AVOID CT!! I took my van to Cdn Tire on June 19, 2018 to have the air conditioning system evaluated by the store's air conditioning 'specialist'. I had been in the week before but was told that the mechanic who specialized in working with A/C wouldn't be in until the next week.
I arrived at 11 am. After waiting awhile, the van was taken into the shop. Shortly after that, the automotive manager told me that the A/C pump/compressor was not working and that it would cost about $1100 to fix it. I asked them if they were sure, after which they took me underneath my van on the hoist to show me the pump but it may as well have been the exhaust as far as I was concerned. I had no idea what to look for regarding a faulty compressor.
Over the next half hour, I asked the manager to find out if there was a less expensive alternative, supposedly checked around, then assured me the compressor would not cost less anywhere else and their labour cost would be less than most shops. Finally I agreed to go ahead with the repair as summer was coming and I would need the A/C. I think the compressor was ordered between 11:45 am and 12 noon, arriving sometime in the next little while, perhaps 12:30 pm or so. Before 1:30 pm the car was finished and the repair paid for on my credit card. The bill came to $1142.91 which included the compressor for $684.65 plus 1.6 hours (cost $158.40) for replacing the part plus the SAME 1.6 hours (cost $158.40) for recharging the A/C system and another $19.04 for shop supplies. The balance of $122.45 was GST & PST. Double charged for the 1.6 hours the car was being worked on in their shop.
I drove away not checking the A/C first, which was a huge mistake as I would learn later. Over the following weeks, the weather was mostly cool and often wet. Whenever I tried the A/C, it only blew slightly cool air, never cold. When I had time, I took the car back to CT.
The A/C mechanic 'checked' the van again and the new automotive manager told me that now the condenser needed replacement for $573. I said that it is now blowing exactly as it was when I brought it in, that most likely it was misdiagnosed and it was the condenser that needed replacing in the first place. He told me to speak to the store mgr, Max, which I did, but to no avail. I have subsequently filed a complaint with the BBB and am awaiting the results of that. I have also called the customer service at Cdn Tire head office and am awaiting a return call.
In the meantime, after spending $1142 for nothing, the outside temperature has been as high as 34C and all I get from the A/C is warm or sometimes, hot air. They made a serious mistake and do not want to refund my money or do anything to fix the problem, except try to charge me another $573.
This same store had previously made a potentially very expensive mistake on 4 ALL WEATHER tires I had ordered through them, which they installed for me. When I went out to drive away, fortunately, I checked all four tires, looking for the snowflake emblem, which indicates the tires are rated for winter driving in snow. There was no snowflake on any of the 4 tires. When I spoke to the employee at the desk, he told me I must be mistaken. When he came out, checked the tires and saw no snowflake, he actually said " The snowflake must be on the inside of the tires." I asked him if he really thought that a police officer would be willing to get down on his hands and knees in the snow to check under the car at the inside of the tires to see if the snowflake was there. I said if the snowflake is not there, I would be fined and turned back from driving through any area that had snow. Both events would be costly.
The manager also checked the tires and even showed me another All Weather tire of the same brand, but with the snowflake. The upshot of it all was, that even though CT had a part number as did the supplier, that in reality, there was no All Weather tire of the size required for my van. Fortunately, the tires on my van were replaced with a different brand of All Weather for the same price as I had already paid.