Keith's Automotive Center

[redacted] has a 1998 Chevy Prizm with 135,000 miles on it.  We do not have any kind of history with her or her vehicle.  She came to our shop on May 24th 2017 and said her compressor was diagnosed bad by [redacted]'s Tire and Auto Center and she wanted pricing on replacing her...

compressor.    We gave her a price of replacing the compressor like she wanted.  She agreed.   On her invoice, it even states Customer requested compressor replacement.  She already had it diagnosed by another shop.    We replaced the compressor.   While replacing the compressor you could clearly see leak dye all over the front of the compressor, so the other shop did make a good diagnosis that the compressor was leaking.   We charged the system, it was working great.    Ms [redacted] came back a week later and said it wasn't blowing cold again.   We found the freon low again. We spend a good amount of time charging it up again, adding leak dye and couldn't find a leak.   We did not charge her for any labor checking it out and actually trying to diagnose it again for her.   We told her to drive it and when it leaks down again we will re-check and hopefully see where the new leak is coming from.   A week later she came back and again, we charged it up,  checked the system and again could not find a current leak,  we explained to her that AC systems are under high pressure and could be leaking so slightly that it has not become obvious with UV light where it is coming out.    We also explained that there is AC components (Evaporator) that is located in the dash that we cannot physically see without removing the dash.    We charged it up and added dye again.   We didn't charge her anything.    She came back a week later, and we charged it up again,  keep in mind, freon is expensive, and we didn't charge her yet again for Freon, Dye or labor looking.    We asked her to return in the afternoon so we can recheck it because we saw dye splattered and had to clean it all off.    She came back in the afternoon, and we spent a good 2 hours and located the line from the oriface tube to the condensor leaking.    Chevy does not make any parts for this AC system any more, and no after market companies either.   I spent over an hour calling around the country and I found a Chevy dealer that had old stock of one,    We gave her a price of the line, shipping, and install.    She demanded us to do it for free and I explained we can not do it for free as this is another component.  She then said that we should of never replaced her compressor because obviously that was not the problem.  I explained that we did not diagnose the compressor, [redacted] did and she told us to replace the compressor.   We did see dye leaking out of the compressor and explained that AC systems, especially in a 20 year old vehicle can develop multiple leaks due to seals getting hard, cracked and old.    She then had her brother call me, which was extremely nice, and he fully understood the vehicle age, how AC systems work and how AC systems can have multiple leaks and develop new leaks at any time.Ms. [redacted] came in a couple weeks later and sat down and we showed her a book showing all the lines and components of an AC system to help her understand how much is involved in AC systems.  Never was anyone condescending at all.  We went above and beyond to help her, provided multiple hours of labor, dye, and freon at no charge to her.    She needs this new line to start and then there is no guarantees there is not any other leaks or any new leaks that may develop with a vehicle that is 20 years old.Thank you,[redacted]Keith's Auto TeamExcelling in Automotive Care