My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing Services based out of Garden Grove, CA. I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement $290 for the hot surface ignition $99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even read- his hand writing was so bad. HE WAS THERE FOR 40 minutes! No more. Please tell me if anyone knows how above average this pricing is ........ I read somewhere if any furnace repairs are over $500, then its time to buy a new one anyway. Is that correct? If so, why didnt he mention that?
Ive had contractors rip off my parents and myself, I just stop pay on the check and renegotiate. I know at the time you paid you did not have the suspision to research the bill.
FWIW, we would probably charge somewhere around $225-250 to diagnose the unit and replace the parts you mention. Transformers usually do not fail on their own. Usually a short in the 24volt side is the cause. The short is usually either in the wiring going to the a/c, or the homeowner accidentally shorting them attempting a DIY. I know that cost of living in Ca. is much higher than here, but from what you describe, it sounds like you paid about twice as much as the repairs should have been. Larry
Perfect example of why "flat rate pricing" works. When you call they tell you, "We charge a diagnostic fee of $XX.xx to come out and diagnose your problem. That gets paid whether you want the repair or not. When the tech arrives he checks the problem, and then comes up, explains the problem and shows you what it will cost in writing to repair your furnace. At that point you agree and sign the paper work or you thank him for his time and pay the diagnostic fee. Its the same way car repairs get done and how you order breakfast at your favorite restaurant. By the way, would you feel better if they sent out a brand new 18 yr old tech and he took 4 hrs to do the same thing? Bubba
Where did you get the name of the company that did the work? Was this a company you'd done business with in the past?
How long has it been possible for you to establish a relationship with a reputable company? In other words, did you just move to your area, and had no idea who to call? Or, have you been there for a number of years?
My plumbing/air/heating guy weve used for years just retired. I tried getting a referral from him, but he was having health problems. I asked around and no one had anyhting for me, so I remembered seeing their trucks around & gave them a call
It's pretty hard to believe you don't know ANYBODY who can recommend a better company for future reference. Don't your friends and acquaintances ever get their furnaces cleaned?
You didn't describe what type of furnace you have, the high tech high efficiency type with an electronics board (expensive parts) or the regular type without electronics (easy and cheap to fix).
Your description sounds like the older regular type which is quite easy to repair and the parts should cost under $50. You also didn't describe the problem with your furnace. That will give an idea of the labor involved to fix and therefore what is reasonable as charges.
From the little you had said it sounds like the wire from the transformer was faulty (open or shorted) and wouldn't operate the gas valve. You could have replaced he wire yourself. The 24V transformer shouldn't fail. All it does is to operate that gas valve and it needs to work only when the furnace is running, a very light workload for something with no moving parts to wear out. I wouldn't want to add to your aggravation by commenting on the charges.
One more tip. In my city the gas company provides a free service for gas furnace, gas hot water heater and gas fireplace problems, . Probably your city's too. Their service department mandate is to maintain the gas service. For example if your pilot light is out and you have no clue as to where to look or what to do they will come and relight it and show you how you can do it yourself. No charge. If you suspect that combustion gasses may be leaking into your house (carbon monixide, nausea, vomitting) they will inspect your furnace and advise you if you need a new furnace (leaky heat exchangers cannot be replaced under the law) or do a simple fix. No charge. Suspected CO poisoning is a high priority call (24 hour emergency service) that will being their service technician over to your house immediately.
Fixes that do not require parts are free. A wire replacement for your transformer to gas valve is free. If the transformer needed replacing they will charge only the price of the transformer. Same "price of gas valve" only if that needed replacing. They won't clean your furnace and they won't do big jobs like furnace replacement. But they will give you an objective opinion/report on what needs to be done. You can phone around HVAC contractors to get a price quote for a clearly described problem.
PaPaPeng. You are a fuquering idiot and you dont have a clue what your are talking about.
PaPaPeng. You are still a fuquering idiot. If the homeowner knew what was easily wrong he would have fixed it. If 24V transformers dont fail, then why do I carry several of them on my service truck? Why wouldnt a short in a wire on a older furnace cause a transformer to short? or a gas valve to short? or a thermostat heat anticipator to short?
PaPaPeng. You are still a fuquering idiot. Now you have told us that persons that have no business lighting a pilot should do it themselves and the utility company is telling them to do this? You are completely clueless about life. Our utility company will come out and light a pilot but they will charge you for it and they will not tell you how to do it. I can see it now.............."Well that there gas company guy told me how to light it if it ever goes out again so I did and the furnace blew up. It killed my kids, maimed me for life and burnt my house down". Now just who with the deep pockets do you think is going to have to take responsibility for that mess?
PaPaPeng. You are still a fuquering idiot. What rock did you come out from under? "Leaky heat exchangers cannot be replaced under the law"? Are you just ill or retarded? Heat exchangers get replaced all the time.
Free? Nothing is free my boy. Nothing. You are a very clueless boy. Bubba
Glad I never met a trademans from hell like you. You would have been more inventive in your billing than the service guy who ripped off our OP. You have been ranting in this newsgroup for years and its always the same hysterical posts.
My city certainly does have pretty good laws (no market an unscruplous person salvaging old parts for resale) and a good gas company. Last October I called out the gas company guys three times within a week. Three different service techs came within three hours and all were really nice guys. All no charge for doing the problems I described in my first post.
Its simple enough for the OP to call up her own gas company and find out their service call options - what will they do, what's free, what's chargeable, etc. Go from there. The worst that can happen is nothing.
PaPaPeng, I'll say it one more time. "You are a fuquering idiot!" Did you actually read the crap that spewed from your keyboard? I'd like to say Ive never met someone as clueless as you but unfortunately I find them everyday. Guys like you that have no clue what it costs to run a business. Try it sometime. You wouldnt last a week. In case you havent noticed..........gas is not $0.39 a gallon anymore, a gal of milk is not $0.65, your home utility bill isnt less than $50 a month and sending a kid to college doesnt cost $300 a semester. I wont even bother to mention health insurance costs. Wake up and notice what going on in the trailer park around you. Im not saying that what the guy charged was right or wrong. I wasnt there and neither were you. You have no idea what happened. If the OP had a problem with the charge he should have immediately called the company and voiced his concern instead of listening to some idiot like you telling him that "it should have been free, transformers dont go bad, it was probably just a bad wire and transformers and gas valves only cost $50!!". Get a brain peng-peng Bubba
Of course I do, the cost of running a business. No one owes you a living. If you can scare people to call you for every little problem so that you can rip them off that's not my problem. Meanwhile there are lots of people who seek advice here as to whether its something they can do to avoid spending unecessary money. They are welcome to free advice. They can decide for themselves if the advice is valid or whether they should call a service guy. The knowledge helps them spot scammers from hell like you in an instant.
In case you haven't noticed the designs of modern appliances have been simplified so that a reasonably handy person can install or replace the any module themselves without having to be an engineer. Anyone can handle a wrench and a screwdriver. That's commonly all that is needed to replace an appliance module and get the appliance running again. Nobody including tradesmen does parts repairs anymore. It takes too much skill and time. You'll go bankrupt doing parts repairs. The skill of a repairman these days is to know which module is producing the problem, quickly replace that, confirm that's the fix, collect money and get to the next call.
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