BritGuyTN

thats his opinon

looking at prices actually tells you what whats cheaper or not

Bill_S

I agree with all of the above. Get new quotes. Can you get recommendations for HVAC contractors from friends/neighbors/co-workers? Good equipment is part of the equation, a good installation job is the other part. Make sure they do a manual J load calculation.

And $500 for coil cleaning? LOL... maybe for a 10-floor office building.

bevinva

If you have ductboard duct it can't be cleaned and may have been used in the past 10 years. Hubby thinks it sounds like a rip off, he can't imagine why the coil would need to be removed. Having a heatload calculation on your house will tell you what size unit is needed. I hate to say people are trying to rip you off but remember there is an economic slowdown and people are not taking out home equity loans and improving their homes like they were. You might be seen as a person with deep pockets and health concerns, they could be playing on that.

Good luck, get more quotes and always act like this is the first one you've asked for.

bevinva

I must just mention this in regard to installation costs. A customer of my husbands looked online to purchase his own unit, yes you can buy one that way but you may have trouble finding someone to put it in. While I agree some installation costs are high, HVAC people have to do a lot of training to get their EPA certification. So just as you pay the IT guy for his knowledge, you pay the HVAC guy, just don't pay him too much.

BritGuyTN

Yes they do, but its not equivalent to a lawyer or doctor

when anyone apart from the above want more than $100 an hour they can get stuffed

And since it takes less than a day to swap out a unit for a tech + helper the HVAC companies can suck it if they want more than $1200-1500 for installation

BritGuyTN

As you mentioned, new construction is down

if you are prepared to offer the cash not many people are brave enough to turn it down...

bevinva

The techs wish they made that much! You're right a person on their own can charge thousands less and make a living.

That job was before the slowdown and the customer did not buy his own unit in the end. Cash is always good but rip off artists piss me off.

Jaxbar

UPDATE

Just wanted to let you know I got another estimate, my gut reaction was they were trustworthy when they walked through the door. They gave me a much more realistic price and explained that all the extra stuff could be done but wasnt entirely necessary. The pulling and removing of indoor coil came down from $500 to $50 for an in situ clean.

I had a dimmers switch that I asked them to fit which they also did at no extra cost.

Thank you for all encouraging me not to take the first estimate.

BritGuyTN

FANTASTIC! Told you they were crooks

Now make sure you let everyone you know to avoid the first bunch of scumbags

bevinva

Great to hear. Boggles the mind though. Have you looked into getting some kind of free standing air cleaner, that might help with the other issues.