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

Pretty sure they need a permit and the county does a post sale inspection so it can't be too bad.
Not in the counties in central Florida! My AC was inspected when the house was build in 1979 but the AC compressor and evaporator was been replaced about ten years and no permit or inspection was required. Also I added in a minisplit AC just over a year ago (by a licensed dealer) about a year ago and no permit or inspection was required. The AC installer even had a licensed electrician install a new 220 VAC line for that system and again no permit or inspection was required. I went and checked the building code myself and IIRC it only required a permit if you were installing a complete central AC system. My reading was that even if you're replacing major parts of the MAIN AC system, you're not required to get a permit or inspection and there is no permit or inspection needed for a secondary system even when installing a COMPLETE system.

There's no way in hell that your 2015 system should be rusted out! Either your service guy is lying like hell or you have a very S**** system. I'm still using the original 1979 evaporator in my system and it doesn't look anything like that.

Also in Florida, the inspectors don't look at the quality of the work, they just look to see if certain required items have been done. The most outrageous example to me was prior to Hurricane Andrew when the S Florida building code required hurricane straps "be installed" but didn't require them to by nailed in! The inspectors passed tens of thousands of houses that didn't have the straps nailed in and during Hurricane Andrew thousands of house lost their roofs because of that omission.

When I added onto my house a few years ago, the "electrical inspection" consisted on the inspector coming out and plugging a tester into ONE outlet in the addition to see if the ground was wired up and the two poles were not reversed. That was it. He didn't look inside of any of the electrical boxes, or at any of the wiring or how the wiring had been added to the circuit breaker box or run to the new addition. Nothing, just that one test that anyone cound have done with a $1.99 tester from HF.

Don't even imagine that a city or county inspection is going to look for poor workmanship, poor quality or anything else. They're not!
 
I just remember that after the new system was installed in 2015, the a/c company repeatedly asked me to allow the county inspector in to sign off on the install.
 
Don't even imagine that a city or county inspection is going to look for poor workmanship, poor quality or anything else. They're not!

My limited experience is that they tend to be a little more stringent when the homeowner is present for the inspection. Especially when such homeowner seems to know a little about the code requirements...
 
That's all good but you still pay $500-$1000 for labor and freon to replace the part.
I have a service contract for my two Trane heat pumps and I believe as long as I keep the service contract then the labor is free to replace any part under warranty.

Now after 10 year one hopes and prays.
 
By service contract you mean they come out every 6 months for $100-$200 a visit to check and clean the filters and if you miss one inspection the warranty is void?
 
By service contract you mean they come out every 6 months for $100-$200 a visit to check and clean the filters and if you miss one inspection the warranty is void?
They can't void your warranty from not having a PM done. Warranty is through the manufacturer not the service company.
 
Well I have read through the entire thread. 3K for coil replacement is not a rip off but is definately on the high side of cost range. The company that wrote the estimate on the scrap paper does need to present itself better.
 
By service contract you mean they come out every 6 months for $100-$200 a visit to check and clean the filters and if you miss one inspection the warranty is void?
I pay about $300 a year for the service contract. It covers two visits and regular air filters. The filter for the Aprilaire media box filter is at cost.

And labor for any part on the Trane heat pumps. Obviously if some duct needed repair that would be extra.

The company is employee owned.

Having a service contract puts you in a relationship with an HVAC company. That helps when it's 100 degrees out on the evening of July 3rd and A/C breaks. The HVAC company will come to repair your HVAC in a reasonable amount of time vs next available appointment.
 
Having a service contract puts you in a relationship with an HVAC company. That helps when it's 100 degrees out on the evening of July 3rd and A/C breaks. The HVAC company will come to repair your HVAC in a reasonable amount of time vs next available appointment.

That's why I keep spare window units around.
 
I pay about $300 a year for the service contract. It covers two visits and regular air filters. The filter for the Aprilaire media box filter is at cost.

And labor for any part on the Trane heat pumps. Obviously if some duct needed repair that would be extra.

The company is employee owned.

Having a service contract puts you in a relationship with an HVAC company. That helps when it's 100 degrees out on the evening of July 3rd and A/C breaks. The HVAC company will come to repair your HVAC in a reasonable amount of time vs next available appointment.

I don't need a relationship with an HVAC company...
 
In this day and age, jmoymmv, hand written like that is a lack of seriousness and professionalism.

Also, what are the chances the contractor is even going to be in business 2 years from now if the system breaks?

I’ve dealt with a 2 man operation for repair and troubleshooting when I had the then 17 yo system. He had so many great reviews I had to try. Always had to wait at least 2 weeks since he was booked. I asked him about replacing the condenser at the time and he threw out a number $7000+. I ultimately spent 2x that. But with a co that has been around since 1971. There’s way more chance that they’ll be around 2030 when my system is 10.

I like to support the one man operations especially with simple jobs, but not for 4-5 figures…
 
I had a new HVAC system installed in February. The original system was 22 years old and it was time. I don’t have the receipt, but it was around $8000. It was a new 2 ton unit outdoor unit with a new gas furnace in the attic. It included a new supply duct in an upstairs bedroom that would get too warm and some new ductwork.

The labor costs nearly as much as the equipment. They had 3 guys working for a few hours, and 2 guys remained for nearly 10 full hours for the install. Permits were filed by them and an inspector came the next day.
 
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