Roll the windows down and drive a good 30 mph.

Probably not what you want to hear, but that is as cheap and generic a compressor as they come.

On the flip side you could put in a used one if you could find someone who has one, but this probably wouldn't be much cheaper and you would probably get what is known as a 'tail light' warranty. (Realize used units mean systems that have already failed at least once. In most cases they are best suited for the junk yard. --- this is why there are no generic nothing in this business.)

Once my tail light (on service vehicle) goes out... it's out of warranty.

So you put in a used one and it fails a few months later (worse case) and you're staring at this problem again.

You put in the $500+ labor, Freon, recovery, tax compressor and a year later it dies... you're staring it in the face again.

This is why new equipment tends to be the better option in failures such as this... you will get a 10 year part warranty on the whole piece of equipment, versus one year on one part.

Of course if you're selling the home the equation changes...

If you are asking if a compressor for use in a Reem must be sourced through Reem,the answer is no. What killed the old compressor? Failed compressor cast's suspicion on possibility another component/issue caused it and might be waiting to kill a new compressor. Failed compressors often contaminate the rest of system which result's in short life for new compressor. That's more info than you asked for but point's out there might be more important considerations than price of part. Choose service company carfully then follow their advice.

Thanks Austin, I don't want a used one. I just thought a compressor might be like buying Tide versus Great Value washing detergent. I watched some YouTube videos showing them replaced and I see that they pretty much look identical to the replacement. So that makes sense.

Klem, I'm not sure how or why it passed itself away. The unit is a 15 year old Weather King 1.5, with 10 SEER.

It died last summer and because of what I see as being very expensive "repair" I went the cheap route & bought 2 window AC units.

The small window AC was $99.99 on sale and the bigger one was $199.99 on sale. That is cheaper than fixing my central air and just a temporary fix.

Now, I haven't had a tech out yet to look because a service call is $79.99. But here's what I know for sure.

The unit is 15 years old. It's never had 1 issue or ever needed freon. So I'm happy for that.

But last year when I turned on the AC, the inside fan comes on, the outside fan comes on but the compressor isn't doing anything. Just sits nice & quiet. No humming.

Your right. There could be other reasons for that. But she's not singing her song anymore. Everything else wants to work tho, but I felt the hot & cold lines and obviously nothing moving.

I just HATE AC repairs. They are never cheap. And they always want me to buy another one.

I know 14 SEER is the law now & mines just 10 SEER.

If the whole repair was $200 I'd say fine. But I have a bad feeling it will be more like $1,000.

And Mama broke.

The game you are playing is known as "trying to out guess the hounds". Have you ever heard of bad capacitors? What about wires that melt at connectors? I repeat "Chose a service company carfully then follow their advice".

If you plan to live in this house another 5 years, then don't invest in an expensive repair. It is a waste of money in my opinion. Use the window units to keep cool until you have enough money for a replacement. Some companies offer a financing option which you may want to consider.

I called my tech company and they're coming out in the middle of July to give me an estimate for $79.99. They could have come sooner but I only trust the owner to service and quote my system as I've been using his company 12 years now. Plus I'm in no rush anyway.

I was pretty sure he'll tell me the same thing you guys said, to replace. I saw a 1.5 Goodman 14 SEER for almost the same price it would be to replace my compressor. (Excluding labor, installation and tax). So maybe next year.

Mike, I don't plan on moving. They'll take me out of here in a pine box someday.

Mike, the lady at the HVAC tech company also told me they work with 3 different financing companies so I'll look at that route too.