AC evaporator for a '95 xjs Jag.

Gentlemen, thank you for your advice. You are probably right, but I have already spent $1500 on labor plus replacing all the key parts except the evaporator. My mechanic is solid, but the mistake I made early on was to attempt to fix the a.c. I opened Pandora's Box and now suffer the consequences. I do wish my mechanic had been more forthright when I first made the decision to attempt to fix the ac., meaning telling me it might not be practical from a money point!! The car is only in fair condition so I'm stuck with the situation. Hopefully, I can sell it for about $3,000 and cut my loses. Thanks, again. Any takers? Jim

James,

Wanna see what your car will go through........

It's worth every penny to find someone who will take their time, and be conscientious and thorough.

Cheers,

You said that right Doug! Where he lives is not that far from me and I was thinking of asking for the contact to farm out that job in the future!

Edited on 2012-01-27 13:03:07

A bit more, essentionally just elaborating on what George has said.

You could always ask around and see what other shops would charge. You'll probably come across a few that won't even touch the job; and a few that won't even touch a Jaguar.

Forget how the labor charges are calculated and just look at the total charge. The next shop might charge fewer hours but at a higher hourly rate, or vice versa.

You might find a lower price.... don't hold your breath. But, even if you do, you'll have to balance price against quality.

This is tricky work. Lots of opportunity for errors. Sometimes getting the job done right is more important than getting the right price.

We all know that price doesn't always guarantee quality but if you have confidence in this shop, go with it. What they're quoting is well within the realm of fair and reasonable

Cheers
DD

If it makes you feel any better about the cost, I was quoted $1700 to replace the blend door on my Dodge truck. Similar circumstances as many of the things George stated had to be done for it as well to get to the heater box. The part was about $30. In this case, I am just living without all the modes for the system working.

On my '95 xjs the condenser has a leak. Much easier to get to, but since I usually only enjoy the car with the top down, I haven't bothered replacing it. Never worked all that great anyway.

David
95 xjs convertible 4.0
96 xj12

Jim, listen to George :-)

James those "padded" books are the time Jaguar would have allowed a tech. to do the job under warranty--in other words if it took him 20 he got paid for 15. I do not think you are thinking about how difficult the job is and the care that must be taken to ensure the job is done correctly. Further the dryer will need to be replaced--the system pulled into a vac and held and then a refill. If he is quoting 15 hours total --all in--all done I suggest you take it. Remember this job is going to be done withour messing up the carpets and seats or the dash and assorted wood trim without memtioning the removal and reset of airbags and steering wheel and possibly the column. I think if they are going to stand by a part you are providing you have a good deal. I would not.

Thanks. Know that, but saying it takes 15 hours, according to the book leaves me somewhat cold. Those "book quotes" are usually padded, if you know what I mean. Taking off the dashboard to get to the evaporator is work, but 15 hours?

It is a lot of work!