Mitsubishi Repair: 2002 Lancer OZ, needle nose pliers, plastic connector

Question
I broke off plastic piece conecting my A.C./Heater knob to the controller.  So to get heat/AC I have to use a pair of needle nose pliers.  I went to the dealership repair office, thinking it was something simple, and they quoted me $1,000 to replace it.  I told them to go (blank) themselves.  Do they really have to take apart the dash and remove the whole unit to replace the 3 inch plastic connector?  Thanks...

Answer
Darren: Oh I dislike those people that work at a dealership, oh did I say that? :o) Well I do, you broke the piece off, do you have the piece that broke so you can look at it? The fact that you can use needle nose pliers on it to the turn it. To me says there is a piece that should just push onto that part. Why not try a parts store or a junk yard. If nothing else you could find something that might work, just not be from your car like at a junk yard. I don't work that much on Lancer and not one so new. But still that sounds way out in left field but then sometimes these dealership charge a lot of money for labor and don't really seem to want to treat the people so good. I did try to go up on line to see what the piece looked like but didn't have any luck with that. So I guess I would try the parts stores or a junk yard to see if either of those could help you. Might help if you bought yourself a repair manual for your car, most parts stores have them for around $20.00 and that would give you an idea how to replace that part. I do hope this helps you some and good luck! Linda