Repair vs. Replace 16 yr old Carrier AC / Furnace

19 years ago

Hello - we're looking for advice on whether to repair or replace our AC / Furnace systems. We have a 2-story house with 16 year old Bryant 12 SEER AC, and 80% Furnace. Both of the air conditioners have started having problems. The upstairs unit has an out of balance fan blade costing $250 to repair. The downstairs unit just died. It needs a new contactor, dual run capacitor and outdoor fan motor - $775 to repair. We also just added 2 lbs of freon to the two units (not sure which). The downstairs furnace is sitting on the AC coil, so they recommend replacing it if we decide to replace the downstairs AC unit. Cost to replace 2 complete units with Trane XL 15 SEER AC / XV80 variable speed furnace would be $14,000.

Should we:

A- Just repair both ACs for about $1000 (Worried about future problems cropping up and getting nickel and dimed with more fixes)

B- Switch out the downstairs AC and Furnace for about $7000-$8000 (expensive) and fix the upstairs fan

C- Go ahead and do 2 complete system replacements for $14,000? (really expensive! but at least everything is the same age, possible economies of scale?)

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Dena

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Comment (1)

bob_brown
19 years ago
Well let's look at the dollars. Many systems don't last for more than 12 years. That would calculate to about $1500 per year for 12 years, to pay for the cost of a new TRANE, whereas, you pay $1000 this year and maybe another 1000 a year or so later. If you have a leak, then you may need a new coil (Because no one will spend the 3 hours to fix it) they will sell you a new coil, then spend 3 hours to install it. Questionable logic, but most common of all repairs.

Peace of mind is worth something. I had a customer that claimed peace of mind was more important than money, but he always wanted a super low cost on all repairs.

The TRANE 'new bid' will probably cost you $1500 per year for the next 12 years. It will need to be replaced before that time, or sloppy techs will force you to replace it sooner.

The old junk is paid for. Replace the motor, contactor, caps every year, and you will never cost more than $1000. Even if the tech really hoses you.

TRANE sells piece of mind, and claims to be the best. Why don't they sell more equipment than the lower quality systems? Because most people realize that TRANE is just a name put on the same components as sold by everyone.

I have a very expensive touch screen thermostat that did not last 6 months, with a TRANE logo on it. To get warrantee, I need to show a sales receipt for the stat. I was the repair guy, not the installer. The stat was made by Honeywell and labeled by TRANE. If the stat did not have the logo on it, Home Depot would sell me a new one for 1/3 of the list price TRANE uses. I could return it without any problems. Instead, it sits on my desk as a reminder of what a company can do to its customers. You wonder why I don't like some manufacturers. This is the reason.

I have an account with TRANE that I can use. It is inactive this year so far. The same as I have an account with Goodman. It was inactive until a couple of weeks ago. The Carrier account is the one we use this year.

But not to confuse the issue, all manufacturers are hardnosed on their branded product. Many warrantees never happen, because of crappy return policies. Today I am looking at a $360 stat labeled by TRANE. Now for the good news; I can return the stat maybe, if I cheat and lie to TRANE. I try to never lie or cheat, so I guess the stat will be a constant reminder why I don't care for TRANE.
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