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Within a month of buying a home in Monmouth county, which had passed all home inspections, a furnace motor stopped working (Trane XL80 model). The gas burning unit, furnace itself, was working fine; it is the air circulation was not happening, due blower motor not working. Good thing the home has two furnaces, one for upstairs (beds/baths), and one for downstairs (kitchen/family/living). The unit where blower stopped working impacted downstairs, so for 2 days, we spent minimum time downstairs.
I watched some DIY videos, and while technically I could do it, it would have required half day for me, and even then I am told some distributors do not sell such blowers to ordinary home owners; only licensed HVAC contractors.
So, I called a local HVAC repairman, and got it replaced. The replacement added up to $500.
-- Approx $300 for motor (Trane brand, 1/2 hp motor), including taxes.
-- $160 for repairman ($80 to diagnose, and $80 for him to get the motor from a Trane distributor 25 miles away, and replace).
Why am I posting this? To get over the buyer's remorse... is this reasonable rate? Too high? Just right? I realize that in this cold, we would have paid even $1000, if it had come to that, but still, feels like it should cost less...
P.S. No the home sale did not come with a "1 year home appliances warranty" sort of insurance. When I bought a less than $400K home in CA, such a warranty was included; when I bought the current home for 2.5 times that, in NJ, I was told that such warranty is considered tacky on high priced homes!
after 30 months of home ownership, I have come to the conclusion that 90% of all home issues that need a repairman of somesort are quite easy fixes that are not worth the several hundred dollars a repairman bends you over for. I am an engineer, and am technically inclined and consider myself pretty handy, and in my 30 months here I have probably saved myself thousands.
Youtube is an amazing resource. At least take a few minutes to educate yourself so a repairman doesnt take advantage of you in the future.
it may sound a bit high...........but trane parts are high, a trademans time plus he went 25 miles away , I think it was a fair price for what you got.
after 30 months of home ownership, I have come to the conclusion that 90% of all home issues that need a repairman of somesort are quite easy fixes that are not worth the several hundred dollars a repairman bends you over for. I am an engineer, and am technically inclined and consider myself pretty handy, and in my 30 months here I have probably saved myself thousands.
Youtube is an amazing resource. At least take a few minutes to educate yourself so a repairman doesnt take advantage of you in the future.
Your recommendations are fine for those who are mechanically inclined but many men don't even know which end of the screwdriver to hold on to.
Some HVAC contractors who do repairs sometimes have the needed parts on their truck and if you have no heat time is of the essence so DIY troubleshooting is a waste of time.
For those who are mechanical and have some tools they should and usually do attempt repairs but your not going to educate a complete novice via the internet. A novice with a Home Depot starter tool kit can screw things up real quick.
Having bought 4 homes and moved a couple of times in the last 8 years I can tell you that things break more often during or soon after the move. I am not sure if it is murphy's law or what. Once you are settled, life will be back to normal. And don't even get me started about burnt out bulbs. I must have replaced at least a dozen bulbs within weeks of moving to my new place.
All in all I think that's a fair price. I often do things myself and then I see that for something like automobile front brakes and a tie rod end which may cost me $100 in parts I see others hit with $800 bills at repair shops.Time is money too.
after 30 months of home ownership, I have come to the conclusion that 90% of all home issues that need a repairman of somesort are quite easy fixes that are not worth the several hundred dollars a repairman bends you over for. I am an engineer, and am technically inclined and consider myself pretty handy, and in my 30 months here I have probably saved myself thousands.
Youtube is an amazing resource. At least take a few minutes to educate yourself so a repairman doesnt take advantage of you in the future.
Tony,
I agree with you, and in the past I have done most household repairs myself.
However, I just moved to this home in Monmouth county, NJ, most of my own tools are still in boxes, first experience with northeast snow/winter (always been in California before), still adjusting to a 90 minute commute to Manhattan each way (prior commute in California was 5 minutes!).
So just completely out of time...
(Just in case anyone asks why I moved, well, it was a terrific career opportunity, big bump in pay, and give children exposure to another part of country... we intend to move back to California in 5-8 years).
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