Gave the car for service the next day at 77k kms before its due 80k kms and asked the service engineers to complete the 80k kms service and also look into the AC issue. I was called by Lanson Toyota the next day and was informed of the sad demise of my AC cooling coil. And that this sad incident will set me back Rs.26k.
I certainly wasn’t ready to part with all that cash so I took delivery of the car with the air-con still in non working condition. Made a quick visit to G P and was informed that the AC cooling coil of a reputed make would set me back around Rs.4.8k. That seemed reasonable enough so now I had to look for a AC mech.
Found one pretty close to my place next to Vivekananda College. He seemed like he knew what he was on about and diagnosed the same AC cooling coil failure. Told me he would charge me for the whole job which included
-Replacement cooling coil
-Removal and refitting of dashboard
-Gas charging
He told me that the Cooling Coil he was going to use was of good make and would cost me 4.8k. So I asked him to go ahead.
I was standing next to him all morning patiently looking at him tear my dashboard apart and show me the wretched cooling coil which failed. In the meantime he said he will be able to get me the DENSO cooling coil which was the OE spare and would cost me an additional 2k. So I thought its worth the extra money and hence asked him to go ahead with that. He broke for lunch and asked me to come back in an hour when he would resume work.
I quickly ran back home, inhaled my lunch and made it back to his place in 50 mins. By then the sneaky devil had one of his elves install the cooling coil and part of the fan assembly. I asked him why he resumed work and he replied saying his boys finished lunch early and so he didn’t see a point waiting for me to return. I asked him about the original DENSO spare and he said it arrived minutes after I left and showed me an empty carton with a DENSO label and part number on it.
I had my doubts. I asked him to show me the installed product. He said he was done fixing it and checking for leaks and it was too late to remove the part for me to see. Everything went downhill from here. I was totally pissed off with his attitude and wanted to drive right away but I knew that wouldn’t work. Since most of the work expect putting the dashboard back was done I felt my presence there was not needed anymore and so I left.
I returned back after dinner to collect my car which was all back in shape. I was still pissed at this guys attitude towards his customers so I grabbed the keys started the car and turned the AC on. And fresh cold air blew me away. I was quite happy with the cooling. In fact I think I’d be right in saying it was better that what it was before the cooling coil conked off. Couple of things I noticed was that the blowers on the extreme ends were blowing more air than the ones at the center and the demister/defogger didn’t seem to be working. I reported both to the guy for which he said it too late now and he would fix it tomorrow morning. Fair enough it was almost 9 in the night.
So I asked him for the bill and he sticks me with a bill for Rs.14,850/-!! I ask him why for which he gives me a number of reasons which were
-He thought my car was the post 2005 model which has an easier way of removing the cooling coil without pulling apart the dash board and hence the labour charges went up.
-He found the expansion valve was also on its last legs and so replacement was necessary.
-He found the compressor oil level was low and hence needed to be topped up. I was told the Subros oil 125ml for the Corolla costed Rs.1250/-
-He also went to the level of inventing a new part in my car AC system called the condenser filter which also needed replacement.
I was totally taken aback and hence asked him why I wasn’t informed of the additional charges when he had my number. For which he says for such small amount I shouldn’t expect a phone call!@#
After almost 15 mins of heated exchanges I told him I will stick to my grounds and pay only Rs.12k as promised earlier and until he can fix the demister/defogger, check on the blowers and prove that the part installed was indeed a DENSO original he can kiss his money goodbye.
He asked me to come back tomorrow so that he can fix what isn’t working and to prove that its indeed DENSO I have to pay for the gas recharging and the labour charges all over again as its work for him too.
I seem to be in a fix. In all honesty I just want to know if what was installed was indeed a DENSO product or have I been duped. I am very happy with the cooling as such. But his attitude is really getting me worked up. And I will make sure that I don’t pay a penny more even if I get the demister/defogger working along with the blowers being set right.
What is the best course of action now?
MODS : Though this might seem like more of a Street Experience Thread I thought I will get useful replies on how I could get the cooling coil make checked if I post it here. If you think otherwise please do the needful.