I just submitted a request for quotes through Homeadvisor and three other contractors were suggested. One called back right away and estimated about $2,500 with the caveat that he's not seen the system yet. We'll see what the company that's due to arrive shortly estimates.

Well, the other company actually came in with a lower price of $2,335. They are a bigger, but local, shop. They do not carry Goodman and quoted Trane. The quote includes a new sheet metal plenum (currently fabricated from insulating board) with damper valves (no dampers currently), new primary and secondary drain lines (they currently are clean and clear, so not really needed), new drain pan with level switch (no switch currently), and a 6" sheet metal transition to the furnace where the Goodman unit currently is directly abutted and sealed with mastic.

I did also talk to a highly recommended fellow who has run a two truck shop the next town over for 27 years. He said he currently has work queued up for 3 months so cannot really help me, but that he normally would charge around $2,300 for an evaporator coil replacement.

I've not been contacted by the other two Homeadvisor contractors I requested quotes from.

At this rate it doesn't seem I'm going to find more reasonable quotes...

wrong on time estimate. Typically at least 2 hours just to visit the home and give initial estimate (drive time included). Then another 2 hours to get the parts ready to go do the job, then another 4 to 5 hours to do the job (if everything goes as planned and depending on the amount work being done) then another hour or two to dispose of trash from your job.

Jobs can't be priced by the time only spent in your home. Then there's liability issues, if the coil is not installed right you could wind up having a flood in your home.

Time wise, it may be a little faster in maybe less than 5% of jobs done. You're paying for averages in time. I work by myself with average time of around 9 hours (total time, not just time putting in the coil). If you have two people you will marginally better the time, but whatever the time is it is times 2 with more than one person.

How old is the condenser and what is the current refrigerant? How long do you plan to live in this house?

Depending on your answers it may make more sense to invest the $2335 into a new AC.

"Well, the other company actually came in with a lower price of $2,335. The quote includes a new sheet metal plenum (currently fabricated from insulating board) with damper valves (no dampers currently), new primary and secondary drain lines (they currently are clean and clear, so not really needed), new drain pan with level switch (no switch currently), and a 6" sheet metal transition to the furnace where the Goodman unit currently is directly abutted and sealed with mastic."

It sounds like they are doing quite a bit of adapting the new coil to the old system (as opposed to simply swapping out the coil with the same model). So $800 + $400 + parts and labor for the additional work could conceivably add up to $2300.

sktn77a,

many times companies that sell thing this way have an appearance of offering more to hide the fact they have lower skilled labor. So the cost of material is substituted for cheaper labor to have an 'appearance' of a better deal.

A HVAC system can look beautiful appearance wise, but not cool or heat worth a that of a $3 dollar bill. (There is no such thing as a $3 bill, if you catch my drift.)

A song and dance... what is the value of that anyway?

On the bright side you'll throw your money away on other junk unrelated to the HVAC industry. It's the American way. LOL.

At least you can't say I didn't warn you.....

Are you saying the items quoted are not necessary and have been proposed to inflate the quote in order to make the homeowner think he is getting highly skilled labor?

Hi, guys - I had written an update yesterday but apparently it never posted.

@ Austin Air, I'm not trying to get this done on cheap, just want quality work at a fair price hence my question here as to what is considered appropriate pricing for this work.

@ mike_home, the house is 7 years old and we likely will be moving in the next year or two. The house was a spec. house which has been on the market for 9 months when we bought it from the builder - not sure if we had registered the HVAC right at that point whether or not the extended warranty to 10 years would have been instated, but we've missed that boat at this point.

At this point, based upon the five quotes I've received (and two others who never called back/followed up), I've decided to go with the quote for $2,335 for the Trane unit which I verified is the all-in total cost including permitting and I should not expect any adders at the end. They really have been the most professional in the quoting process and documentation provided. I'm not sure whether Austin Air's comments are warning against that quote or one of the others, so I hope this is the right decision. I still don't know whether this is a fair price, but it seems to be the best I could do after contacting a variety of local contractors, both larger and smaller without trying national chains.

On follow up, one of the other quotes dropped down to $2,200 for a direct replacement Goodman unit which would not require any adaptation, but I really don't like playing this changing quotes game and prefer to deal with the company that was the most up front and straight forward. All of the other quotes, both written and verbal, were provided simply as total costs with no further detail included.

Anyway, installation is scheduled for Monday morning and I appreciate the feedback provided.

Mike,

I don't really know other than what the OP has said what he thought was needed versus what this company is including in the quote. The game with this that this company builds more and more pieces to give the appearance of a better deal. (Not typically used to inflate the price, just make you think they are better deal because they are offering to do more, many times in situations like this it's unnecessary work.) Paying higher skilled laborers to do unnecessary work? This is why the labor is typically less skilled in situations such as this.

I could see maybe replacing the plenum to sheet metal as there is less likelihood the plenum gets blown apart. But the dampers they put in are all manual, it's unlikely you would ever need them. No one is going to adjust them for free and a home owner is best to not adjust them anyway. As far as drain lines go it's usually first 10 feet which rarely are clogged with anything anyway.

New drain pan? depends on what old pan looks like. But realize this company is out to give you the appearance of doing more. If it's necessary comes down to experience. The float switch I include on every coil replacement job whether I replace the pan with a new one or not.

Vince, if it's not about being cheap please explain to me why you said this in your first post. " I have one more company coming out this afternoon to quote, but am not expecting them to be any cheaper. "

I can only go by what you say. We are in a forum board.

PS: Trane isn't necessarily an upgrade. Every HVAC manufacturer has problems with refrigerant leaks in coils.