[biju.bala]

Dear Members,
Please suggest a good ac mechanic for Maruti Swift VXi at Chennai . This is a 2007 model till 2014 the AC was fine, then the cooling went down I took it to an ac mechanic at Gopalapuram who filled gas and told me every year gas has to be filled now it is around 15 months again the cooling is down. Does gas need to be filled every year? Please suggest some genuine ac repair mechanic who will close the leak if any and then fill gas. Maruti is charging around 4500 for full ac overhauling .Your valuable advice on the matter please

[callvvijay]

Originally Posted by biju.bala

Dear Members,
Please suggest a good ac mechanic for Maruti Swift VXi at Chennai . This is a 2007 model till 2014 the AC was fine, then the cooling went down I took it to an ac mechanic at Gopalapuram who filled gas and told me every year gas has to be filled now it is around 15 months again the cooling is down. Does gas need to be filled every year? Please suggest some genuine ac repair mechanic who will close the leak if any and then fill gas. Maruti is charging around 4500 for full ac overhauling .Your valuable advice on the matter please

I had taken my car (Alto) to Suresh Car A/C a couple of times (refer posts from me as well as others in the previous pages) and I'm quite satisfied. Referred my friend (Accent) and he is also very much satisfied. So overall, I can definitely recommend Suresh for your A/C needs.
One point to note - call him up before going to his place as he is quite busy.

Doesn't matter where you take your car, please post your experience after your visit.

Cheers!

[srikrish]

Went to Suresh Car A/C after reading this thread for old hyundai car. Incidentally my call driver knows him for over 20 years. He replaced the entire part including compressor and filter. Gave an estimate of 19k but actually charged 21k. Also emptied my petrol tank.
A/C works fine. I am still testing it.

I felt it was a bit expensive and he did not explain why he charged 2k extra. I also did not bother to check with him as long as my ac is fine.

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by srikrish

Went to Suresh Car A/C after reading this thread for old hyundai car. Incidentally my call driver knows him for over 20 years. He replaced the entire part including compressor and filter. Gave an estimate of 19k but actually charged 21k. Also emptied my petrol tank.
A/C works fine. I am still testing it.

I felt it was a bit expensive and he did not explain why he charged 2k extra. I also did not bother to check with him as long as my ac is fine.

Petrol lost must have been during testing. But, if it's 10 or 20 litres, it's a big deal.
Secondly, what old hyundai car is it that required an AC overhaul?
2k is ~10% difference between estimate and invoice. This is ok. It's a different story if he gave you a 25k bill.

[hserus]

Most likely took it for a spin to go wherever .. a lot of the small places do that - which is why you deliver it to them with a nearly empty tank.

Also try speed motors in shastri nagar, adyar. I and a bunch of bhpians highly recommend it. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/chenna...r-chennai.html

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by hserus

Most likely took it for a spin to go wherever .. a lot of the small places do that - which is why you deliver it to them with a nearly empty tank.

Also try speed motors in shastri nagar, adyar. I and a bunch of bhpians highly recommend it. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/chenna...r-chennai.html

Actually - I would not recommend Yeahaya for an AC job, as he does not have the equipment. He outsources the same to someone else. I think i will stick with Suresh @ T.Nagar. Yehaya also does not have any equiment to Test the AC setup.

[biju.bala]

Dear Members I had taken my car to ac suresh at kodambakkam and his technician diagnosed it as a leak in the cooling coil. They took me along to a shop nearby and the shopowner quoted Rs.3500 for the cooling coil ( subros make ) it was in a shabby cardboard box without any markings and he was not willing to give a bill. I went out from there and was wondering whether to contact Susee for the spare part when I located a store across the road which also was selling ac parts including subros.He offered the same part in box packing for Rs.2175 ( with bill and 14%vat) . So kindly check prices for the replacement parts quoted. The whole service came to

Rs.1500 - gas filling + refrigerant Oil
Rs.1000- Labour
Rs.2175 - Cooling coil
The staff and team of ac suresh is knowledgeable and seem to have done a good job overall satisfaction level is ok only word of caution is to double check pricing of spare parts quoted. I would also ask Maruti owners to check with Maruti Service masters they have an ac repair package for Rs.4500 which they claim is inclusive of spares.

