[jrref]

I think a lot of people no matter where you live are suspect about HVAC repairs and service because even a simple repair like changing the start capacitor out of warranty, even if they install the better and longer lasting one made in the USA that costs $65, you will probably get charged around $150-$200 and maybe more for the repair. Many say, "wait a minute". I can get a capacitor from Amazon or Ace in Wildwood for $15-$20 and sometimes Ace throws one in for free on a give-away day whether I need one or not. And it takes me less than 30 seconds to install it. So why do I have to pay my HVAC guy all that money for the repair? That said, these companies have a certain amount of overhead so if you want someone reliable and knowledgable to make a repair like this, it's going to have some "standard" cost. If they were to charge some very cheap price, they probably wouldn't be able to stay in business or they would be sending the landscaper to your home to do the repair on days where he or she has no grass to cut.

But all that said, if the tech is at your house doing maintenance and you are paying for the time for them to be there, they should just charge you for the part and some small amount for labor unless it's a big repair. It's not like they have to do a truck roll, take everything apart, diagnose and repair the problem right?

On my old Carrier system, Sunshine was here doing maintenance and they found and showed me the compressor start capacitor was out of spec.. They charged me $135 for the capacitor and the repair which I thought was very fair since they used a $65 Amrad made in USA capacitor not the cheap $10 Chinese capacitor that usually goes bad in a couple of years. They may be charging more now for that repair but I believe if you are honest and fair, you customers will trust you, keep you as their HVAC company and maybe send you some referrals.