If a salesman is a former experienced technician, that's fine. If a salesman
has no hands on experience, cross that company off your list. They are
trained to tell you what they think you want to hear. My prices for Ruud are
lower than Trane or Carrier/Bryant. Call a Rheem/Ruud dealer for a free
estimate.
Maintenance plans and extended warranties are insurance. Companies are
betting that it won't break down, and you're betting that it will. If a
company sells enough of them, they make money on them. Better insurance
would be to find someone with a good local reputation. It will save you a
lot of aggravation in the long run.

"kck" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks again to all. I have contacted a couple of other outfits and
have a vist scheduled for Monday.
Some nutshells:
Firm 2: Trane, $900 coil, $3K for 13 SEER (not certain of tonnage, will
talk Monday).
Firm 3: Carrier, $1K coil, $2300 10 SEER, $4K 13 SEER (ouuuuch), 2.5
ton.
Firm 1: (repeated for convenience): Lennox, $950 coil, $2700 11 SEER
2.5 ton.

Wanted to ask about the extended warranty and maintenance plans. They
all seem to want the latter to honor the former. Are either of them a
good deal for the consumer?

I will do some more reading over the weekend re tonnage. It seems like
the guy coming on Monday is more 'technical' (the first guy was
dedicated sales and didn't know much at all except his prices and
expiring deals). Maybe I will get better info on Mon.