I spend most of my time a block from the beach
or near the top of a mountain but I still
consider AC a necessity.
First world problem to be sure.
So, I've have to call AC guys out three times in my life and
two of those times all it needed was a contactor.
That's how I learned that the contactor is always the
second thing to check (after the fuses),
and a person should always have a spare on hand
to keep from having to make "the phone call".
Besides, a contactor will last forever if it knows
you have a spare.
Unfortunately
that lesson cost me quite a bit more than $100.
IIRC one time was during a big heat wave and the
first crook quoted $300 to replace a $15 contactor
that would take 15 minutes tops.
I paid his $75 show-up fee and sent him packing.
In hindsight that was a probably a bad move (and he knew it).
It took me two days to get another
AC guy to show up but he only charged $175
and that included the show-up fee
At the time I didn't know where to get the right contactor
or how to install it, but I learned.
And that was back when a dollar would buy a
whopper with cheese.
(insert old man yelling at clouds)