I have a 2003 Mitsubishi Galant ES (4 cyl) on which the heat/defroster stopped working in the spring. My mechanic tried to flush the hoses into the heater core, had no luck, and determined that the whole heater core needs to be replaced. He quoted me $776–does this sound like a fair price? My boyfriend and I are going to try to replace it ourselves, but I was curious about the quote in case we can’t do it! Does anyone have experience replacing heater cores and could provide us some sage advice?
How Much Car Repair Experience Do The Two Of You Have ? This Is Not A Good Beginner’s-Level DIY Car Repair Project, In My Opinion.
My information shows removing all kinds of things including the console, instrument cluster, air bag, lower steering column, instrument panel, heater case, wiring connections, etcetera, etcetera.
There’s a reason the mechanic estimates this at $776 and I’ll bet he/she isn’t looking forward to it and I’d bet that every bit of the price is earned.
Here’s the problem. If you tear into it and can’t quite do it then you’ll have a car that’s not driveable and a repair that the mechanic will probably not want to take over where you left off.
Another thing is that if you pay to have it done then you can rightfully expect everything to work after the work is done. Do it yourself and you’re stuck with any problems.
CSA