Does This A/C Repair Charge Sound Fair?
 

My friend had her A/C repaired and realizes that Heating and Cooling people charge alot, but her bill seemed to be alot. She used Suter Air Conditioning. They are in Leesburg. I don't know if they work in The Villages or not. Here is what she questioned. She had a condensor fan motor and MF capasitor replaced. After being told by several people that it was too much money she paid, she did some checking. She could have bought the parts for $66.35 + $2.45 respectfully. What did they charge for the parts and to install.....$466.00 plus $85.00 diagnostic charge. He was there less than 1 hour. So roughly $400 per hour labor, not including diagnostic charges. We all know they are highly trained and charge alot, but does this sound right?

Nope. It sounds fishy. I use Munn's and get an annual inspection for $80. So far, so good. And my AC is ten years old.

Things to consider: Did you know what parts needed replacing? If so, do you know where the parts go and how to put those parts in? Do you have the equipment to do the diagnostics? Would you mind getting electrocuted trying to do the job that these people have been trained to do?

I don't and I rely on them to do the job that they are trained to do.

Z

Sounds fair to me as long as it's fixed. Right ?

True but that said many business here tend to price gauge us Seniors. I think many are of the mind all people living in TV's are wealthy. Just my opinion and experience. Oe reason I use a company or person that people have had a good experience with and this forum is excellent for that.

The most common fault on a household ac system is that the condenser starting cap fails. This is a 25-35 dollar item. The first thing I did when I moved in was buy a replacement online and stuck it in the condenser wiring compartment, so that when it fails in 5 years on a Friday night and you can't get one till Monday it will be there to replace the old one. Very easy to change by yourself.

Most think that the Villagers are wealthy and clueless. I guess it is just free market forces at work, either learn a little about the things you rely on or pay someone a lot of money because you don't want to be bothered.

I had a house full of company and the blower fan went out on my AC unit about a month ago. Ray Langley had just done our inspection about a month before the fan went out. We called him late in the afternoon and he worked for two days-part of a weekend-to get a new fan ordered and installed. He got our unit working again and charged us approximately $600.

In my case, I think the price was fair and I was willing to pay it to make my family and friends comfortable during their stay and to keep my home comfortable for my husband and myself. I trust Ray. If I would have to question whether or not someone who I'm paying to do work for me is cheating me or not; I'm afraid I would have to look for someone else to work for me. That's just me.

That's a good point. There is however some businesses in hvac that will gouge customers but they usually don't last as long as the other guys.

Easy to change after the capacitor has been discharged...

sounds like way too much. I would ask someone who knows instead of these elderly experts on here!

Cost of showing up, hourly rate, parts, etc......
 

My son who is a commercial refrigeration supervisor chooses not to do residential air conditioning repair because he feels virtually everyone in the business overcharges.

Having said that, he thinks the price charged is about average, perhaps just a few dollars high, for the repairs listed.

Particularly if the unit is a high efficiency unit, the fan can cost considerably more than the price you found on the Internet.

That's very true. There are many factors in the prices of OEM parts and non specific general parts on the internet. I'm not familiar with hvac warehouses here in Florida. I know in Massachusetts only licensed technicians could buy parts out of supply houses.

I have been doing HVAC for over 40 years and teach it part time at a local Tec school. If the unit was a high efficiency the motors indoor/outdoor are the two or variable speed type, this would be a normal price.

Just had a similar situation. Had the outdoor fan unit fail would not turn over. Since
I have an extended warrantee called Sun Kool. actually made on line request for service call on monday issue happed on sunday. Tech came out first thing monday. I told him what i thought the problem was (as I had seen it before at my other home and replaced the fan motor myself.
He tried the cap no change.then checked the ac compressor & changed out the relay.
Finally agreed it was the fan motor. Changed it out with a Trane motor same size as he took out. 1/5 hp. said that the motor alone normal cost was in the neighbor hood of $500. But lucky for me I had the insurance on it. When he was checking with the office to get a claim number for me he said his Forman had checked and said that the motor he put in was wrong size for unit and he could come back to the shop and get correct one. About a 1/2hr later he returned and replaced the motor with another brand (not Trane) which was 1/6 hp.
So I basically have a rebuild exterior unit with new components. Glad it was all covered by extended warrantee for once.

The pricing I found for the parts was for the same part numbers.

If the price was for a capacitor and condenser fan motor, it was a very fair price. Motor prices have escalated rapidly over the past several years. OEM motors are higher than after market motors, but I've found they are worth the extra cost. I used to replace motors with Daytons from Grainger, because the company told me I had to. I could purchase an OEM motor from Trane, Carrier, etc., replace it, and it would last years. If you got a year out of a Dayton, I was lucky. The cheap sealed sleeve bearings would go bad, and the shafts would freeze up. Most importantly, you now have Air Conditioning!