Need feedback on cost of AC service

[Gonefishin5555]

is this totally standard or was I over charged? The other thing I asked about was if I should have a leak test done to fix the leak since I had it refilled about 5 or 6 years ago. The guy said its not generally fixable so why bother doing it you should just put the money toward a new unit. The thing that bugged me was he was only there an hour and I figure the parts were a couple hundred so i got charged $1200-1300 for an hour of labor.

INVOICE Services qty amount
Air Conditioner/ Heater Visits - Diagnostic Fee - Residential 1.0 $69.00
*Primary motor control failed *compressor kit failed *compressor low on charge Fixed and recharged unit . Ac cooling the home properly.
Primary Motor Control - Compressor/Dual 1.0 $344.00
Primary Motor control replacement Compressor Saver Kit 1.0 $577.00
Install Compressor saver kit R-410a Per pound 4.0 $700.00 R-410a refrigerant per pound

 

[HOOTER SLED-]

Lol...here we go again.

 

[Riverbound]

don’t know where you’re located but this seems about standard pricing for your better companies.

that said i don’t fully believe the “diagnosis” but i’m not there to verify things. i’m guessing some of the “failed” items are worn or needing replaced items not full failure.

If you do a search you will see I have explained the costs associated with running a construction service company in so cal numerous times. you aren’t paying for time and materials in a service based business.

 

[Riverbound]

Lol...here we go again.

I almost didn’t even respond.
where’s my thread?

 

[dezertrider]

Thats the going rate except for a few thrifty people that knows a guy that knows a guy that will do it on the side,

If he truely installed 4 lbs of refrigerant its going to be gone by next summer. You may have a micro leak if its over 10 years old so this will only get you through the rest of this summer. Everything he installed is good for an old tired system. Just plan on replacing it soon. They are not getting any cheaper

 

[Gelcoater]

Thats the going rate except for a few thrifty people that knows a guy that knows a guy that will do it on the side,

If he truely installed 4 lbs of refrigerant its going to be gone by next summer. You may have a micro leak if its over 10 years old so this will only get you through the rest of this summer. Everything he installed is good for an old tired system. Just plan on replacing it soon. They are not getting any cheaper

I’m that thrifty guy and my buddies buddy came over and found my micro leak in about 3 minutes and fixed it.

But I know a day is coming all the hob cobbled over the years syrstem isn’t going to go BNAG.
Dreading it.

 

[HOOTER SLED-]

I almost didn’t even respond.
where’s my thread?

Coming sweet cheeks.

 

[Gonefishin5555]

Okay thanks for the feed back everyone. It’s in OC. I trust the guys that do my ac in bhc but here in cali I didn’t have anyone.

This was a new company to me so I thought I would get some opinions

 

[Riverbound]

Okay thanks for the feed back everyone. It’s in OC. I trust the guys that do my ac in bhc but here in cali I didn’t have anyone.

This was a new company to me so I thought I would get some opinions

sounds like you already had it done but if you ever want a free second opinion……hit me up.

 

[CLdrinker]

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Yeah it’s more than a guy showing up for a couple hours with parts.

 

[dribble]

Isn’t the Primary Motor Controller the contactor? Also a 25 lb can of 410A is about 13 bucks a pound on Amazon. The compressor saver kit appears to be a fancy capacitor and looks fairly inexpensive (25 bucks). This honestly looks like about $100.00- $200.00 in parts. Not saying anyone got ripped off but maybe the HVAC experts can chime in and tell me where I’m wrong?

 

[Riverbound]

Isn’t the Primary Motor Controller the contactor? Also a 25 lb can of 410A is about 13 bucks a pound on Amazon. The compressor saver kit appears to be a fancy capacitor and looks fairly inexpensive (25 bucks). This honestly looks like about $100.00- $200.00 in parts. Not saying anyone got ripped off but maybe the HVAC experts can chime in and tell me where I’m wrong?

look at the post directly above this. breaks down just a few of the actual costs associated with this “repair” the cost of materials on servcie work is genrally less than 5-10% of the cost of the call itself.

 

[dribble]

look at the post directly above this. breaks down just a few of the actual costs associated with this “repair” the cost of materials on servcie work is genrally less than 5-10% of the cost of the call itself.

Many people here are business owners and are very aware of the overhead involved. What I’m seeing here is a loss leader diagnosis fee ($69.00). Then that loss is made up on the back end of the deal. I don’t think my Dr grosses $1200.00 an hour though. As long as the customer knows exactly what he’s buying and authorizes the costs I’m ok with it.

