2010 Ram 1500. 154,000 miles. Truck has been pretty good to me so far. I plan on keeping it going a little longer.

AC just blowing air now. Took it to Bellaire Tire and Service in Houston. They say the evaporator needs to be replaced. They gave me a quote for OEM part and aftermarket. Approx $2200 OEM, $1650 aftermarket.

Question is, are there actual auto AC experts or places that have more specialized service for these issues/replacement? Since it involves removing the entire dash, I didn't know if I should be looking for a more specialized shop.

No matter who does it, I'm going to have the heater coil and a couple blend door actuators replaced while the dash is out too.

Monday crowd, should I be taking it to a AC specialist place or regular mechanic is fine? Located in SW Houston, if anybody has any recommendations.

A regular mechanic, that does AC work, shouldn't have an issue doing the job.

You don't need a specialist.

Are you asking because you are wondering if different techs work on the same car? As in, one guy will take out the dash, the AC guy comes in, and then the other tech puts the dash back in?

If so, I don't know any shops that work like that outside of restoration outfits I use. For that, there may be specialized guys, but for generally auto mechanic shops, the AC guy will handle it all. No specialized shop needed. Plus, that technician has probably done that job once or a million times.

I was just asking if a shop that specializes in AC stuff would be more efficient and careful than a typical mechanic shop.. Since the entire dash needs to come off, I was wondering if the AC shop would may have more experience doing removing the dash and whatever else versus a mechanic shop. Google says find an AC shop for that reason. That's why I wanted to ask the auto board bc you guys know stuff too.

Thanks!