my 2003.5 sedan blows only warn air at the first time on after winter. Infiniti dealer told me it needs a new compressor and belt for $1400.

Did I hear right? the compressor alone costs $1150 with labor?
what is my alternatives to get it fixed??
Thanks in advance for your suggestion.

 

Sounds about right for a dealer quote. Look around for a reliable local shop that might be able to do it cheaper. Unfortunately A/C isn't cheap to work on.

 

Paid that much to actually have an entire A/C unit installed in my last car.

 

obviously you won't get this work done at a dealer. a dealer quote will give you a frame of reference, but you would never have the actual work done by them. go to an independent shop that specializes in Japanese OR air conditioning work. there must be a bunch of those in NJ.

my dealer charges $140/hr, and uses the book times for labour times. the independent shop i go to charges $85/hr and gives flat rate labour that is reasonable, in my estimation, to what the actual job takes. also, aftermarket parts are often far cheaper and equal or higher qualitty to OEM parts.

 

^^ +10

 

Why don't you try getting your AC recharged first, its about $70... are you sure they need to be replaced?

 

If the A/C needs recharging then there is most likely a leak. Doing a recharge without pulling a high vacuum first could trap moisture and cause further damage...it's usually how the A/C compressor craps the bed anyway.

Moisture is bad in A/C systems...and any suspected leaks must be tracked down and fixed. A/C repair is an art, and the high vacuum pumps are hard to come by to do the job at home properly. There's more to it than joe blow charging $75+ to add two cans of $6 R134a to the system.

I 2nd taking it to an independant A/C repair shop. Dealer prices are dealer prices. I find it funny they are charging you $250 for the belt job.