Should I renew my home warranty?

[Rick Lee]

We've pretty much come out even or ahead each of the last four yrs. with the home warranty that runs about $650/yr. We were kind of hoping our made-in-1996 a/c would die and we'd get either a buy-out or a deal on a replacement since parts for the old systems are drying up and thus it's harder to just keep band-aiding the old units.

We have a check up on the unit every year and it's always drawing the maximum amperage, but it keeps on ticking. I've been told a retail new unit for the house would run $7k, but I've also heard lots of private guys can do it way cheaper than that.

Home warranty is up for renewal this week and I can't decide if we should just let it go and save up for a new a/c or renew and bet another $650 the home warranty co. will come through if our a/c dies and needs an expensive repair or replacement. What to do?

[Gogar]

Sabotage!!

[DonDavis]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Sabotage!!

Did you say Savatage ?

Rick,
It's a crap shoot. But since you have it serviced regularly, it'll prob keep on ticking another few years. Maybe weigh the decision based on the other items covered? While $650 is nothing to sneeze upon, it does have value.

Btw, are you playing this Friday? The Blooze?

[Rick Lee]

Don, we played last Fri., 04/11. We'll be at O'Kelly's in Mesa again soon, so that's closer to you.

[Hads930]

No!!!!!

We kept one for this reason and got ****ed last summer. They want to patch everything, even on a 17 y/o unit, then you get to cover all the things that the warranty does not. Mine had a leak at the attic coil, my part was about $1700, their part and labor, about $800. They left me a laundry list of updates that were necessary for an inspection, the trouble is I was at a huge jobsite everyday and had daily HVAC inspections with the city, I showed him the list of **** and he said only 1 of the 10 or so items was actually code. These warranty places work for **** money for the warranty company so they can rape you once they get to your house. The guy got to my house before me, hooked up his gauges, added refrigerant and was ready to go when I got home. Before troubleshooting anything he gave me a ballpark number for an entirely new system. Call your home warranty company and ask them who they send out if you need service, I bet its not your guy. After they tell you who it is, google that company and your warranty company at the same time, all I found with mine was horror stories.

After this episode. Had them send me a check for their part of the repair and came out of pocket about 6K for a new unit.

Never again. Rant over.

All this happened in August, in Houston, having just cut my vacation short so I could see my dad before he died.

[Rick Lee]

I had the fan on my outdoor compressor unit die last July. The warranty company could not get any of their contractors to deal with it for several days and told me to find my own and they'd cover it. Turns out they had just signed up with the company I had been using for the inspections and those guys, since we had a history together, sent a guy out on a Sunday. I'm sure they got a fraction of what they'd have charged me out of the warranty company, but the guy said it would have been $590 if he had billed me. Best part was that the warranty co. could not say it was due to neglect since this company had just been out for the annual inspection a few mos. earlier. Anyway, I'm leaning toward looking into getting a whole new unit soon or to try to ride this one more summer out. I don't want to spend a dime more on another Band-Aid.

[Arizona_928]

I would bite the bullet and just buy a new one, and bid it out. The home warranty that came with mi casa was crap, and refused to cover anything when stuff started breaking.

[Neilk]

Well if you are planning on getting a new unit and you have some spare money, why not get it now while it is somewhat cool?

We had 25 year old units when we moved it and they could barely keep up with the Dallas heat. We probably saved over $500 that next summer with new units that were not only cheaper to run, but kept the house cooler without running 24/7.

We had AHS and they wanted to band aid everything or exclude it from coverage, so we rolled over and just ate the cost for two new units when the heat exchangers rusted out.

Good luck

[74-911]

Originally Posted by Hads930

No!!!!!

..... They want to patch everything, even on a 17 y/o unit, then you get to cover all the things that the warranty does not. Mine had a leak at the attic coil, my part was about $1700, their part and labor, about $800. ......

After this episode. Had them send me a check for their part of the repair and paid out of pocket complete new high efficiency unit..

Never again......

This is exactly what happened to us about 10 years ago, again in S. TX when the heat was on. Oddly enough (or not?) the dollar amounts quoted above are about exactly what we were quoted down to the $800 they paid us. We also took the money and had a complete new high efficiency system put in and never looked back...

[Joel8005]

No. My small brokerage manages about 150+ homes, many of them show up in our portfolio with home warranties in place. I cannot tell you how many times the we have had systems fail and the owner was expecting the warranty company to fix / repair or replace and it did not happen. Not to mention, there is no sense of urgency in making repair, try have a HVAC system fail in August and letting the Ins company jerk you around for a week or so........

The only time we recommend home warranties is when buying the property, negotiate it in as part of the deal and have the Seller pay for it. Highly recommended to first time buyers who are picking up older home and are generally cash strapped.

[june82000]

What all is covered and what all would likely fail is the question to ask yourself. Cost of likely repairs vs cost of the warranty? How much is your peace of mind worth? Will the warranty provide that (sounds questionable)?

Warranty companies will keep band-aiding the problem. There's nothing in your AC system that can't be replaced in order to keep it running so they will never buy you a new system.

On the flip side, my friend is in the HVAC business. If you ask them, your entire system will need replacing; duct work and all. I have no idea what your home is like, but I'd say $8,000 is an average figure for equipment and ductwork including labor.

So it depends on who you ask as to what kind of answer you get.

If opting for a new system, try to figure out the time required to recover the cost of the system by way of energy savings. Don't forget about insulation and air leaks as they require the system to run more often and hence shorten system life.

FWIW, I had to replace my heat pump/AC condensor fan motor recently. It was about 9 years old. I did it myself for the cost of the part which was $112.

Good Luck in your decision(s).

[Jim Richards]

No.