A/C fall maintenance for $39.95 - too good to be true? (house, buy)

[SpaceNeedle]

We just received a $39.95 special offer for 58 point (whatever they are) maintenance from Donley Service Center. This sounds too good to be true. The price range we have found from other companies for 2 maintenance visits is about $300-$350.

If anybody has used them, we would like to know the quality of their work.

Thanks.

[abmiku]

The $39 and $300 are probably the same thing. You will pay the extra $300 to not be sold anything. If you can say no to whatever they will try to sell you go with the $39.....If you have a new unit(5years maybe up to 10 years old) there is nothing they can really do to it but clean the coil which you can do yourself with a garden hose. Most motors made these days are sealed and cannot be oiled. Freon lasts forever unless you have a leak in the system, if you have a leak you'll know it because your AC won't work.....so what exactly are they going to do to your system? I'm a HVAC tech, and most techs hate doing these checks because they are BS and boring and the owner wants you to sell a fan motor or a contactor or maybe even a new unit. Think about what they are going to do.....Drive 20 miles? At $3.50 a gallon, with an AC tech making $20 and hour, and they are supposed to make a profit charging $39.....prepare for them to tell you that you need something expensive. I'm not talking about Donley just AC companies in general....I know nothing about Donley.

[Ponderosa]

I have never had an annual maintenance check and have never had an a/c unit go south. I put these checks on the same level as the "free" 50 point auto checks - just opportunities to sell service and parts you don't need. If you are on warranty don't waste your money and if not on warranty, buy a service agreement. If it works, don't fix it.

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by abmiku

.....so what exactly are they going to do to your system?

All it said on the offer was 58 point maintenance. I will call and ask them.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

If you are on warranty don't waste your money and if not on warranty, buy a service agreement. If it works, don't fix it.

Hell again Ponderosa . Is a service agreement the same as a maintenance agreement which A/C companies would come to your house and perform tune-up twice a year?

[nikkzone]

I always check them up on BBB and Kudzu.com before I hire service for home/auto. For AC and plumbing I highly recommend "Silver Fox". You can check them up on Kudzu. They are really trustworthy and good people. Their response time is great, too.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by SpaceNeedle

We just received a $39.95 special offer for 58 point (whatever they are) maintenance from Donley Service Center. This sounds too good to be true. The price range we have found from other companies for 2 maintenance visits is about $300-$350.

If anybody has used them, we would like to know the quality of their work.

Thanks.

I would be a little suspicious, SpaceNeedle.

Whatcha wanna bet they'll find something drastically wrong and/or broken during the inspection?

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by SpaceNeedle

All it said on the offer was 58 point maintenance. I will call and ask them.




Hell again Ponderosa . Is a service agreement the same as a maintenance agreement which A/C companies would come to your house and perform tune-up twice a year?

Oops... I meant to say 'Hello'. Darn fat finger!!!

[wit-nit]

What 58 points of inspection. Have them put the 58 points in writing. There are nowhere 58 items to be checked unless your're counting the paint and any dents and the water line to the house and the antenna on the roof. You get my drift.
Vehicles have more parts than an air-conditioner and you don't get a 58 point check for them when you take the vehicle in for inspection. Maybe 15-20 if you're lucky.
Sounds like a rip off scam to make you buy something you don't need as others have mentioned.
And if the unit is under warranty, then you shouldn't have to pay anything.

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by nikkzone

I always check them up on BBB and Kudzu.com before I hire service for home/auto. For AC and plumbing I highly recommend "Silver Fox". You can check them up on Kudzu. They are really trustworthy and good people. Their response time is great, too.

Thank you nikkzone. This Kudzu.com is great!! "Silver Fox" has excellent reviews and I will check them out. Someone also mentioned "Magic Touch". They won 2008 Ethics Award from BBB and also have excellent reviews on kudzu.com.

Originally Posted by Bummer

I would be a little suspicious, SpaceNeedle.

Whatcha wanna bet they'll find something drastically wrong and/or broken during the inspection?

LOL. Thank you Bummer. I know there're a lot of unethical contractors out there and this forum has saved me so many times in the past.

[nikkzone]

You are welcome. Glad I could help. There's nothig like word of mouth when it comes to service businesses.