Maruti Zen

Don't worry about warranty - just make sure that they do a good job, preferably in your presence. I had compressor failure once in my car - I bought a new compressor and had the guy fit it and refill gas right in front of me - that was a year and a half back and till date no problems. Before the compressor failed, visiting the AC mechanic was more or less a regular affair! Also study how the car's AC system works and what the key parts are (compressor, condensor coil, evaporator coil, dessicator, pressure switch) and you should be able to pinch and poke them as needed .

If you are still in the predicament , I have been there before.

Mine is a 1997 Zen. During a chassis overhaul in 2009, my A/C regrigerant was leaked out and I had to spend 8k for refitting the A/C for the new regrigerant on top of the 20 K I spent on the chassis.

On hindsight I do not repent as the A/C has been working fine last 2 summers.

The cost mentioned by you for the A/C refittment seems high. I got it done at a renowned Maruti service station in Delhi for 8K. (I think I was told there is a 6 months warranty on the bill)

Mine has run 85k and still plan to renew the fitness as I feel the maintenance costs do not warrant a new car.... Considering the 28K I spent 2 years ago has held me in good stead for 2 years.

I recommend getting it done at an authorised service station....

Thanks Adarsh. Currently I am using the car without the a/c. In fact I removed everything (including the faulty compressor, tubes, condenser etc) and kept it safely.

Even Maruti authorized service centre recommended me to go to the same place who gave me the best quotation (they are best technically also). MASS also does not give warranty. Probably in Delhi the situation may be different since the manufacturers of the A/C and it parts are located somewhere nearby.

Also, MASS quoted a much higher price.

By the way, in my case I need to change the compressor (which is faulty)and upgrade from R12 to R134 refrigerant which also involves some parts like tubes etc. Here the compressor itself costs 12K (that is the best quote I got, some quoted above 15K). This is Delphi compressor and we have to replace only by Delphi according to them, else it will not fit properly. So compressor plus the upgarde plus labour will be more than 20K here.

In the whole of India (maybe Asia), labour charges are the highest in Kerala.

Tomy

Hmm... Yes then that seems a fair price given the compressor change....

But yes cannot vouch without a warranty. But given the economics of maintaining a zen, I would have still gone for it given its a 2001 model.

I am from God's own country too where the PPP is much on the lower side