Cliff notes:
Tiny, jack-of-all-trades auto shop fixes my car in less than 24 hours and charges 40% of what Midas or Meineke quoted.
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It's the hottest summer I can remember in Texas. Everyday, i'm watching the thermometer and waiting for the round end to explode, a la Looney Toons. In fact, it's the worst possible time of year to get into your car, turn it on, and sail home on a Friday afternoon only to find....
...that your car is BLOWING HOT AIR AT YOU. Just as you run into the standard downtown/35 stop 'n' go. Jesus God NO.
What could it be? The compressor? The cooling fan? Maybe I'll get lucky and my coolant hose just sprung a leak! That's like $30 to fix!
I took it to Meineke, and they pointed out that my compressor was toast. It's an $1800 part (aftermarket! OEM was $2600!), plus labor, of course. I was looking at somewhere in the realm of $2600, if I wanted to enjoy my hoopty's sweet Eskimo breezes again.
Enter JCO Auto Sales. A friend told me that they were 'her guys' -- good enough. I got just north of the 635 loop and found them. Chris Bravo, the owner, took a look at my car, broke out a blueprint, circled what could be wrong, and checked it out with me there. He quoted me a $750 job, and like the proverbial fat man at a cake party, I jumped on it.
Sure enough, I'm iceboxed again, 36 hours later. How was it so cheap? Well, whereas bigger companies quote you with all-new parts, JCO Auto sees my 100k+ mile ride and knows that used parts will do me just fine. Not to mention that competition for auto repair in that area is extremely stiff!!
Chris Bravo, today's savior. Go see him. read more