Chrysler Repair: 2000 Chrysler Sebring Sedan LHS, r s strauss, radiator shop

Question
I was driving my Chrysler yesterday and there are three vents on the inside of the car by the bottom of the windshield but on the inside at the dashboard,I think these are exhaust vents. The middle vent is a circle and the other are long and slanted. The middle circle all of sudden had smoked and it smelled like anti-freezr burning. I was very far away from my house at the time so I stopped by a local gas station and the gas attendant was an idiot,but there was this guy BOB he said it might be a heater cord,heater something and the car was okay to get me home but not to turn off the heat or exhaust in the car or the car might have bigger troubles he also suggested that I should seek some advice on what it is. I went to R & S Strauss last night and he not only wanted fifty dollars to tell me what the problem is but quoted me sight unseen a cost of six hundred dollard to fix it. Any suggestions to what the problem is and how much time you feel I have to repair it?

Answer
Drop by a reputable radiator shop and ask them to pressure test your cooling system. It will indicate if there is a leak or not. The situation you described could be a leaking heater core, but could also be a plugged condensation drain line. The latter would be just a matter of opening up the drain by removing some debris. The replacement of the heater core is another story. The a.c. system has to be emptied and the car's dash has to be removed. It's quite a job. It would take approx. 4 hours. A radiator shop is better equipped and more knowledable than a small garage to do this work, and are usually cheaper as well.