Too Good to be True?

A homeowner with a larger home with two gas furnace – heat pump HVAC systems called us in for a proposal to replace their first system.  While they liked our company our price was in the $16,000 range.  Another company bid $11,000 for the ‘same’  system.

While the units were similar, the caliber of workmanship was not.  Many people in the market for a new HVAC system look at buying just like they would a car – the best unit at the lowest price.  With a $40,000 car the destination charge is $400 or about 1% of the total cost.  With an HVAC system, the labor and materials that go along with the branded equipment average around 50% of the cost.  Depending on the difficulty of the installation, labor can be over 70% of the cost.

So, when a contractor comes in at a significant discount, there is usually a catch.  They have under qualified personnel, they tell their people that they have a limited amount of time to get the work done (also known as ‘shortcut-city’), they use inferior materials, they avoid permits and inspections, etc.

When this homeowner decided to replace the second system, they paid us the full $16,000 to get the second unit installed the correct way.

HVAC unit not level

Attached are pictures of the installation installed by the first ‘low bidder’ outfit.  Much of their poor workmanship is not noticeable to someone from outside the industry but a few areas show out.  Their system will require much more repairs than ours sooner, consume more electricity and have a shorter lifespan.  Over the 15-year projected life of the unit, the homeowner will not see an up-front $5,000 savings hold; ours will be the better deal long term.