On Wednesday 7/1/09 the air conditioner on our 1997 Jeep Wrangler
stopped working on a road trip from Colorado to California. We stopped
in Richfield and went to your shop on Thursday morning to have it
repaired. Your service department replaced the air conditioner for $550
and sent us on our way. Two (2) hours down the road around St. George
the a/c stopped working again and we saw smoke from under the hood. We
called your shop and asked what they could do. We were told that
"although it was inconvenient there was nothing Classic could do." The
Service Manager (Jeremy) said it wasn't Classic's fault that the part
failed. He told us the best we could do was go to a Checker where
Classic got the a/c compressor and ask them for a replacement. As it
turned out Checker didn't have any replacements and wouldn't honor the
warranty anyway (more on that later). After much arguing we were told we
should just drive without a/c and we'd be fine. Keep in mind it was 100
degrees and we had 2 children, the youngest one 6 years old driving with
us (Jeremy knew this, and I reminded him again). After finding out
Classic didn't care and wouldn't help us we decided not to continue on
through the desert (where it was even hotter) to California and instead
turned back towards Colorado. We made it to Grand Junction where we
heard a loud squealing/screeching sound followed by a pop. Upon
inspection we found the a/c had seized and broke the serpentine belt
that runs everything. We had to do a side of the road repair, using a
shorter belt to bypass the a/c that cost another $60. From there we made
it back home to Colorado, late Friday night. Shops were closed on
Saturday for 4th of July but Checker was open. I asked if they would
honor the warranty on the a/c compressor, showed them the receipt from
Classic, and they told me they couldn't do anything because the part was
purchased on a commercial account and more importantly other critical
components mandatory for supporting the warranty were not purchased (by
Classic). So, although the compressor was Checker's the work was done
incorrectly causing another a/c failure and further damage. We called
our bank and they told us we could dispute the charges if another shop
confirmed the a/c compressor (installed by Classic) failed. We took the
Jeep in to a local shop on Sunday. Upon inspection they confirmed that
the a/c compressor was seized. They also found that although the a/c
compressor was replaced, the other critical/mandatory components indeed
had not been replaced. We were told that metal shavings would have
worked their way through the system after the first a/c compressor
failed and that the system should have been purged and the accumulator
and orifice tube should have been replaced along with the compressor.
Now that a 2nd compressor failed (and seized), it would take even more
work to fix. The estimate was $1700. We're asking for our money back
from Classic and have already told Jeremy (Service Manager) that we are
contesting the charges with our bank and will pursue a lawsuit if
necessary. Is it worth it for you to fight? If so, then we're prepared.
Again, our bank said all we have to do is provide proof that the part(s)
you replaced failed.