Customer Story on Amana Manufacturer Warranty Coil Replacement
Mission Air Conditioning was called out by one of our customers in Bellaire, TX. From our first conversation with them they revealed concern for the efficiency of the HVAC units in their home. The systems were fairly new but did not seem to be cooling as well as possible. The house was custom built in Bellaire with high efficiency in mind. Our initial thought was that perhaps these systems needed a little maintenance and cleaning to bump up their performance. With this in mind we set up a service visit for one our Mission technicians.
After arrival, the HVAC technician found several issues with the air conditioning systems of two units beyond the scope of normal maintenance. Repairs and Freon (refrigerant) are not included in most tune ups provided in Houston, TX. Fortunately enough for this customer we were running a promo where if any repairs were needed we would nullify the $60 tune up fee if the customer used us for the repairs.
Repair findings On Amana A/C systems
The home had 3 Amana (goodman) high efficiency hvac systems installed in ~2008. One system was down slightly on refrigerant with no leaks found in the system. A second system was low by about ~5lbs of 410A puron (refrigerant). We then did a thorough search for the potential leak in the system. We found that the 4 ton evaporator coil on this system was leaking refrigerant. Fortunately for the customer the coil itself was still covered by their 10 year manufacturer warranty from Amana (goodman). We then recommended to replace the coil under the manufacturer warranty.
The downside of manufacturer warranty replacement
Yes, the manufacturer replaces the failed part for free ,however, their are downsides to a scenario like this. Significant downsides include the customers discomfort/irritation, paying a labor fee, inconvenience of replacing the coil and the potential lost trust in the manufacturer and contractor. Yes, mistakes can happen with any manufacturer or Brand of HVAC equipment. The whole reason manufacturer warranties exist is to ensure some level of trust with the customer in the initial sales process as well in the case that something fails during the warranty period. Yet, in cases like this the customer’s confidence is shaken. To make matters worse this is the second coil this customer has had to replace in the past 2 years with Amana. All things considered I bet the customer will more than likely buy a different air conditioning brand next time around.
Manufacturer Warranty Process
The process of exchanging and replacing manufacturer warranty piece of equipment is fairly straight forward.
1. Diagnosis of failure
2. Check if under manufacturer warranty
3. Remove failed part/equipment
4. Take to supplier for exchange. Fill out Warranty report. This includes customer info, model, serial etc.
5. Install new item
Price for manufacturer warranty replacement
The cost to the customer depends on plenty of variables including equipment size, type, placement, refrigerant type, required permit price etc.
With that in mind often times these manufacturer warranty HVAC replacements cost in the range of $750 – $1,500
This is much better than the alternative of paying $2,000-$4,000 in the case that a manufacturer warranty did not cover the equipment itself.
