OUTRAGEOUS Quote!!!

[ian_maham]

I recently started to hear some squealing under the hood by the V belt and couldn't find exactly what it was that was creating the noise. Took it to Midas and they said it was the ac compressor gone bad. Something about the clutch assembly going haywire. They are trying to quote me, get this, $1,485.00!!!! WTF

I'm 99% sure they are trying to jack me.

Because AC compressors are like $350 from what I've seen and clutch assembly is around $400. Pretty sure labor isn't around $700-$800 for that kind of a job. Now I'm guessing the compressor is fine and it's the clutch assembly that has gone bad.

Few questions now:

1.) Do you agree with my opinion of the quote?
2.) How serious is this?(guessing its not to bad)
3.) How long do I have to go before I do need to fix it.
4.) Should I stab Midas?

Thanks,
Ian

 

[tunethis]

That quote sounds about right.

Seriously, I have no idea why they would give you a quote that high. I doubt the dealer would even go that high. With DSM's, or any car no longer under warranty, it's good to learn how to do maintenance and mechanical work yourself. It will save you a fortune. To me, $500-$600 sounds more resonable for a shop. Just call around to a few shops.

 

[MichaelSuch]

Uh, that's rediculous... Buy a used one off ebay/junkyard/classifieds here for a couple bucks and install it yourself. Or if you need a hand O'Fallon isn't that far from here, and I'm sure there's a lot of other DSM'ers in your area.

 

[knochgoon24]

You could just cut the belt off and wait until you buy a used compressor from someone. You have a few months until it gets hot enough to want to use it.

 

[cardot33]

It's probably just your clutch on the A/C compressor going bad. V-belt set-up? Just take it off, it's cheaper. That price is WAY to high. I did a brake job on a Honda once. it was originally quoted $700 installed. With parts and labor I ended up charging around $300. I put all new rotors, pads, and calipers on the front.

 

[97gst_spyder]

You can get a brand new compressor from autozone for $230 or $280 with a 2 yr warranty.

 

[Defiant]

I recently started to hear some squealing under the hood by the V belt

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pro...-time-pics-video.html?highlight=harmonic+time

 

[Rob10_99]

Yeah, the only thing you should need a shop for is vacuum/recharge on your system after you swap the ac compressor yourself.
New orings are MUST, If you have R12, do NOT switch to r132a, absolutely not, unless you dont care how well your ac works.
Sure, you will have to call around for a shop that does R12, but its worth it!

[2Gs are all 134A.]

 

[ian_maham]

You can get a brand new compressor from autozone for $230 or $280 with a 2 yr warranty.

Ya i've been checking around and i see that Midas is full of a bunch of dusches who deserved to be blown up.(I don't recommend doing that)

I've been hearing from some people/reading that its not that hard of a repair/replace. But as I look through my Chilton's Repair Manual, there's not one mention of this procedure.

 

[Sam@RRE]

Razor blade - $0.99
5 minutes - (depending on your hourly pay, I'll use mine ) $0.41
**Formula (HourlyPay/12=5minutes worth) ***
Silence =Priceless

Cooking in the summer = fail

 

[GSXSixteenG]

I know many shops around here that quote extremely high because they hate working on dsm's. I was quoted last summer between $900-1400 to remove my cylinder head and put a new one on. This was when I had all the parts already bought, and already had a machine shop rebuild a different head I bought.

Instead I towed my car 1.5 hours east to my buddy's house and did it myself. I will admit the shop I brought it too had some muscle cars out front, so that might be the hint why the quote was high.

My car ran for a few days then I spun a bearing, it was depressing. This was because it wasn't tuned again after my 272 install and I was using a pos safc.