It seems the latest gambit from the furnace companies in Northern Alberta is don't buy a new furnace, rent one.
Promising no installation fees, no service costs and free bi-annual preventative maintenance, all this for $49.95 per month.
Not sure how to feel about this, on one hand it's endless payments for a new furnace, on the other hand you don't get hosed on repairs and those get pricey with this generation of new furnaces.
Is this common in other parts of the North America?
One similar issue in the US is people who lease rooftop solar panels for their home. Done on long term leases, the lease becomes a hassle when the owner goes to sell the house.
Does your utility company offer any kind of appliance/ HVAC insurance? Mine does and it has paid for itself many times over.
Have you checked out "Rent a Wife" or "Rent a Husband"?
Not very common, but anything can be leased or rented. Auto leases have become very common.
It is a way of making a sale. Need a new furnace? Have $5000 to buy one? Many families do not but they can come up with $50 a month. Is it a good deal? Depends on the terms, length of agreement, total cost.
You should be able to buy a furnace with professional install for $2500 or less. Over 10 years thats about $20.84/month.
Even a Goodman can last 10 years without a repair.
This is what I am trying to figure out, although I loathe to give up the furnace that doesn't need a motherboard to work.
Probably getting quotes will make the decision.
Yah, me too. I found the high-efficiency furnace reliability so bad that I installed 30,000 btu of electric baseboard heaters as backup. Any fuel cost savings from running a high-efficiency furnace you'll spend later on repairs to keep it running.
Total rip off. To own a furnace costs about $10 a month
.....strings attached.
nb
On Sat, 5 Nov 2016 10:44:26 -0500, philo wrote in
+1
Hmmmm.... interesting.
Does that imply that if one buys instead a "lesser efficiency" furnace (I'm talking gas furnaces), it will last longer because of less complexity of the design and electronics?
Jes' wonderin' ...
Things like blowers and burners will last about the same, but the more advanced models may need more frequent and more expensive repairs over time.
So, how does this work when the home is sold? In the US, average length of home ownership is only about six-seven years.
I have no idea, I am sure that someone is on the hook, so far I haven't found the contract on-line. I suspect they save the fine print for when you are in the office.
Have you ever used the baseboard heaters because of a furnace failure? If so, has it been worth the extra expense?
/ /
/If it prevented frozen/burst water pipes and the resultant damage/mess, I'll bet it would be./
PaintedCow wrote: "Have you checked out "Rent a Wife" or "Rent a Husband"? "
Or Rent-a-TOILET?
He's obviously NOT in Ontario. It's almost cheaper to burn the house down around you to stay warm than to heat with electricity up here!!! (Not quite, but eighteen cents a KW Hour on peak, plus delivery charges and Ontario Hydro debt reduction levy almost ANYTHING is cheaper than heating with electricity..
I have had exactly ONE furnace failure that left me without required heat (blower motor cooked between Christmas and New-Years during a cold snap) in 35 years in this house, anf 5 years in previous houses. (That was in the non-computerized furnace that I replaced at 28 years of age as a "pe-emtive strike") The new furnace started making funny noises while still on warranty and the required part was not available from the manufacturer so I fixed it myself - during warm weather when heat was not required. (Inducer fan blower squirrel cage loose and fretting in the hub - I brazed it). I doubt the new one will outlast the old one, but it is 1 year short of half way already - - -.
The rental agreement probably creates a lien on the house. If the seller doesn't pay it off before sale, the new owner is on the hook for the remaining rental payments. (Fun with typos: I had "reaming" instead of "remaining".)
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