Rebidding does make you wonder what corners they may be cutting, if any. I'm confused as to what the two bids include. One bid is for a furnace and one is for an air conditioner. Or are the two prices listed above ($4543 and $4153) from the same company? Good equipment. Get coil model number in writing as well.

Ryan,
The two prices were from the one contractor I found through E list, one for the furnace and one for the AC. What coil should I be looking at when I request the info from him and what are the criteria?
Also to be honest, how do I know if he is putting in the coil that he lists?
Many thanks, me

The coil depends on your particular application. If it's a fairly standard upflow installation, CNPVP****ATA is what you're looking for. That's the tin-plated copper cased N-coil. The ATA at the end is important. The tin-plated copper coils should have a 10-year warranty and are more leak resistant. You'll want to get the coil model number in writing in its entirety. The coil model number is on the nameplate of the equipment installed, so you can verify this after installation.

The second company's bid isn't clear enough. I do recommend the variable-speed Evolution furnace with Evolution controller and 165ANA or 187ANA outdoor unit. The 187ANA outdoor unit has two stages of cooling for better humidity control and comfort.

Pricing these days is a mess. We have quite a few contractors who start out obscene. If the sucker homeowner buys, they make a killing and of course the homeowner paid way too much. Usually it's the elderly that get had, most homeowners shop and then these dealers come down to a more fair price. Pretty sad way to do biz.

We have customer who bought from us even though she could have saved $400 with a dealer who priced like this. They started at $5000, when she balked came down to $4000, and finally $3000. We came in at what we felt was a fair price of $3400. So did she and we did the work. She told the other dealer "you tried to screw me at $5000, I don't want to do business with you even though you came down $2000".

I guess part of this strategy is the same as car buying. You go away thinking you saved $2000 and got a steal and they sold it for what they should have all along.

Here are the latest details
Bryant 355cav060100 95%afue rated 100/65/40
Job to include gas piping, wiring,pvc for intake and exhaust of furnace, chimney liner for water heater, connect to existing duct system,removal of old equip,tax labor permits
Bryant 165ANA048, 4 ton Puron ac/ 14 seer. job to include; low voltage wiring 220 volt wiring with disconnect, line set, "CNPVP4821 4 ton cased condensing until to set at same location
Bryant evolution setback theermostat
Bryant media air cleaner
reconnect existing humidifier
total is 8116.00
So waddah ya all think? Thank you so much for all you imput and help.

Sounds like a good setup at a decent price to me. Are they able to control your humidifier with the Evolution thermostat? Also, specify and get in writing before you sign that you want the tin-plated copper coil, model number CNPVP4821ATA. Do not accept the CNPVP4821ACA as they have been prone to leaking. I believe the tin-plated coil carries a 10-year warranty as well.