HVAC part seemed very expensive

[DN B]

'I have no problem paying for someone's time and effort. The guy did go off somewhere else to get the needed part. I run a business myself and I unde3rstand the costs involved. Like I said I don't have a problem paying for it.'

You shouldnt have a problem paying for a fair markup on the part/materials...but in this Industry, the great majority of service contractors gouge tremendously on markup. Instead of relying on advertising and marketing to get a greater volume of customers which would cover their overhead and expenses....the great majority of hvac contractors will gouge every chance they get from unsuspecting homeowners . Its basically the same across the entire Service Industry , and..to justify it , youll hear them complain :" Have you any idea what it takes to run a Business ?!" (just a big smokescreen excuse). The greatest gouge crimes are done by those who charge according to flat rate repairs instead of breaking out the charge by time and material ; its just another way of wringing out the homeowners wallet --- like the guy in this thread that said his book says up to $600 installed for a draft inducer ; this is what gives the Industry a bad name.

At least get the old parts next time you have a repair made ; then, you can make sure it was really replaced. There are alot of scams in this Trade. Especially those who have an 'attitude' ; examples of attitudinal repairmen can be found in this thread . These are typically the ones who Dont give a 'F' about virtually anything.

'That was what lead me to be suspiscious.'

Be suspicious ; let Repairmen earn your trust.

[~KJPRO~]

He did say UP TO $600, not that every one was a $600 repair!

What you haven't EVER seen an inducer that cost twice what it should have?

I care about doing my job correctly and making sure the problem is fixed right the first time.

I also care about rather the H-Owner is smart enough to not try that part again, so that in question if you dispose of the part, you are protecting the use of you LIABILITY insurance! Idiot!!

And you haven't earned mine yet either!

~kjpro~

[Greg O]

Sounds like after market parts. OEM is often higher price, better quality. One Heil inducer I know of cost is close to $300. Greg

[BGBevill]

No, well not always anyway. Alot of times clueless wits like you speaking about a topic you have absolutely no clue about give us a bad name that we do not deserve. Yeah, I have inducers listed in my book that sell for up to $600. Anything above that, and yeah, some do go above that, I figure the price myself on the job and quote before ordering. Fact is, I know what I need to make on a job and that is what I base my prices on. Anything less than that and I am better off staying home on the couch with the wife. I might not be making any money there, but at least I ain't losing any money.

Trust, huh? Just today I was at a house with no telling how much money worth of antiques and stuff and the customer left the front door unlocked and a note on the kitchen table for me telling me which unit and what happened. I even called the dispatcher and mentioned that I wish our customers didn't trust us quite as much and do stuff like that because it makes me uncomfortable knowing someone could be there before me and take something I might get the blame for. Even though, we still have some that persist in doing it just about every time they call and they pay good too. So, it makes no difference to me whether you trust your repairman or not. Do you eat out? Trust those cooks in the back? Must be miserable to not be able to trust anyone.....

Bobby