Nathan Perrine (center), executive director of the Car Care Council, stands with the team at California Smog Repair in Fresno at the launch of the Cool Air Rebate Program in July 2024. Photo via Car Care Council

Central Valley auto shops have been taking advantage of a rebate program that is driving business and saving car owners money, while also helping keep the air cleaner.

The Cool Air Rebate Program, established by national nonprofit Car Care Council, launched in July 2024 in Fresno.

The program offers financial assistance, preventing R-134a emissions — a potent greenhouse gas — from leaking into the environment.

To date, the program has paid more than $789,000 directly to 48 Fresno County auto repair shops for vehicle air conditioning (A/C) repairs, fixing 6,222 vehicles.

If a car is eligible, the Cool Air Rebate Program will pay 90% of the repair costs, with the vehicle owner responsible for the remaining 10% paid to the shop.

In the City of Fresno alone, the program has paid over $654,000 to 32 repair shops, repairing 499 vehicles.

Tulare County received more than $285,000 for 15 shops, repairing 235 vehicles.

Kings County received more than $46,400 for four shops, repairing 43 vehicles.

Madera County received more than $73,500 for four shops, repairing 48 vehicles.

Statewide, the Cool Air Rebate program has funded more than $ 2 million in repairs across nearly 300 shops.

Nathan Perrine, executive director of the Car Care Council, said they were initially unsure of how consumers would respond to the program, as well as participating auto shops trusting they would be paid.

“We had nothing to point to other than an idea. It took some convincing and communicating with shops to provide the necessary comfort,” Perrine said. “Now that we have a track record and a year of operations, we have data to point to when we come to shops that are interested in joining the program.”

Perrine added that it takes shops about four days to receive payment.

He said many shops are proactively advertising the rebate program to their customers, dedicating sections of their website and seeing a benefit.

 

Air quality impacts

Perrine said most people don’t think about air conditioning or refrigerant in regard to air quality.

R-134a refrigerant is in most vehicles on the road, and contains a greenhouse gas chemical that is actually 1,400 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, he said.

Perrine said it’s important for air quality and environmental reasons to address the leaks to prevent harm effects.

“There’s certainly a business benefit to shop owners, there is a benefit to consumers who’ll enjoy a more comfortable ride, and there is a benefit to the air quality in general for the state to keep these chemicals out of the atmosphere,” Perrine said.

Perrine said Fresno was chosen to launch the program because of the demographics, the number of hard working families, its low-income status, and — of course — the heat.

He said having air conditioning in a car is not just a matter of comfort, but in many cases, a matter of health. Children, seniors and the immunocompromised face health threats when cars lack A/C.

Funds are still available for shops to distribute to shops, and plenty of room for consumers to apply and take advantage of the program.

The program is scheduled to sunset on Dec. 31, 2029.

 

Driving revenue

Ricardo Diaz Automotive Repair in Tulare was one of the first shops in the area to participate in the Cool Air Rebate Program when it launched last year.

Owner Ricardo Diaz first heard about the program after receiving an email inviting them to apply.

He recognized that it could help his shop and community and decided to apply.

Diaz said one of the challenges the shop faced in trying to maintain a successful business was a lack of affluent customers.

“There’s a lot of people in my area who could not afford me. Getting on a program like this, we were able to provide quality service to our residents, to the people in our county. It fulfills me to be able to be involved with the whole community, not just the one subsection that could afford us,” Diaz said.

Since participating in the program, the shop has added customers, and though they might not be repeat customers because the service is paid for, they tell their friends and family about the program, which leads to more customers.

Diaz said the shop is seeing a solid five to 10 program customers a week, which is enough to pay the bills and staff.

The program is not only helping out the quality of cars, but the quality of families’ lives.

Diaz said one customer told him he felt like he was a bad father because he didn’t have air conditioning in his car.

The father would work out in the sun, and was not able to give his kids attention until an hour or two after coming home and cooling down.

After his A/C was fixed, he was able to cool down on his way home from work and spend more time with his kids.

“There is a sense of accomplishment helping the community,” Diaz said. “Once you start to see the impact it has on the community, that’s big for shop owners. But the bottom line is that right now it is providing a lot of stability for shops that do the work right.”

 

Investment in health

Another shop participating in the rebate program is A-Tech Auto Repair in Fresno on Clark Street near McKinley Avenue.

Owner Wilfredo Celedon said he signed up for the program about a week or two after it launched.

He said the shop has been seeing about three or four customers a week for the rebate program.

He said May to October is a busy time for A/C work as more people travel and want to keep their families cool.

“I tell people, ‘it’s better to see if you qualify because I don’t want you to carry your family when its 104 degrees,’” Celedon said. “People can get sick and then they’re going to have to be spending more money.”