixed…
Yep – go to another joint. They’ve got enough of your dough for one vehicle…
They’ve already got almost $800 of your money. I’d be demanding they fix it without further cost. They’ve obviously hit you up for stuff you didn’t need done, make them do the stuff they should have done in the first place.
I’d be very tempted to go elsewhere but then they’re under no obligation to do anything cheaply. The first guys need to admit that they’ve stuffed up and need to make things right.
Yeah that’s the tension Rod!
They know I am pushing them to actually fix it rather than just giving it back a little better, and someone else would have no obligation.
Then again my local mechanic is a genius and a top bloke so i would almost rather cop it on the chin and go to him.
Alternatively go back demand a refund or fix it or ill placard the joint and get the christian mafia to do a sit in, get Jarrod and his crew to plague them like locusts till the capitulate
Feel for ya Hamo. My brother has had similarly painful issues for months, but not with an aircon, with an engine! I believe the damage is in the thousands of pounds by now. They’re living in London, and the dodgy repair dude is in Birmingham. Full time train-commuting employee husband, home-schooling mother of four, goodness knows how they’re dealing with it.
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