Well, the original downstairs Trane 5 ton unit that was put in when the house was built in 1997 finally bit the dust. She had a good 27 year run, but I guess it was time. It was maintaining an OK temp on Friday but not what we have it set at normally, so I had a local AC guy come out that I've used before and was pretty honest and trustworthy. He looked things over and found a small leak that he repaired and then told me that I maybe had a year left on it and that he could add freon (R22) or quote me a new one. Stupidly, I went with the refill hoping I could kick the can down the road a year or two. But came home yesterday to a 77* downstairs, so I got the gun out and it was blowing 75* out of the vents. Tried turning it off and back on, but only the fan was kicking on. It's time.
I had him come back out and quote me a new unit and I could tell he was pissed at himself for it failing so quickly. We had a good chat about different brands and he came back with a quote to replace everything (gas furnace, too).
His quote was $13k all-in with 3 year warranty for parts/labor by him and the 10 year manufacture warranty. He was quoting a 5 ton American Standard unit. He lives in my neighborhood and pass by his house daily.
Had another guy come out and quote me and he quoted $13,800 all in for a Ruud unit. Dude just didn't give me good vibes.
My brother is an electrician and his former neighbor in his fancy gated community (why I went to college I still don't know) owns an HVAC company, and my brother asked if I wanted him to come out and quote me. He put 3 units into my brother's new house (again, why did I go to college?) and did the AC work on my aunt and uncle's new build as well, and he came out and gave me the following:
Replace all with Ruud 5 ton for $10k, or just the outside condenser unit and necessary stuff in the attic for $8100. He said I don't need to replace the furnace, but since it's original, it may be best as it's cheaper to do it all together vs separately. 1 year warranty from him on parts & labor (been doing AC work wince 2001 and bought the company he trained under in 2005) and the 10 year manufacturer warranty. He's even going to throw on a soft start for me for my whole home as a favor to my brother because my brother did the electrical for his whole home for a case of beer...and a pretty big discount on his HVAC work. Barter system is great, isn't it?
So, I guess my biggest question is is AS and an additional 2 year warranty for labor worth $3k? Our upstairs unit was replaced a couple years before we bought the house and is a Ruud and we've had no issues with it (knocks on wood).
I had him come back out and quote me a new unit and I could tell he was pissed at himself for it failing so quickly. We had a good chat about different brands and he came back with a quote to replace everything (gas furnace, too).
His quote was $13k all-in with 3 year warranty for parts/labor by him and the 10 year manufacture warranty. He was quoting a 5 ton American Standard unit. He lives in my neighborhood and pass by his house daily.
Had another guy come out and quote me and he quoted $13,800 all in for a Ruud unit. Dude just didn't give me good vibes.
My brother is an electrician and his former neighbor in his fancy gated community (why I went to college I still don't know) owns an HVAC company, and my brother asked if I wanted him to come out and quote me. He put 3 units into my brother's new house (again, why did I go to college?) and did the AC work on my aunt and uncle's new build as well, and he came out and gave me the following:
Replace all with Ruud 5 ton for $10k, or just the outside condenser unit and necessary stuff in the attic for $8100. He said I don't need to replace the furnace, but since it's original, it may be best as it's cheaper to do it all together vs separately. 1 year warranty from him on parts & labor (been doing AC work wince 2001 and bought the company he trained under in 2005) and the 10 year manufacturer warranty. He's even going to throw on a soft start for me for my whole home as a favor to my brother because my brother did the electrical for his whole home for a case of beer...and a pretty big discount on his HVAC work. Barter system is great, isn't it?
So, I guess my biggest question is is AS and an additional 2 year warranty for labor worth $3k? Our upstairs unit was replaced a couple years before we bought the house and is a Ruud and we've had no issues with it (knocks on wood).