Which bid should I choose?

Question

I have a 25+ year old G.E. furnace and a/c which are still working good. But I want to replace them to save heating and cooling bills. I have gotten 3 bids : Amana with 95% , 13-14 seer: at $4800, American Standard - 90+, 13-14 seer: at 6400, and Ruud - 90+, 13 seer. Someone who used to be an HVAC contractor said American Standard has motor problems, and so is Ruud. He said to check Amana further. Anybody heard about this motor problem? He recommends Lennox (?) or Goodman. Also, when the system is replaced, is it standard for the contractor to check all the ducts and seal them if needed? Only 1 of the 3 contractors mentioned that in the bid. Or is that an assumed part of the job? Thanks for any advise on the bids.

Answer 1

Im Gonna give a short answer to this for you.
I Have worked with all of them and fixed alot of them.
For the most part Lennox or Bryant are your best bet.
They all have there own problems and alot depends on there usage and the biggest thing is if you have the unit serviced (Maintiance) done on it every year or so they will last alot longer.
Filters/oil in motor/cleaning and so on.
Now with the ducts for me its a standard but I have seen and know alot of other contractors that dont do this.
You have to ask them to do it. Cuz you could have a 95%unit but if the ducts are in bad shape the unit could only be 50% good so make sure you ask them to do this it is something that should not be over looked!!!
1 more thing When you do get any more bids ask them about there warranty some people put the unit in but let the company (lennox) deal with any problems so make sure you ask them what do they cover,how long, if they have a maintiance program and so on. You will find out that its in the fine print.
Goodluck

Answer 2

I'm not well versed in HVAC, but I have studied contratc law in coollege. If the contractor does not write something on the final contract he has no legal obligation to do it for you. To truly get a good idea of actual costs I would recomend that you re-request a bid with duct checks from the two that didn't mention it. And, remember it is better to pay too much for something than not enough. If you pay too much all you lose is a little money, but if you pay too little you can lose everything, because you lost the money that you payed and the thing that you payed for might not be able to do the job for which it was purchased. I paraphrased that quote from an early 20th century business man.

Answer 3

At face value, the Amana at $4800 is the one I'd take.
Is the contractor established and reputable? You didn't mention if this contractor was one who mentioned duct sealing...but if the difference is $1600 less without the duct sealing...I'd say take it, buy a good caulk gun and $30 worth of good silicone and seal them yourself! The most good is done by sealing the ductwork closest to the furnace, because the higher air pressure closer to the furnace will leak more air from the same size hole.

Consumer reports puts Goodman dead last as far as failures at about 25% needing repair, American Standard rated as number one at about 15%, and Amana at about 19%.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home-garden/heating-cooling-air/furnaces-repair-history-205/overview/index.htm

I'd go with the Amana. They are owned by Maytag now.

Answer 4

don't assume anything will be done. get what you want done in writing. check with the BBB for how your contractors reputation is. does he get a lot of complaints? does he successfully resolve them? and also which guy do you feel most comfortable with? good luck, happy holidays!

Answer 5

I went with Lennox and remember this Nothing is "assumed" with any contracting job. If it isn't in writting it "isn't so" it's that simple.