Last Friday my A/C stopped blowing cold air, but everything seemed to be working. I checked everything I could going thru a Time Life book, but stopped short of messing with the compressor. I called in the company I have my service agreement with for the past 5 years to check it out. He told me that my 15 year old Carrier model 38TGA024 was too old and should be replaced. He said the wires to the contactor from the compressor was burnt up and did not know what caused it and believe it was age. He recommended replacing the complete unit for a cost of $8,414. for an American Standard model 4A7A6024, new evaporator coil and new gas furnace model AUY060R9V3W. I asked if it could be repaired and he reluctantly said that he could strip the wires and replace the contactor for over $200+ with no warranty and not gauranteed to work -- I opted for this since I cannot afford $8,414. The unit now works, but his bill was $305. for the short time he was here ($94. diagnostic / $121. 30 Amp Contactor pole / $90. repairs. I checked the contactor on the web and it retails for $35.00. Since I have a service contract with this company, I am told that I am receiving a 10 percent discount. Even the $8,414. quoted has a 10 percent discount. Am I being ripped off? I live in the Northern Virginia area and wondering if it was even worth it having a service maintenance agreement especially when they checked out at the end of Mar 06. Comments anyone? Thanks!

 

If you were paying for a maintenance contract on the unit, the repair shouldn't have cost anything. I would find a new HVAC company and might consider reporting that one to the BBB.

Service in this area usually starts with around a $90 base charge (to pull into your driveway), but includes diagnostics. The part should be the only other charge and $121 should have gotten you a whole new contactor.

One company I had used for years made the mistake of telling me I should replace a 3 y/o unit because the brand was nothing but trouble. I replaced the HVAC company instead and haven't had a single problem since.

Doug M.

 

The price is a little on the steep side, but I would be hesitant as a contractor to warranty the work either. 15 years is the end of it's useful life.

Contractors don't like to put there hands into something that old because a lot of homeowners "not saying you are the type" want to blame every following failure on the repair that was made.

When you feel it's in budget to replace it get at least 3 bids on the job from well established contractors and have each one do a load/loss calculation to properly size the equipment.

 

Thanks for all your feedback. I do know that I need to replace the system soon, but don't have the funds right now. I will get a couple other bids before making a decision and may ask your opinion again. Is the $8,414.00 to replace the system too much? I noticed on a couple other posts that the numbers were much lower for a 2 ton system. Thanks all!

 

If all they are replacing is the indoor & outdoor units (maybe copper lines too) that price is outrageous. Make sure all quotes specify what equipment is to be used & what other work is to be done.

 

The 8G quote is high. One of the reasons it's high is because they quoted you very good equipment. The airhandler a 2 stage variable speed and the outdoor unit is a 16seer w/scroll compressor running on R410 refrigerant. You can't get much better than that and A/S in my opinion makes some of the best equipment.

I also have a question that may be causing the quote to be high. Where is your existing equipment located ?? Also what part of the country are you in?

You can get the price down conciderably by going with a single stage furnace with a standard blower and on the outdoor unit going 13 seer will cut the costs down a lot also. But remember when you do this you wont get the energy savings you will with the quoted equipment.

 

Its a lot in where you are as to the cost of the job. Boy wish we could get that for a 2ton AC and gas furnace. Although about all we sell are heatpumps.You can go to www.warmair.net and compare fuel cost for where you are. Also most companys here will just forget the first service call if they sell you a whole new furnace and AC.
I dont know about the rest here but the R410a its cost is just to high for now we stay with R22. It will still be made till 2030.

ED

 

I too would stay with R-22 myself untill the new wears off of R-410.

 

I live in Northern Virginia. The furnace is located in my utility room on the bottom floor at the back of my home and the A/C unit is located on the outside of the utility room (less than 3 feet away). The technician told me that if I got this equipment, my utility cost savings will be about 50 percent - my utility bills are normally pretty low since I normally keep the A/C at 78 degrees and heat at 70 degrees in the winter. Would a Trane '2-stage variable speed' cost this much?