I am a 66 year old retired grandmother. My unit froze last night. I called an HVAC business today. My carrier unit is 5 years old. He told me I needed a $999.99 motor!! Is this anywhere in the realm of reality??? I have a feeling that I am being taken advantage of. AM I? I didn't see the old motor or the new one. He didn't ask me if I wanted the old one. I just can't shake this feeling! All he did was replace a motor. At least I guess he did. My AC's are up in the attic. You have to go up there to change the filters. He took something out the door. I went outside to see what was wrong. All I saw was a piece of equipment where the motor had been taken out. He said he brought it outside where his tools were. Someone please help!! Should I call and ask for my old motor back. Will they have that motor fixed and sell it to someone else? I wonder if I got a NEW motor. Something just isn't right! What should I do??

 

Prices are high these days & it's possible that's what it cost. Apparently, you didn't tell him that you wanted an estimate first. So we really don't know if you were cheated or not. You can call another HVAC repair company & ask them if a new motor was actually installed. You can also call the local dept of consumer affairs & ask them if they have any complaints against them.

Always do your negotiation ahead of time.

 

Welcome to the forums.

Yes..... that price is a real possibility. Some of those high efficiency Carrier units use electronic variable speed blower motors.

You should have requested an estimate.
You should have received an estimate.
The old parts should have been left behind.

At this point..... you should call the company you used and ask to talk to a manger or the owner.

At the very least.... you should have a bill in your hand with the motor part number on it.
Was the motor 999.99 and then you paid labor on top of that ?

 

I considered it an emergency repair. I live alone. This is the part # that is on the receipt:
Carrier HD42AE230 . My carrier model number is FX4CNFO18TOOAAAA/1909A70185. The number after the slash is the serial number. The receipt says B/M (blower & module?) $850.00

The guy also told me I really should have washable filters. For both AC's that was $50. Plus a diagnostic fee of $99. The total was $999.00. The washable filters made sense to me. The filters are an odd shape. You can't just walk into a Home Depot and get them. They are like 13 1/2 X 21 1/2 X 1 . You can buy these online, but I've never found them in any place that sells AC filters.

I just called the Manager at the HVAC. I wasn't angry. I was polite. I told him I just had this feeling that something wasn't right. Boy! HE GOT MAD! He started accusing me of saying he was a crook. I never said he was a crook. I just said that I had a "feeling" that something wasn't quite right. I asked him if I could have my old motor. He said, "Yes, you can have your motor back! I'll come snatch the new one out as well. You can call someone else to do the job!" Lordy, I sure wasn't expecting that. I did tell the repairman that I would never use their service again. I, at no time, expressed anger. I just said it matter of factly.

The guy did tell me how much it would cost. I just felt I had no choice. He told me that I could call someone else, but they would charge me another diagnostic fee. That I would end up paying more if I did. So, I let him do it. I looked up carrier blower motors at a Carrier site on line. I looked at the prices of all the motors shown and none of them came anywhere close to $850.

They said they would bring my old motor back to me. If you think I paid a reasonable price, OK. I just needed to know that I wasn't taken advantage of. Its happened to me before. Not with an AC motor, but with other things I have bought. I feel at a real disadvantage when buying things I have no knowledge of. I still find it hard to believe that an electrical motor costs $850!

Thank you for replying to me. Any more thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

Kindest regards,
Linda

 

Linda, if the motor was a variable speed ECM motor, it could easily cost $850. I have an ECM motor in my York furnace. It failed last January in the dead of winter. Fortunately, the furnace had a 10 year parts & labor warranty. The technician who replaced the motor said that their cost was over $1000. So, it is possible that what they charged you was fair. It all depends upon what type of motor it was that that they replaced.

 

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Well it seems like grandma didn't get ripped off after all.

 

Maybe you didn't call him a crook but the "feeling" that you had might have shown it. Either way, don't worry about. The next time you need any repairs on anything, ask all your questions first even if you ask here. The fact that you considered it an emergency put you at a disadvantage. Living without AC for a day, isn't really an emergency. Living without running water would be more of an emergency.