Can I expect details in an a/c replacement bid?

14 years ago

I would expect any bid to replace my hvac system to include a price for each item of hardware (condensing unit, furnace, etc) plus details of tasks to be performed with labor costs.

But many contractors in my area seem unwilling to provide anything but a total package price. Is that typical, or have I been calling the wrong guys?

I suppose it's easy to just care about the bottom line, but it doesn't seem very professional to me and makes me uneasy.

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Comments (4)

ryanhughes
14 years ago
Very, very rare for any contractor to break down parts and labor costs. The price given is for the system installed, as you observed.
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tntim
14 years ago
I agree with johnax, this is crazy, but all of my quotes for heat pump replacement did the same thing---package deal. Makes it very hard for consumers to compare apples to apples. It feels like we are dealing with used car salesmen....I just don't get it.
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ryanhughes
14 years ago
That's how they make money. They have insurance, truck, inventory, etc. costs (i.e., overhead) they have to cover for. It's sort of like asking a dentist how much the actual crown is aside from the costs of placing it in your mouth. You're getting a cost for an installed system, and you can either accept it or keep searching for other bids to get an idea of the costs in your area. Really not much more to it. And I'm not in the field myself, so I'm not particularly biased one way or the other.

You won't really get a quote as follows:
Condenser $800, Coil $300, Furnace $700, Other Materials/Labor $1600.

What you'll get is more along the lines of:
Central A/C and gas furnace installation with all labor/materials - $6000.

If the company isn't making much money over the equipment cost, they may not be around later for you.
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kaffine
14 years ago
I don't work in the HVAC field so I don't know how they do it here.

I would expect the major parts to be broken down and the labor charge along with a price for hardware which would be the small things that are needed to complete the install. I may not expect exact model numbers but I would want to know brand and series for the major parts condensor, evap, air handler, air filter sytem, T-stat if one of the high end ones. I would only expect labor to be broken down for each task if I was also replacing the duct work then I would expect that to be quoted seperate.

Mabey I spent to many years in the auto industry we normally broke it down for labor and parts. If the customer wanted we could supply a detailed parts list which would list everything we would order from the parts department inluding things like brake clean and O-rings for that job. We would even brake down the labor if wanted evac and recharge, replace the compressor, the expansion valve ect. Of course it is alot easier to do in the auto industry since they have companies that supply the labor time for replacing just about everything on the car. I wouldn't expect labor charges to be broken down that much for a home AC system replacment.
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Can I expect details in an a/c replacement bid?

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ryanhughes

tntim

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