HVAC cost

[jerryaldini]

I know prices have shot up since covid but still I got sticker shock on a quote to swap out AC and furnace. $16,500.

Carrier 3 ton 16 SEER AC, and 96% two stage 100k furnace plus thermostat and duct cleaning. 10 year parts 1 year labor, 20 years on heat exchangers.

High cost of living city. Is this the new normal? I know I need more quotes but this outfit has the best reputation for install and service.

Both existing 17 years old. AC is fine but furnace exchangers are cracked and prices will keep rising so doing both. Really appreciate the advice!

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Delano

I’ve got a 135 ton Daikan going up on a roof next week for just north of 400k. Good deal fellas?

Daikan equipment are POS. Them and McQuay are the worst two manufacturers of large chillers bar none.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by bdj23

How the hell do normal people afford this shit? Do you fiance it and make payments for a decade? Dust your savings account? Take money from your 401k?

After getting my roof and gutters done it seems like you can be $20k into home repairs before you even blink.

I think "normal" people rent. They just get mad when the landlord tells them that he is going to raise the rent.
Most people do not own.

[RedRaider56]

Originally Posted by jerryaldini

Alright all you guys are making me feel much better about this, thank you! Just got a better quote from a just as reputable company with a very straightforward salesman.

12.2k if I do the one stage furnace instead of two stage, and give up the variable speed fan motor.

14.5 with those two upgrades. Given that until 4 years ago I lived for 17 years in the mountains with wood stove heat and no AC, I'm thinking I won't miss those "luxuries", but let me know if I'm really missing out and should invest the 2,300. Thanks again!

On the biggest HVAC unit I replaced, it had the variable speed motor. One advantage to it over the old system was how much quieter it is. As another poster had said, when it is running on the lowest speed, I can't hear the thing running.

On the second system, for our upstairs, I went with the 2 speed setup. Even when the kids are home from school visiting and the AC seems to be on all the time, it stays on low speed the majority of the time.

With the combination of the efficiency of the new systems and the new fan setups, my AC bills dropped over a $100 a month at the peak summer months heat last year.

[ScareCrowe]

Originally Posted by jerryaldini

SC, in sales, how much are you expected to negotiate with customers? Does your management give you much wiggle room on price? Trying to understand if this is supposed to be like buying a car where some haggling is expected. I'm not worried about 5-10 percent sort of thing, just trying not to pay 30 percent more.

I do have some wiggle room, but not much. We're pretty tight on margins & my jobs are tracked by profit so if I'm not making enough I won't get commission & if it happens enough I'm probably going to hear about it. If anything I'm usually adding to book prices to account for site issues. Generally speaking I only come down if there's some justification for it in the job. (like they don't need heat in their electric furnace so I can cut out the heat pack price)

The one thing I can recommend is if they offer financing ask if they do a cash discount. Despite what they tell you free financing isn't free, the company is paying for it & they're adding that cost onto your quote. If you aren't going to use the financing a lot of places will give you that money back if you know to ask for it.

[ScareCrowe]

Originally Posted by RedRaider56

On the biggest HVAC unit I replaced, it had the variable speed motor. One advantage to it over the old system was how much quieter it is. As another poster had said, when it is running on the lowest speed, I can't hear the thing running.

On the second system, for our upstairs, I went with the 2 speed setup. Even when the kids are home from school visiting and the AC seems to be on all the time, it stays on low speed the majority of the time.

With the combination of the efficiency of the new systems and the new fan setups, my AC bills dropped over a $100 a month at the peak summer months heat last year.

My biggest selling point on the VS fans is noise reduction & humidity control. (by moving air slower across the coil it removes more humidity per pass) Energy savings are nice but they don't generally equal a lot as the blower doesn't use a ton of electricity, and you also have to consider you now have a very expensive blower motor in there & if it goes out any savings you made will go into the repair.

The noise reduction due to running in low speed is super nice, but you also have to consider that on extreme temperature days it's going to have to run at a higher speed so it will still make close to the same noise at that point.

[jerryaldini]

Originally Posted by ScareCrowe

I do have some wiggle room, but not much. We're pretty tight on margins & my jobs are tracked by profit so if I'm not making enough I won't get commission & if it happens enough I'm probably going to hear about it. If anything I'm usually adding to book prices to account for site issues. Generally speaking I only come down if there's some justification for it in the job. (like they don't need heat in their electric furnace so I can cut out the heat pack price)

The one thing I can recommend is if they offer financing ask if they do a cash discount. Despite what they tell you free financing isn't free, the company is paying for it & they're adding that cost onto your quote. If you aren't going to use the financing a lot of places will give you that money back if you know to ask for it.

Thanks so much for everything SC, super helpful!

[Mr. Plow]

Originally Posted by bdj23

How the hell do normal people afford this shit? Do you fiance it and make payments for a decade? Dust your savings account? Take money from your 401k?

After getting my roof and gutters done it seems like you can be $20k into home repairs before you even blink.

You don't want to know the estimate on replacing all of the windows in my house.

[Whosurdaddy]

When we were shopping we left with the impression that we definitely needed more than 3 quotes. A lot of schmucks out there and quotes were absolutely all over the place. We had dolts quoting us in the 20s.

In January of 22' We got

Lennox 4 ton 2-stage furnace, 96% AFUE, GAS
Lennox 4 ton 2-stage 18 seer AC, Electric
New 50 Gal water heater, Gas
Whole home Humidifier,
Ecobee Thermostat
Maintenace agreement (for whatever that's worth)

We paid almost 13K, but I'm confident that it could be done on the cheap. For what it's worth we felt comfortable with the group that did the installation.

[George Liquor]

Originally Posted by Mr. Plow

You don't want to know the estimate on replacing all of the windows in my house.

35k

[George Liquor]

Originally Posted by Mr. Plow

You don't want to know the estimate on replacing all of the windows in my house.

Hurry up and tell!!! The suspense is killing me!!!

[Peter Gibbons]

Originally Posted by bdj23

Hurry up and tell!!! The suspense is killing me!!!

I’m going to guess $135k.

[George Liquor]

Originally Posted by Peter Gibbons

I’m going to guess $135k.

Nuh uh

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by Peter Gibbons

I’m going to guess $135k.

I'm going to guess

[Peter Gibbons]

Originally Posted by Pablo

I'm going to guess

I’ll see your million and raise you another.

[Mr. Plow]

Originally Posted by bdj23

35k

Originally Posted by bdj23

Hurry up and tell!!! The suspense is killing me!!!

I said you don't want to know.












But ya......

Originally Posted by Peter Gibbons

I’m going to guess $135k.