I'm in a Patio Villa like you. How long did the first AC last before you had to replace it?

About 18 years.

The last time I place a call, I had noticed my unit was not dropping to the temperature I had on the thermostat. Chuck recommend replacing it, as it had a leaking coil. Since it was still working, they recommended I wait for the winter months when they weren't crazy busy. Of course, this is not feasible for everyone.

As I said to him, my unit had one foot on the banana peel and one foot in the coffin.

I strongly recommend having the grill installed,so you can change the filter without monkeying with the unit's cover. It's been a blessing as it it so easy to replace a filter.

Thanks

I was an A/C contractor for 40 years in Miami. Sold Carrier, Lennox, Rheem/Ruud, Trane/American Standard. I've been retired five years, but Trane/American Standard was by far the most reliable longest lasting unit. 18-20 years was not uncommon. I don't know Chuck but from what i have read he sounds great to me.

Well, you really didn't pay $0.00 because you had to pay for the service contract. [emoji3].

Best way to figure your true cost is how many years have you paid for the contract and what did you get out of it. Sometimes it pays to self-insure, sometimes not. Service contract companies are like casinos, they never lose. But like casinos there are always some "big winners.". [emoji3]

Our "big win" was when the a/c stopped working on a Sunday in July, in the evening, they were there in a half hour and fixed it. Would you get that kind of service without being on a maintenance contract? $200/year helps me sleep in nice cool air! Sometimes the figures don't take into account your comfort.

I too am confused
 

I believe as you do that the,"normal life," is 10-14 years.
The SEER number is a number for the efficiency of the unit-it is marked on your system. I believe the REAL efficiency falls off as the unit ages.

Our unit is 4 years old as is our home, it is a carrier and it was installed by the builder. The unit is a heat pump and it supplies both cooling and winter heat. I believe a unit that provides both heat and cooling will not have as high a SEER number as a unit that only cools. Our unit is marked SEER 15. I checked, the ones used in Fenny are the same marked SEER 15.

A call to the home radio show 96.5 FM, I called to ask if you replace a seer 15 with an 18-what will you save. If, my math is correct 15 to 18 is 30%. The reply was you would save 15-20%.

RE: your $400 to replace the fan.
Truly, I do not know what a fair price for that is. You can easily get that information on the internet. I do know that if you have a variable speed fan the part is much more expensive than a single speed fan.

We did not have a choice. I stay in touch with a former business associate who lives in Boynton Beech. He bought a Lennox high efficiency unit-18 SEER-I think. His unit which came with the house was abt 12 years old. He reported to me that his electric bill dropped by 30%. After a year or so a rectifier blew. It was covered under warranty but it took them about 10 days to get the part and it was the middle of the summer.

Truth-I expect our AC compressor was put in before the home next door was built. We keep the bushes cut back but I suspect they too were put in after the compressor was installed. Getting a new one put in is sure to be an interesting project.

What you say is true of any insurance
 

The company selling you insurance knows the odds of whatever it is failing. They of course need to add to that known cost their profit. In many cases the insurance company has a what they will allow for each job and it is usually below standard retail rate.

Like you, I do not usually buy insurance. With our AC they sent a typical sterotyped used car salesman-fast talker to try to sell us insurance for repairs on a NEW UNIT. They never seem to mention the manufacturers warranty that is included with most products.