 

[Riverbound]

Many people here are business owners and are very aware of the overhead involved. What I’m seeing here is a loss leader diagnosis fee ($69.00). Then that loss is made up on the back end of the deal. I don’t think my Dr grosses $1200.00 an hour though. As long as the customer knows exactly what he’s buying and authorizes the costs I’m ok with it.

nobody makes money on diag fees it’s only there to weed out the truly cheap people. reality is before I knock on a door i’m already $600-700 behind the 8-ball in a new customer.

 

[Bobby V]

look at the post directly above this. breaks down just a few of the actual costs associated with this “repair” the cost of materials on servcie work is genrally less than 5-10% of the cost of the call itself.

Does NexGen have a minimum service charge for labor. When I was still working we had a 4 hr min. for repairs and change orders if we weren’t onsite. Sometimes the repair might take a hour in the field but the tech Needs to account for drive time. This is pretty standard in our trade.

 

[CLdrinker]

nobody makes money on diag fees it’s only there to weed out the truly cheap people. reality is before I knock on a door i’m already $600-700 behind the 8-ball in a new customer.

What you don’t like the customer that has you diagnose pay your service call fee then shop the repair req’d or Google it and try to do it themselves.

Had a customer request a materials breakdown for a complete change with duct work.
I reluctantly did as we were slow and needed the work.

Effer sent it to his BIL in the business who got him everything for cost and then wanted me to only do labor.

That was the last itemized list I gave.

 

[Riverbound]

What you don’t like the customer that has you diagnose pay your service call fee then shop the repair req’d or Google it and try to do it themselves.

Had a customer request a materials breakdown for a complete change with duct work.
I reluctantly did as we were slow and needed the work.

Effer sent it to his BIL in the business who got him everything for cost and then wanted me to only do labor.

That was the last itemized list I gave.

I give incorrect lists in those scenarios. and i don’t charge for any diag work.

 

[Riverbound]

Does NexGen have a minimum service charge for labor. When I was still working we had a 4 hr min. for repairs and change orders if we weren’t onsite. Sometimes the repair might take a hour in the field but the tech Needs to account for drive time. This is pretty standard in our trade.

technically our diag fee would be the “minimum charge”. everything else is priced similar to a dealer where the repair cost the same regardless of how fast or slow the tech is doing the work.

we don’t often see change orders etc. we focus on resi/light commercial servcie and change outs. we steer away from project work unless it’s a really good client.

 

[dribble]

That’s why when I ran an auto repair shop we didn’t loss leader anything except when a regular customer wanted their brakes looked at or had a problem we could fix in the driveway. Your regulars are your bread and butter. We always took care of them. Everyone else signed an estimate.

 

[stonehenge]

Is 677.39 for an 18 dollar capacitor to much, asking for a friend.

It took maybe 7 minutes to replace. And after hours was after 4pm. Job completed by 4:07 not on a weekend. I, umm, err, my friend bought 2 of the identical cap's from amazon, free shipping had it the next f-n day. Why 2, because one is getting put on to replace the vintage 326.39 pos the tech sold my friend and the other is a spare. Having a spare that will never get used, because when you have a spare the original will never break, LOL. They were identical (rating, brand, size, part #) to what the tech put on the unit, except the new ones from amazon didn't look used, seriously looked like he pulled it off another unit from 1980, it had strap marks on it and the terminals looked used. If only my friends wife could have survived one fricking night w/o the ac. The irony of all this is my buddy had just reminded me, I mean my friend to check and replace my outside cap and the inside cap up in the attic, just in case, cheap insurance, etc.



Dispatch Fee After Hours

$139.00

CAP-170 Replace dual run capacitor 55+ mfd.

$326.39

After Hours Repair Surcharge

$200.00

T800818 Environmental Fee

$12.00


Sub-Total $677.39
Tax $0.00
Total Due $677.39
Payment $677.39
Balance Due $0.00


But hey, my friend learned a valuable lessen, lawyers, military recruiters and now ac companies. God bless Meri'ca!!!

No free lunch here, like CL stated, we have to pay for all of there overhead etc., I, um, my friend understands how the world works. lol

God bless all of the ac folks that keep my fat ass cool in the summer!!

Flame away, but before you waste ink, this just happened and I'm not complaining, just sharing a true funny little story. I love all AC companies and worship all the tech's who work so hard to keep my house comfortable.

And respect the fact, they GOT YOU BY THE BALLS WHEN THE WIFE IS NOT HAPPY. LOL

 

[shan]

So, I had caps shit the bed on a Sunday. I called the company's answering service, someone came out and fixed it. It was expensive, but it was July in Yuma. I was impressed that someone would even come out. As others have said there are a lot of expenses involved with running a business, and windshield time isn't free. Sometimes the technician may spend more time driving than they do making the repair.

 

[shan]