[Andrew808]

Last year, we had recently moved into a 20-year old house, so when I was at Home Depot, I signed up to have my ACs inspected for $150 by their affiliated contractor.

The inspection was a nightmare. The tech came out, took personal calls the entire time, claimed that my AC was broken (it worked just fine during the home inspection), then quoted me either a $500 price to repair, or a $15,000 price to replace the unit, then tried to pressure me into getting it done right away.

Instead, I contacted another highly rated AC company (Southwest) for a 2nd opinion. He quoted me $8000 to replace the AC, but repaired it for me for free and just told me to keep them in mind in the future. I'm of the opinion most AC companies out here are scam artists, but there are a few good ones if you do your homework.

Side note: I actually emailed corporate Home Depot and complained about my experience, and was shocked when they responded right away and, after hearing my story, offered me a $150 gift card as recompense. Nice gesture and one I didn't expect.

[localinsight]

The $150 is a nice gesture.
Before I reported this company that said I had to replace the whole coil, I spoke to them.
It is true that they had more sensitive diagnostic equipment. My guess is that I do have a small leak but I don't think it's worth my replacing the whole unit. If I think it's running too hard (no idea how to tell) I will call the warranty co.
Since it will need to be upgraded, I'm going to run it for what it's worth. I have a downstairs one bedrm condo so I do not think the ac will be that bad in terms of cost.
It's hard to know what to do.

[PinkString]

Ok, so if we cannot figure things out ourselves, I will call one of the companies that Tadtam and Mollie suggested. Just want someone honest and who will not puncture anything up there. Our system has been running sluggishly the last few years. It definitely needs something done to it. It's probably like the water heater...that died right before the 10 year mark. that was a nightmare all by itself since the hubby thought it was great that he could do it himself. He did do it, but it took over a week. In the future, a plumber will do it to save mountains of aggravation. This a/c thing, I also do not want it to be something we have to replace and start over with. Too much expense.

[tiger08]

Originally Posted by PinkString

Ok, so if we cannot figure things out ourselves, I will call one of the companies that Tadtam and Mollie suggested. Just want someone honest and who will not puncture anything up there. Our system has been running sluggishly the last few years. It definitely needs something done to it. It's probably like the water heater...that died right before the 10 year mark. that was a nightmare all by itself since the hubby thought it was great that he could do it himself. He did do it, but it took over a week. In the future, a plumber will do it to save mountains of aggravation. This a/c thing, I also do not want it to be something we have to replace and start over with. Too much expense.

A/c repair doesnt have to be a nightmare but always seems to turn out that way. Keep me in mind if you need to replace the unit.
A/c changeouts are really not that expensive, even going by the book and doing a top notch job. Quite a few a/c companies charge a fortune for a changeout and sad part is, most of it is labor.

[tiger08]

Originally Posted by Andrew808

Last year, we had recently moved into a 20-year old house, so when I was at Home Depot, I signed up to have my ACs inspected for $150 by their affiliated contractor.

The inspection was a nightmare. The tech came out, took personal calls the entire time, claimed that my AC was broken (it worked just fine during the home inspection), then quoted me either a $500 price to repair, or a $15,000 price to replace the unit, then tried to pressure me into getting it done right away.

Instead, I contacted another highly rated AC company (Southwest) for a 2nd opinion. He quoted me $8000 to replace the AC, but repaired it for me for free and just told me to keep them in mind in the future. I'm of the opinion most AC companies out here are scam artists, but there are a few good ones if you do your homework.

Side note: I actually emailed corporate Home Depot and complained about my experience, and was shocked when they responded right away and, after hearing my story, offered me a $150 gift card as recompense. Nice gesture and one I didn't expect.

You want to try to avoid big box stores for a/c work, that also includes large chain companies also. You have to remember that Home Depot is the middle man, so your going to pay way more for the same install, as just calling an independent a/c company.

8,000 bucks is a huge ripoff to replace a unit.