On Sun, we noticed our air handler was making a loud noise. My husband turned the air conditioning unit off until we could have someone come out. Mon morning I opened up the yellow pages & called a few diff local companies. Admiral Heating & Air said they could get a tech out before lunch. Great!
The tech arrived and seemed very professional & cordial. We turned the unit on so he could hear the noise. He turned everything off & lifted the cover off the air handler to see what was going on. He showed me how the "squirrel cage" had just fallen apart & was all twisted and mangled. He said we would have to have the entire blower assembly replaced. He lifted the blower assembly out and set it on the floor of our garage and called his office to get a part quote. He said he didn't have the parts for our 6 year old Trane system in his truck or office & they would probably have to be ordered from the nearest supplier. He left a yellow copy of the work order/invoice for the $59.00 call-out fee and said he would get back to me. He left the mangled fan part so I could show my husband the damage. (It should be noted that he never actually tested the motor or any other parts w / any kind of voltage test equip. And the motor was running just before he turned everything off.)
The tech dutifully called me back an hour later with the news that they no longer make the Trane model we own so he will have to order the parts from the OEM & it will take 5 days or longer. The total cost will be $701.56 incl parts & labor. He told us the other option is to buy a whole new unit with a better warranty and efficiency with prices starting at $4800. Then next time something goes out, he said, we won't have to wait for parts to be ordered from the OEM.
It is July in Florida so to be without air conditioning for 5 days w / 3 children is completely unacceptable. We told him to go ahead & order the parts & call us as soon as he they come in. We suffered through a long hot night of no sleep. The next day my husband happened to mention the air probs to a co-worker who said he worked as an hvac tech for 30 years. He said the tech could have used generic parts to get the air running again. He gave my husband the name of a local parts place & told him to take it in & see what they can do. Well, he purchased a generic replacement cage for $68.55 and some coil cleaner for $8.00. His friend helped him replace the only damaged part, the squirrel cage. Once everything was hooked back up, the air conditioner worked fine! The motor was not bad, nor was the assembly. How long would Admiral Heating & Air have let us sit in the sweltering July heat?
(They did kindly offer to loan us a window unit which would not do much in a 2 story 2400 sq ft house) Then charge us over $700 for something that actually cost $67?!!? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see they are total scammers!
0 comments