Home A/C repair or replacement, I'm I getting ripped off?

[Elkins45]

I had this cheap system installed in 2015 and it came with a 10 year parts warranty.

Product Registration | Warranty | Tempstar®

Register your Tempstar® product and protect your home comfort investment with exceptional warranties that give you additional comfort.

www.dayandnightcomfort.com

Our Tempstar system installed in 2020 came with a 10 year parts warranty as well.

 

[hrv]

When my house was built in 1998 they installed a Goodman HVAC then it was r22. It lasted till 2018 and had a Carrier HVAC installed..I was told by the installer that dont expect that long of service from the newer HVAC like the old Goodman..He said if you get 10 to 12 years out of the newer ones you are doing good...

 

[CDX825]

That's just for a compressor. Nobody gives a 10 year warranty on anything else.

10 year parts warranty covers everything including the coil if its leaking. Pretty much everyone has had 10 year warranty on parts for awhile now. The only thing it doesn't cover is labor.

 

[97prizm]

If it's toast, try Amazon or home depot. Have a company come out that can install. So far my parents had a Goodman installed and it's held up well.

 

[Nukeman7]

View attachment 142540

Here is my question: What the heck is that bottle of Clorox bleach doing sitting on top of the air handler unit??? Could the HVAC technician have artificially created the rust on the evaporator coil assembly by applying bleach onto the assembly? One of the industry precautions is to avoid installing air handlers near laundry washing machines due to the corrosive effect of bleach fumes on the HVAC assemblies that draws air from the adjacent spaces.

 

[Aredeeem]

^^ This:

Any contractor that doesn't give an estimate on a company form with license number proudly shown should be avoided at all costs.

Agreed. That looks like a ransom note.

 

[skyactiv]

Evaporated coils come precharged from the factory.

 

[zzyzzx]

I'd say be prepared to be ripped off since contractors are still super busy, especially in SW Florida, I should think. I would not want to be an absentee landlord.

 

[twouvakind]

@atikovi just find the bar napkin the warranty is scribbled on, that will clear everything up.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

One of my jobs at work is designing HVAC systems - Commerical/Industrial.

We've had a couple of pretty small/simple projects lately where I was handed the quotes for the two jobs I designed.


One was a 2.5T split system heat pump, basic equipment, with sheet metal ductwork in a small office environment. A real basic commercial system. I'd say it was a high-end residential system 25 years ago with sheet metal ductwork.

$32k, $36k were the quotes.

The other is an office renovation with some re-working of some existing exposed round spiral duct, two new packaged rooftop systems, 2 ton and 4 ton with exposed spiral ductwork, 4 toilet exhaust fans and a 1.5T high-wall mini-split.

$106k, $102k were the quotes.

 

[ZX11Rebel]

Atikovi, Is that a Lennox coil? (Look up Lennox coil lawsuit) They are notorious for failing early. I know this personally, because the Lennox coil in my hangar apartment a/c handler failed in less than 8 years. Lennox is/was using thin copper tubing in their coils. They would develop galvanic corrosion from contact with the evaporator “fins”. This would cause pinholes in the tubing. Combined with R-410a pressures that are almost twice what R-22 was, early leakage failure was guaranteed. Copper tubing for a/c systems used to be much thicker and could withstand corrosion much better. Of course when mine failed, Lennox told me “Too bad, So Sad!”!

 

[atikovi]

Yes Lennox.

 

[snarl]

What is the bleach for?

 

[EA82]

In 2015 all major manufacturers had 10 year warranty on all parts not just the compressor, if it was registered and you are the original owner. Otherwise you only get 5 year warranty.

 

[Nukeman7]

Yes Lennox.

Atikovi, you might be in luck if you can prove the registration requirements were met. Dave Lennox's Signature line equipment has a 10 year warranty and the lower level Elite and Merit line's parts warranties were extended from 5 to 10 years (likely due to the lawsuit settlement).

Lennox Parts Warranty Extended

 

[hrv]

I'd say be prepared to be ripped off since contractors are still super busy, especially in SW Florida, I should think. I would not want to be an absentee landlord.

YUP.. Kind of like wanting a roof replaced after a storm...

 

[SC Maintenance]

YUP.. Kind of like wanting a roof replaced after a storm...

There was a Lehto's law segment about roofers from out of state being fine for operating in Florida without a license after the hurricane. Obviously you want to make sure unscrupulous contractors don't come in and take advantage of someone in a disaster, but the result is you pay double what the rest of us pay after something like this.

 

[atikovi]

Had a second company come out and they added freon and leak check dye. They will come back in a few days. Tenant says the air is nice and cold for now, but the tech was there for 2 hours, not the 3.5 on the bill. Assume the finding of the leaks when he comes back is included. $1,050 for this. Reasonable?

 

[Dave P.]

Many years ago, one of the local TV News shows in NYC did an investigative report looking to catch dishonest appliance repairmen. In this particular segment, they took a central A/C unit and just disconnected a wire that shut the system down but would be very obvious to even the most basic repairmen. Then they had the lady of the house call various repairmen. When they would show up, she would say basically it was working fine, it just stopped all of a sudden, the unit is on the side of the house but I have something on the stove right now. So, take a look at it and just knock when you're done. Out of the ten they called, most were honest. Some reattached the wire and did not charge anything. Others fixed it but still had a basic charge. One guy however, took it to the next level. He urinated all around at the base of the A/C unit and then went and told the homeowner that she had a leak in the system and it would cost approx. $2000 to fix it.
Of course, all these inspections were caught on hidden cameras and the reporter would literally come out from hiding in the bushes and present the video evidence to the lying, stealing cheats. Good television!

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

Had a second company come out and they added freon and leak check dye. They will come back in a few days. Tenant says the air is nice and cold for now, but the tech was there for 2 hours, not the 3.5 on the bill. Assume the finding of the leaks when he comes back is included. $1,050 for this. Reasonable?

You're paying for drive time. I don't see the customary $125+ service call charge.

I also suspect that the re-check fee is included.

You live in the wealthiest freakin' area of the United States. I assume you're benefiting from the area's wealth and we can all agree on where that wealth comes from. It's not like it's from hard work...

Good HVAC techs are commanding $50-70/hour today. You know why? Because no one wants their kid to go to trade school to learn how to fix anything.