Help. Drove to Florida and AC broke

[Anonymous]

OP here- the person above posting how to do it LOL I'm
Impressed but I have zero clue about cars. The car is at the local shop til tomorrow. I'm very nervous. DH wanted that and I wanted dealer. But dealer was 3x the price. I was ok paying double not triple. And car has 93k miles so it's not going to last a lifetime. However - usually I decide these things but I let DH. And now we also don't have a loaner I'm sure will conk out by the time we reach GA!! And then we're out $1100. UGH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- the person above posting how to do it LOL I'm
Impressed but I have zero clue about cars. The car is at the local shop til tomorrow. I'm very nervous. DH wanted that and I wanted dealer. But dealer was 3x the price. I was ok paying double not triple. And car has 93k miles so it's not going to last a lifetime. However - usually I decide these things but I let DH. And now we also don't have a loaner I'm sure will conk out by the time we reach GA!! And then we're out $1100. UGH

Go with local shop. If it has issues, dealer can tidy up the bits and still you will have spent less.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for local shop. It’s a straightforward matter and Acuras are built by Honda - they’ve done this repair hundreds of times.

Enjoy your vacay OP!

[Anonymous]

I'd probably just have someone in FL fix it so that I could have A/C the entire time and just use their loaner car while they're working on it. Did they say it would take a day or two? I honestly don't see what the big deal is about having it fixed down there? You get the A/C fixed (probably cheaper than in the DMV), you get to put your miles on their loaner in the meantime while driving around, and when you get your car back, it's fixed.

[Anonymous]

The independent will be fine, OP. It’s a relatively minor repair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do the dealer repair down there, because if the repair fails or you have issues later on, you might have some leverage getting a dealer up here to fix the fix, as it were, without additional charges.

Jim-Bob’s Gas N Lube has no incentive to do quality work on out-of-state tags.

It’s an A/C compressor replacement, not building a SpaceX rocket. You pull the refrigerant out of the system with a vacuum bottle tool, remove the serpentine belt, two or three mounting bolts, disconnect the high and low pressure lines and wiring harness, and take the old compressor out. Then you bolt the new compressor back in, reconnect the high and low pressure lines and wiring harness, recharge the system with refrigerant, and put the serpentine belt back on. It takes about 30 minutes. I’ve literally done it in a parking lot of an Autozone (with rented tools, no less!) in less time than it took my wife and her parents to finish lunch at Applebee’s.

Seriously- who can’t do this stuff themselves??? Do you people have ANY life skills?

You must not have a real job or be very smart if you have to work on your own car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do the dealer repair down there, because if the repair fails or you have issues later on, you might have some leverage getting a dealer up here to fix the fix, as it were, without additional charges.

Jim-Bob’s Gas N Lube has no incentive to do quality work on out-of-state tags.

It’s an A/C compressor replacement, not building a SpaceX rocket. You pull the refrigerant out of the system with a vacuum bottle tool, remove the serpentine belt, two or three mounting bolts, disconnect the high and low pressure lines and wiring harness, and take the old compressor out. Then you bolt the new compressor back in, reconnect the high and low pressure lines and wiring harness, recharge the system with refrigerant, and put the serpentine belt back on. It takes about 30 minutes. I’ve literally done it in a parking lot of an Autozone (with rented tools, no less!) in less time than it took my wife and her parents to finish lunch at Applebee’s.

Seriously- who can’t do this stuff themselves??? Do you people have ANY life skills?

Is a compressor the same as a condenser? I just had that replaced, plus the serpentine belt, and it cost me almost 1300, in a small shop in FL (where I live). Is that reasonable or not? I have no idea.

[Anonymous]

I drove 18 years without it. Not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

OP serious question but when you service your car back home, do you take your car to a dealer?

[Anonymous]

How do you have 93k miles on a 2015? We have 62k miles on a 2014 and it’s our main “family” car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you have 93k miles on a 2015? We have 62k miles on a 2014 and it’s our main “family” car.

I don't know but my bet is OP drives more than you do? Like driving to FL?