fperkins.com – Frank Perkins

I was very very very leery about using Sears to replace an existing HVAC Air Handler and Condenser, but the 0% financing lured me.

I called the 800 number and scheduled a sales rep to come to my house and inspect my current system for replacement. I was actually impressed that they seemed very proficient and orderly. I guess, these days, anytime a service representative calls you back, you feel privileged. I knew from the start that I would be paying extra for this added layer of conveyance, but if the job went smoothly, I wouldn’t mind paying an additional overhead.

So the salesman comes to house with a bunch of papers and proceeds to show me the Carrier line of products. He obviously didn’t know too much about HVAC systems, but I knew what I needed done. He quoted me a price for around 10,000 to replace the existing air handler with an Infinity series [or so I was to believe], install an Infiniti 18 Seer condenser, new line set, new electrical and fill it with Puron. I was suspicious about some of the itemized services that he said the contractor would perform. For example, he said my existing line set [the copper tubing that runs from the condenser to the air handler] was not large enough. He also said that the wiring had to be replaced since “wires wear out”. I’m not even making that up.

I was pretty hesitant about signing off, but he did say that the contractor that they outsource the job to would do a pre inspection. I figured any discrepancies could be ironed out then.

Once again, the project management side of the house was very proficient and setup an appointment for the sub to inspect my system. This is where I got the real truth about the system they sold me. Apparently I signed up to have the evaporator coil replaced and not the entire air handler. This would be impossible to do since my existing air handler was not large enough. Thankfully, this was the case otherwise I would have had some pseudo 18seer system. Also the Infiniti thermostat which was like a mini computer would only work with an Infiniti air handler so that was a problem as well. Needless to say replacing the blower wouldn’t match the efficiency of the Infiniti system. The contractor also set he wouldn’t replace the line set since it’s plenty capable of handling the Puron. He also said he wouldn’t replace the electrical since the wiring is fine. Lastly, the existing air handler also did Hydro hot air [heat], which was a mystery to everyone.

The next day I called and had to speak to the head sales manager. I explained to him that I was sold a top-of-the-line system, but that’s not what was contracted to be installed. He gave me a new quote of 15k to replace the air handler. Ugh. The key deception, and I say that cautiously, is that the salesman left me a rebate form for 950 dollars. After closer inspection, the rebate was only valid if the air handler was replaced.

I left off with the sales manager that I wasn’t about to spend 15k on a Seer 18 system, which is useless in the NE, and that to be quite honest, the experience left a bad taste in my mouth. The next day I called and said I was canceling. I thought I would have some sort of legality issues, since I did sign a contract, but there were no hassles.

The lesson I learned is don’t buy stuff through the middleman. Find a good HVAC installer and go with that. Make sure only to pay ½ up front so that if the job is done poorly, you’re not totally out of luck.