Summer arrived just a couple of days ago and I am already sick and tired of it. In the West Texas desert the heat wave starts early, we are lucky to have two or three weeks of Spring and then boom...the temperatures soar. I really should not complain when I know that Arizona, Nevada, and California are having record setting temperatures much higher than Texas.
It is always a challenge to get mother to let me turn on the A/C as she is always cold. The electric bill is larger in the winter than in the summer because she insists on it staying at 80 degrees. When I finally turned it on, it was apparent there was a problem so I called the service technician. He did not have very good news for us. The coil was leaking in three places and it would cost $2,650.00 to replace and 2 to 3 weeks to get it as it had to be ordered from the manufacturer.
Called another company for a second opinion and they gave us an estimate of $2,200.00 and 2 weeks to get the coil. They told me that my unit was not registered with the manufacturer otherwise it would have had a 10-year warranty and not the 5 years it had. That really made me mad because even though I have selective CRS for some things, I do not for others. I vividly remember going to their office to pay for the unit and the lady giving me the paperwork and telling me "I have already registered your air conditioner with the manufacturer." I remember it as though it was yesterday because I had no idea you had to do this.
We bought the Goodman to replace the first unit that lasted 30 years of heavy use. I can not believe we only got six years out of it. Now the company that installed it said it no longer sold Goodman because they broke down very frequently. I remember going with it because of the price. A saying my father often quoted came to mind "Lo barato a veces sale caro" alluding to the fact that inexpensive things, in the long run, end up being costlier.
The first company was trying to stir me to a new RUUD unit but when I went online the reviews were terrible and after learning my cheap unit was not even registered after saying otherwise we decided to purchase a new unit from the second company. I had never been quoted three prices before, cash price, Paypal price, and Discover Card. So much for saving up for my Derksen storage shed :-(
We were under severe thunderstorm warnings yesterday but they did not arrive until 1:00 a.m. so once again I was up making sure water did not get in the house. We are expecting more rain this evening.
To my delight every day I have gone into town this week, the price of gasoline has gone down by a penny. Today regular gasoline was selling for $1.97 a gallon.
Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.
Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
I absolutely hate it when a company lies to me about the terms of a warranty. So sorry to hear you have to spend all that money on something you shouldn't have to, but that is the way life goes usually.
ReplyDeleteMay and much of June were so cool and rainy here in Sacramento, and I loved it. That's a thing of the past now and we're in a heat wave. Stay cool!
That's the way life goes sometimes, you win some and you lose some and this time we came out on the losing end.
DeleteThe weather is just plain crazy in May we also had a cool rainy days with some strong winds. From reading your blog I know you are also having a miserable time with the heat in California.
That "not registered with the manufacture" would make me unhappy too.. on the bright side you have your storage shed fund so you can fix the A/C!
ReplyDeleteIn a way I also blame myself for taking them at their word, I should have verified it. You can bet your bottom dollar that will not happen to me again.
DeleteI guess the powers that be do not want me to fix Terlita's transmission so I decided to save for the storage shed but something always comes up with more relevance and the intended item has to go on the back burner.
Ugh. I sympathize. I've had a lot of trouble with sketchy AC repairmen trying to tell me I needed a whole new central AC unit when 2nd (or even 3rd) opinions revealed all that was necessary was a cheap repair like a $30 capacitor or somesuch.
ReplyDeleteIt's a conflict of interest when repair technicians get commissions on new sales for their companies. They have incentives to ignore easy & inexpensive fixes in favor of selling us the big ticket item (and by us I mean women in general because they think they can take advantage of our relative ignorance about mechanical stuff, a stereotype which in my case at least is probably true)& we have to be skeptical of everything they say.
The first time I was advised I needed a new central AC system by a repairman was 9 years ago when I moved in! It's working perfectly now with only a few minor, inexpensive repairs along the way, but I had to stand my ground (armed with a lot of online research for diagnosis & repair)& be patient until I got an honest tech to come out. The honest ones do exist but, alas, seem to be much too rare.
I subscribe to Consumer Reports. These are their 2017 reliability ratings available to subscribers which I uploaded to tinypic, for what its worth, since you intend to buy a new unit. Given the methodology CR describes, you'd probably be equally OK with any of the top 6 manufacturers listed, American Standard through Amana:
http://tinypic.com/r/2ahwe4z/9
You are certainly correct about service techs taking advantage of women and our lack of knowledge of mechanical stuff and in my case also true.
DeleteAt least you have reliable internet and can do the online research. I held the company in high regard, they came on time and charged a fair price unlike other outfits I have dealt with.
Being a small town we only have a handful of companies to choose from. As everything else from tires to parts everything is ordered from San Antonio and we had to wait for its arrival. Tomorrow Monday marks a week that it was installed.
Thank you for taking the time to share Consumer Reports 2017 reliability ratings with me and all the wonderful readers out in the blogsphere. It is a relief to know that I went with a brand that has a lower percentage of breakdown after five years.