[greenhorn]

I Had been driving around in my friend's 2005 Wagon R whose AC had turned into a heater. Took it to suresh, where the problem was diagnosed as a problem with the condensor. My friend also decided to change the evaporator as it seemed to be in bad shape (they said it could run for a while longer with a bit of cleaning)

Plus refrigerant & Labour cost 9.5K. Whole work was finished in a few hours. Initially was a bit taken back by the bill, but then i realized that the parts might have cost as much, and my friend had decided to change both the evaporator and the condenser. Very happy with the work - my friend had been offered a quote of 12K by his Bosch FNG with no assurance of fixing the problem, so this was a much better outcome!

[sundarpn]

Any recent experiences with car a/c mechanics in Chennai? I need to get my parent's santro fixed. Cooling is less esp in the heat here...

I am in T Nagar, so I suppose i should go to Mr. Suresh?

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by sundarpn

Any recent experiences with car a/c mechanics in Chennai? I need to get my parent's santro fixed. Cooling is less esp in the heat here...

I am in T Nagar, so I suppose i should go to Mr. Suresh?

yes! I looked at alternatives only because going to T Nagar from south chennai is such a bother!

[klassics45]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

yes! I looked at alternatives only because going to T Nagar from south chennai is such a bother!

You should try the one which is in the street just next to A2B chrompet. They did a satisfying job.

[vijaycool]

I had AC issues in my palio for more than 3 years. It works intermittent and pressure loading cycle is not optimum. AC made worse noise when loaded. One of my friend recommended Sarath car AC mechanic. He is near to the Ascendas IT park Taramani. In the mean time I have procured another ac compressor from scrap market as my compressor was making noise. Dropped the car to him for the work. Estimated work was 12K. He replaced Evaporator (cooling coil), expansion valve, Drier bottle vacuumed and left for hours. In the mean time he started to test the scrap market compressor. He pumped to 350psi and dipped in a bucket of water. After few mins there are tiny air leaks from the seals on the scrap compressor. He said its a gone compressor and he started to test my compressor with the same method after 10 mins inside the bucket there was no leak and passed with flying colors. The reason for the compressor noise was the lack of oil. He used some lubricant to clean the compressor and later filled with oil. Unit was back with new components, 2 350gm refrigerant bottles were used (not the bulk black bottle). It was the moment I was waiting after turning on the compressor, Pressure was consistent from the delivery side, cool air from the grill in just few mins grill temp dropped 4C, another 5 mins compressor cut off at 2.5C . Total bill came to 11K. I am happy that he solved my AC issue permanently.

[greenhorn]

went to suresh last weekend because of reduced cooling in my indica.
Was diagnosed as a blocked evaporator, 4.5K parts + 2.5K Labour.
during testing, they found out that the evaporator needed replacement too. Total cost ended up as 8K
He also fixed the FICD setting, so acceleration is more linear and less jerky. I'm happy

[dennie]

Originally Posted by biju.bala

Dear Members I had taken my car to ac suresh at kodambakkam and his technician diagnosed it as a leak in the cooling coil. They took me along to a shop nearby and the shopowner quoted Rs.3500 for the cooling coil ( subros make ) it was in a shabby cardboard box without any markings and he was not willing to give a bill. I went out from there and was wondering whether to contact Susee for the spare part when I located a store across the road which also was selling ac parts including subros.He offered the same part in box packing for Rs.2175 ( with bill and 14%vat

I went to him last week too and he suggested changing of the cooling coil in my 2003 santro 1.1. He did check the gas pressure and said it was good. However, i asked if it could be just serviced for now. He did the same and charged 2k for labour + gas filling. The cooling has improved since.

I feel the work was worth only about 1k to1.5k. The MRP on the gas bottle was 400 and i doubt if the entire bottle was emptied into my AC. I do get a feeling that i was paying more for the knowledge than for the work. But then again, I dont know what other AC mechanics usually charge or if they do a neat job like this.

The work involved removal and cleaning of the evaporator coil located behind the glove box and cleaning of the same (washed with water only). After refitting, the AC was connected to a vacuum pump and all the air was evacuated. Then, a little oil was added to the system by connecting the pipe to a small measuring jar containing maybe 50 to 80ml of oil. As the system was under vacuum, it sucked it up. Then finally, gas was added to the system.

[srikrish]

Originally Posted by nitrous

Petrol lost must have been during testing. But, if it's 10 or 20 litres, it's a big deal.
Secondly, what old hyundai car is it that required an AC overhaul?
2k is ~10% difference between estimate and invoice. This is ok. It's a different story if he gave you a 25k bill.

Dear nitrous ,

not sure if it was a nexus between my cab driver and suresh
it was a 2001 hyundai santro