Air conditioner service (Austin, Alamo: rental, house, water heater)

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Any recommendations for a good air conditioner service? We don't want or need to purchase a new one but want a company that will take care of our current one. Thank you.

[pbnj07]

ServiceTex....be sure to ask for Andrew to do the service. He's been our guy going on 4 years now.

[10scoachrick]

Very happy with ARS. We have a service plan that covers two 'tune-ups' per year, so our heating and A/C are checked. Plan includes a 'discount' on any needed service or parts.

[HappyTexan]

I've used ARS as well for both A/C and water heater and had no problems.

[CptnRn]

I used ARS for a couple of years but stopped after I got the distinct impression they were trying to sell me repairs and replacements that were not needed. Sure enough, the AC condensor they said I should replace, is still running fine 5 years later. They told my rental tenant that I needed to replace the two toilets in the house because they get old and clogged up when she called them for a backed up toilet. I paid my plumber to replace the flush valves and root out the sewer line and they are still working fine 2 years later, there was no need to replace the entire toilets.

I now have what HVAC work I need done by Jason Krieg, Alamo Austin Air, 736-0145, the price he charges for annual servicing of the AC (spring) and heating (fall) is half of what ARS was charging me.

[Trainwreck20]

Where I used to live in north Austin, I just did a 'distance' search via the online yellow pages (or equivalent) and found individuals to do plumbing, AC, etc. that lived close-by. I sort of 'interviewed' them first by phone to see if they seemed competent, but I often ended up with very high quality service from semi-retired tradesmen this way and was extremely satisfied.

The down-side is lack of after hours service or full service customer support (receptionist, etc. to talk to when the person was working), but for a non-rush job, it can work well.

[dwcarry]

I can’t help with a recommendation, but can tell you not to use 4Seasons. I had a heating problem. The tech came in, opened my unit up and said my controller was bad. No voltage checks, no schematic, nothing. I told him the igniter wasn’t firing and figured that’s what it was. He told me they don’t manufacture the replacement anymore and I could get a new unit for $1500 or upgrade my existing controller for $900.

I told him I needed to think about it (I have two units, so could survive). I got on the internet and found the replacement part for $60 with free shipping.

I didn’t have a problem paying a few hundred bucks to get if fixed because I didn’t want to have to mess with it. But this was just ridiculous.

Unfortunately, I think is the rule and not the exception.

Good luck, it’s tough to find someone you can trust.