Here’s the deal. We’ve been having trouble with our air conditioner pretty much ever since we moved in. Our complex was built in '64 or so and the central air is original to the unit. Currently, we’ve been without A/C for about three weeks now. Day 1, we called the heating & air company down the street from us. They sent one guy two days later, he futzed around with the unit and said he was finished. Charged $110 and some change. They sent out a second guy who did a bit more futzing around at no charge. This one said we’d be better off getting it replaced and he’s not the first one to tell us this. He also rattled off the same price we’ve been hearing: $2200 to 2500.
Cut to the present. I secured a loan for $2500, we called the company and they told us the price we’ve been hearing wasn’t really an estimate.
Gaaah!
We’ve already had two estimates from other companies, one wants $4000 and the other $4600 to replace the furnace & the AC. I have the nasty feeling the company we’ve been dealing with all this time is pulling the old bait & switch. :mad:
The furnace hasn’t really been a problem but the guys who’ve been buy to fix the A/C have told us it would be cheaper to have the whole thing replaced. I thought it had something to do with the way it’s set up but that low-ball price may have been something pulled out of his ass.
At any rate, someone from that company will be by Friday morning to do a proper estimate. I sure hope the $2500 I have will cover at least the A/C. If not, we’ll probably just invest in a couple of portable units and return the rest of the loan.
I feel ya, Jeff. I also live in Northern Virginia, and I know how bad it can suck around here without A/C. Mine went out about two summers ago, and I damn near died.
Here’s hoping you get it fixed for a reasonable price, and that whoever is jerking you around has their A/C break down in their home, office, and car all at the same time.
Spend $150 or so and get yourself a window AC (or two) to tide you over until early October. I suspect those quotes will get a lot more reasonable once the weather starts cooling down!
Damn, that sucks! What the heck is wrong with the thing? I’ve had to have my A/C repaired twice in the last 3 months, and it cost me a little shy of $200 each time.
I’m in northern VA, too, and the company that I used is called ‘C.B. Lucas’ something or another… they could have been ripping me off for all I know about this sort of thing, but they were at least nice about it.
TS, unfortunately window unit(s) aren’t an option. Our complex is full of funky little sliding windows (example). Besides, even if we could find a model to fit the window, such things would probably violate the association’s bylaws.
We’ve been making do with about a dozen fans for the time being. I’m not even sure if the window fans we’ve been using are allowed, nobody’s said anything one way or the other. We had to turn those fans sideways to fit the window.
BTW: the company that gave us the $4600 estimate? That was Sears! Yes, we now roll our eyes at their A/C commercials.
The main problem seems to be just old age, plus the wire mesh that is supposed to be keeping the critters out is pretty much nonexistent. We’ve been trying to get that fixed ever since we moved in. The latest problem is evidently an overheating compressor motor, which may or may not have something to do with a critter visit.
Not to side with the AC guys but if the central air is original to the building being built in 1964 you may need to replace everything.
We’ve had to do that on both houses we’ve owned. And if the furnace is also this old you will be saving yourself money by doing everything at once as the labor of them coming out again to take everything apart to replace the furnace some time after they’ve taken everything apart and put it back together to replace the A/C will be a significant portion of your costs.
Unfortunately unless it is in writing it is not an estimate. Always get things in writing!!
You could install a split unit as a temporary measure. They’re more expensive than window units, but more efficient and may not violate anyone’s sensibilities. The downside is that you are only going to be able to cool one room with it.
Right, that’s what I was originally thinking when told it would be cheaper to replace everything at once. I sure hope they don’t decide to jack up the price come Friday. If this weather holds, maybe we could continue to make do with all those fans for a couple more months and see if the price comes down.
Julie, I know all about those portable air conditioners; I was looking into one of those while trying to figure out what to do about the situation. Not being able to work overtime since October really puts a crimp in the budget.
At least now I know what was going on with that $2200. It wasn’t for the A/C and the furnace, it was for just the furnace! Which means the A/C should be $2400 to $2500, which may or may not include a $300 service charge to just replace the A/C. The guy has to check with his company about the A/C and get back to us. Fuckin’ assholes.
Actually, we had the furnace refurbished a year after we moved in because some of the parts had rusted through. This was covered by the home warranty we had insisted on when we closed on the place. We tried to get the warranty company to install a new furnace and A/C but they wouldn’t go for that.
I agree that the unit(s) probably meed to be repalced, but have you cleaned the old unit?
Recently, my neighbor has been having a problem with her old unit not cooling. It’s been 89 degress inside her house at night. The fan was running, but no cool air coming out. The first guy charged her around a hundred bucks to tell her the unit was shot and left an estimate. The second guy did about the same. The third guy incluced some freon with his visit and estimate. Finally, a friend came to her house and looked at the unit. He told them to clean it. They got gobs of junk out of it and it’s cooling the house to about 75 degrees now. Certainly the unit could stand to be replaced, but at least it’s working better now.
Finally, two years I got I got a new A/C and furnace for about 3600.00. The house was 1850 sq.ft., and it was no where near a top-of-the-line unit, but not the cheapest one available either (I think there was one cheaper). This was in Houston, and I think the unit was a Goodman brand. They told me this was the unit favored by landlords for it’s low price. It never hurst to get more free estimates.
I have to agree with the others who’ve said that, if the A/C and furnace date from 1964, their lives are effectively over. Heck, for an A/C unit, that’s beyond geriatric! If you get 20 years out of one, you’re doing very well. Furnaces can go longer, but the efficiency of a modern unit will pay you back its initial cost in just a few years, via lower utility bills. Tough pill to swallow, but…
Oh, and trying to get a home warranty company to do anything beyond the absolute minimum is a lost cause. Since the home warranty rarely lasts beyond one year, all they have to do is get the appliance marginally functioning, and then wait you out. I don’t think I’d bother requiring a seller to provide one again (I did, the last time, and got nothing out of it) - it just ends up being money down a rat hole.
I’ve always gotten fair dealing from Air Treatment, in Vienna. They’re not a bargain outfit, but they’re honest. Probably worth getting an estimate from them.
Yeah, two years ago when the A/C kept tripping the circuit breaker. The guy who came out said it was so dirty, it looked like it hadn’t ever been cleaned before. The filter is new, I changed that about a week before the current trouble started.
I don’t believe I mentioned it earlier but it seems like everyone else in our building has been having trouble with their A/C this year. Our next door neighbors are getting theirs replaced, too. I think the woman they rent from decided to go with Sears.
Unfortunately, I’m no no position to swallow that pill, maybe if I had been working overtime. Hopefully Congress will allow overtime again when it approves the FY2004 budget.
I’ve no clue what issues are involved for the installation in your complex, but to give you a frame of reference, this Spring I installed an 80% efficiency forced air gas fueled furnace together with 3 ton 14 SEER condensing unit and evaporator. Complete tear out of old unit, deposit at curb, modify gas supply, ductwork, installation and setup- $4235
Not unlike yourself, I was originally requested to replace the evaporator cased coil and condensing unit, but looking at the age of the package, I advised the customer to go for a replacement furnace, as replacing the furnace after the fact when the heat exchanger cracks doubles the labor.
Were I not changing the furnace, and was able to reuse the lineset from condenser to evaporator, lop off $1000 for material and labor, bringing the total to slightly over $3K.
