Euroclassics Porsche

euroservice1 on 12/06/2010

Mr. Michael James first contacted myself around 4/10 regarding working on his BMW 740il for an A/C problem. Mr. James explained that he had work performed on his vehicle at Firestone, and felt that during those repairs, Firestone had somehow caused his A/C to malfunction. He said Firestone had checked the A/C system, but that he no longer trusted them to work on his vehicle. I agreed to check out the vehicle, and promised Mr. James we would treat him fairly, and honestly. When the vehicle arrived, we noticed that the A/C condensor fan was not functioning, A/C pressures would then rise, and freon would blow out through the A/C high pressure switch. As the switch also sends a signal to the fan to operate, I told Mr. James that the switch would have to be replaced before diagnosis of the A/C system could continue. Mr. James agreed. The switch was replaced, and the A/C system fully recharged. After replacing the leaking switch,we found that the A/C would run for 10 or 15 minutes, and after that time, the pressures in the system would still rise and the A/C condensor fan that is needed to help keep A/C function and pressures proper, was not cutting on. I told Mr. James a relay could be the culprit. I explained that if we replaced the relay, and the fan still malfunctioned, he would not be charged for the relay. The relay was replaced, and the fan still malfunctioned. True to my word, Mr. James was not charged for the relay or any labor involved. If power was applied manually to the fan, it would run a while, then sieze up. All other sensor readings that send signals to the fan tested normal. I explained at this point, that the fan needed to be removed, and checked and possibly replaced. Most of the mountings and hardware attaching the fan were not original, indicating improper mounting of the fan in the past. Mr. James told me he was going to take the vehicle back to Firestone, to see if they would replace the fan free of charge. He never returned, but called me over a week later, explaining that he had taken the vehicle to the BMW dealer for repairs, and asked for a refund. I explained to Mr. James that the total of $546.36 in charges he had paid for were a high pressure switch, 1.5 pounds of freon, and labor for switch replacement, including only 1.5 hours of diagnosis for a vehicle we spent easily 5 hours diagnosing. In my opinion we were never given the opportunity to fully diagnose a difficult A/C problem. -Chris Stone- Service Manger-Euroclassics Porsche