Help! - I hate Home Warranties!! Anyways, after 3 months in our ne...

HOMEOWNER CRIES FOR HELP...

posted: September 8th, 2008 - 2:04pm

QUESTION:
I hate Home Warranties!!
Anyways, after 3 months in our new home (which was built in '87) our main upstairs A/C unit is not cooling.(fortunately we live downstairs...no kids yet) (we have 3 units for a 4200 sq ft house.) Warranty company sent out a guy who looked like he lived under a bridge.
Got the usual song and dance that if this was a "maintenance" issue it wouldn't be covered... the guy shut off the unit to melt the ice on the condenser and hasn't been back. Attempts to contact him and his company have been fruitless. I called the warranty company, they are trying to contact him as well. Anyways, in the mean time, I called a reputable company for their opinion. They found a leak in the evaporator coil with an electronic detector. They say it needs replacement, but as long as they are there, the furnace (original equipment, i think, Trane model #THP075A942AO) can be replaced at a $600 savings and its pretty old. The outside condenser has been replaced in about 2003-2004 with a fridgidare SEER 10(Model FS3BA-042KA 3.5ton) The current coil was probably replaced at the same time as the fridgidare. It is Trane Model #TXHO41A4HPA2. So here is my dilemma:
1. Do I just replace the coil and get the warranty company to pay for it (hoping that they send a better repair man)?
2. Or do I also replace the furnace and condenser at the same time to save future dollars by improving efficiency and doing it at the same time as the coil replacement?
3. Should I leave the furnace for another day?
4. Is the trane coil possibly still under warranty?

ANSWER: You won't have any warranty issues just replacing the coil as everything else is out of warranty but you might get a better deal doing a system changeout in the off season,also I would check the coil only changeout price that seems pretty steep and can't imagine the home warranty company going for it.
We have dealt with home warranty companies alot and my best advice for getting your best result with them is playing the coil leak they will have to address that and they will feel like it is their best outcome and you will get a new coil with a 5 year warranty.