I just paid $314 to Munn's to get (basically) a capacitor changed...
 

... Did I get ripped off?

Thanks to all TOTVers for contributing and responding to TOTV -- esp the "SOS calls".

PG

:22yikes:

Ours was replaced under warranty by the original A/C installer, Sunshine, at no cost, IMHO, yes the charge seems high. Did you call to complain?

About complaining -- I'm new to the Villages; an absentee owner, was just just making my biannual visit to the empty house (trying to get it rented) what's the first thing I see/hear?: a loud malfunctioning AC; I called Munn's and they were there in an hour and fixed it --- I was so happy to be 'back to normal' , and told them so -- I thought they were a Godsend; gave them a huge positive on the feedback survey and gushed 5 Stars on YELP.com.

Was I taken advantage of? I should go back an complain?

They fixed it and quickly. Are you qualified to fix it yourself? It doesn't hurt to ask Munn's just in case, but I would thank my lucky stars. Cheapest is not always best. There are lots and lots of "good enough" people in TV.

I paid Belleview Heating and Cooling $130 for the same repair a couple of months ago. My neighbor had them do the same repair about a month ago and it was $130 too. Now Belleview does do the annual service on ours so that we don't pay a service call which saved us both $75 each.

:confused: Maybe the question you should have asked is "Who would you recommend for A/C repair?"

My other thought is.... if you are asking.... you must think you got ripped off!:(

Munn's recently did the same work on our 3 year old unit at no cost.
Did Munn's provide and install your original unit? and, how old is your unit?

Yes you paid toooooooo much. You can buy the parts for around $20! Takes maybe 15 minutes to replace it.

I'd suggest using Chuck Farrell for all your a/c needs. ((352) 787-9497).

You were so happy. What happened? What made you decide that you paid too much? Either call Munn's or sue Munn's, but let it go. Stop obsessing and Start living the dream.

We watched a youtube video, went to the parts store outside orlando, and did it ourselves. $15 for a better quality capacitor. Youtube is a wonderful thing....

But I do have to say, that I did do a little research on the internet to figure what the problem was, first.

Our 6 year old CYV came with A/C installed by Munn's when new. About two years ago the A/C went out, I called Chuck Farrell and he had a tech at our house within 2 hrs. He checked the inside unit and checked the freon in the outside unit. He said the capacitor went out, charged $80 for labor. He said the 4 year capacitor is covered by a 10 year warranty.

I have had a couple replaced at different houses. It was $130 both times. Next time will probably do it myself.

I order the capacitors from Amazon and replace them myself. I always keep one or two on hand. In 5 years I have replaced 3 so far.

i have a broward home warranty on our rental villa. lightening fried the capacitor. called broward, came that afternoon, replaced the made in china unit with one made in usa, then installed a new digital thermostat because he said since we were selling the villa, the owners should have a better thermo. approx $220 a year for the warranty. they even came and repaired ac unit on the 4th of july a couple of years ago. if i did not have broward, i would do as previous poster suggested, keep a couple on hand, install not difficult.

:agree: But before you do-it-yourself watch a couple of youtube videos. It's easy to do.... if you know what you are doing. You have to discharge the capacitor you are taking out first and it would not hurt to make sure the new one is not charged too. They hold 440 volts I believe. Will not kill you, but will hurt you.

:shocked::boom::shocked::boom:

Chuck Farrell just replaced miine
 

Chuck Farrell just replaced mine Monday morning at a cost of $133. We have used him for years for our annual inspection, but don't think that made a difference.

I've used Chuck Farrell twice in the 4 years I've owned my 16 year-old home. A capacitor cost me around $90.00 and adding Freon cost me about the same. He was highly recommended and is the only call I'll make.

May I ask what brand name was the capacitor you brought? And how do you know they are any better or just relabeled?

This thread is very informative. Thanks to OP and all responders.
It seems by others experience and comments that it is not a time consuming
repair it probably takes longer to drive to the home!
Plus the part cost in also pretty low.
When Munn's charges over $300 for a job that others routinely
do for almost a third of the cost, that is great to know, and will help me make wiser HVAC decisions.

I replace mine annually with a USA made 35/5 mfd cap. I consider it cheap insurance. Edit to add, it is 32.00

The a/c parts store that we went to in orlando explained to us that the home depot part we had ordered was not as good as the model he carried, and before we arrived we did look up on the internet the best part, and he did carry it. We had originally thought to purchase the same brand model that was already on the unit.

If I could find the extra one we purchased, I would tell you the model name, but at the moment I can't remember where we put it. Always happens that way.

They charged you 10 X's what those parts go for. That's why you paid so much.

Chuck Ferrell is the one to call

Whatever the market will bear, unfortunately on average the residents here in the Villages can bear a great deal. I lost a capacitor in June and my costs were $160. Buying multimeter and extra capacitors this week after reading this thread.

Capacitor
 

Capacitors can be purchased thru eBay for about $30. Takes about 5minutes to change

If you're happy with the results, you were not ripped off. But it does pay to do regular business with Munns. They're very good.

I would hope at their price for repairs, that doing a lot of business with them wouldn't be needed!

CAPACITORS need to be discharged before replacing ! Be very careful otherwise it could light up your day.

:read: post 16

It's difficult to understand why Munn's, who does a lot of business in The Villages, doesn't monitor this site and respond to this kind of issue. They have a lot of competition. When I owned a business, I always tried to address any complaints in a very responsive and thorough manner, and made it a priority to know everything about my competition.

They were the first people I called, and they came quickly -- I was happy about that. Then I discover I was -- by all indications and feedback -- been taken advantage of by being charged a factor of, say, 2x the "going rate". Is that something to be happy about?

This thread is a prime example of the value of this site, so much helpful sharing (most) of the time. There are some contractors that think we are a captive aged group that can be taken advantage of not cognizant that we have been around the block numerous times and protective of our neighbors. We are for the most part, old school. We do notice and share who provides good service at normal cost and who attempts to provide lesser quality work or goes for every extra dollar. Thank you so much neighbors for your great posts.