A friend called me Friday night. He's having problems with his Goodman heat pump installed in 2016 that is failing to cool. Unfortunately, he lives about 200 miles away. Otherwise, Blue Ridge Heating and Air would be addressing the issues.
A large local HVAC contractor performed a diagnostic on his system, and has concluded that the evaporator coil on the indoor unit located in the crawl space has a leak. To remove the old coil and install a new one, they have quoted him $2100...ouch!
Also, they have said the condensate pump has failed and have quoted $950 to replace it...double ouch! This is $3050 to get a 6 year old system working again!!!
Aside from the apparant price gouging, it's going to be an expensive repair regardless of who does it, assuming this diagnostic is correct.
Let's consider another alternative to plan for heat pump, air-conditioner, and furnace repairs. Most manufacturers provide a 10-year warranty on the parts, compressor, and heat exchanger for their equipment when installed in a residential application by a licensed contractor/dealer. The catch is that the equipment generally has to be registered with the factory upon start-up. It's unclear if this happened on both the indoor and outdoor units in my friend's application. We've confirmed the outdoor has been registered, but not the indoor, which is where the evaporator coil is located. Even if the part is still under warranty, the labor cost can be very significant.
Most homeowners that get a new HVAC system installed are happy to hear that it comes with a manufacturer-backed 10 year part warranty. They don't think about the labor cost until their contractor hands them a hefty bill to cover the labor on a warranty repair. This generally leaves the homeowner unhappy about paying for something they thought was under warranty. How could they have prevented this?
Blue Ridge Heating and Air offers an Extended Labor Warranty backed by our partner JB Warranties. Click here to see a flyer on this product. This warranty covers your full system that was installed, including the thermostat. It has no deductibles. Furthermore, it is transferrable to the new homeowner should you sell your house. If you have any issues with your system, Blue Ridge Heating and Air will repair it to service free of charge. Click here To apply for the Extended Labor Warranty with Blue Ridge Heating and Air.
Back to the discussion concerning my friend. If he had purchased a 10 Year Extended Labor Warranty to compliment the 10 year part warranty, he would have no cost for this repair, or any repairs over the 10 year warranty duration. The price of this one repair would have more than paid for the cost of the warranty, and it's likely that he would have had several repairs needed over 10 years.
If you'd like to know more about the Extended Labor Warranty, please apply at the link above, call our office at 855-477-5135, or email us at mail@blueridgeheatingair.com.