My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing
Services based out of Garden Grove, CA.
I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement
$290 for the hot surface ignition
$99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even read-
his hand writing was so bad.
HE WAS THERE FOR 40 minutes! No more.
Please tell me if anyone knows how above average this pricing
is ........
I read somewhere if any furnace repairs are over $500, then its time
to buy a new one anyway.
Is that correct? If so, why didnt he mention that?

wrote in message
...
My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing
Services based out of Garden Grove, CA.
I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement
$290 for the hot surface ignition
$99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even read-
his hand writing was so bad.
HE WAS THERE FOR 40 minutes! No more.
Please tell me if anyone knows how above average this pricing
is ........
I read somewhere if any furnace repairs are over $500, then its time
to buy a new one anyway.
Is that correct? If so, why didnt he mention that?

Hope he kissed you first.

wrote in message
...
My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing
Services based out of Garden Grove, CA.
I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement
$290 for the hot surface ignition
$99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even read-
his hand writing was so bad.
HE WAS THERE FOR 40 minutes! No more.
Please tell me if anyone knows how above average this pricing
is ........
I read somewhere if any furnace repairs are over $500, then its time
to buy a new one anyway.
Is that correct? If so, why didnt he mention that?


How did you choose the company who worked on your furnace?

How did you choose the company who worked on yourfurnace?
My plumbing/air/heating guy weve used for years just retired. I tried
getting a referral from him, but he was having health problems. I
asked around and no one had anyhting for me, so I remembered seeing
their trucks around & gave them a call

wrote in message
...

How did you choose the company who worked on yourfurnace?

My plumbing/air/heating guy weve used for years just retired. I tried
getting a referral from him, but he was having health problems. I
asked around and no one had anyhting for me, so I remembered seeing
their trucks around & gave them a call


It's pretty hard to believe you don't know ANYBODY who can recommend a
better company for future reference. Don't your friends and acquaintances
ever get their furnaces cleaned?

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:28:19 -0800 (PST), wrote:


How did you choose the company who worked on yourfurnace?
My plumbing/air/heating guy weve used for years just retired. I tried
getting a referral from him, but he was having health problems. I
asked around and no one had anyhting for me, so I remembered seeing
their trucks around & gave them a call


You didn't describe what type of furnace you have, the high tech high
efficiency type with an electronics board (expensive parts) or the
regular type without electronics (easy and cheap to fix).

Your description sounds like the older regular type which is quite
easy to repair and the parts should cost under $50. You also didn't
describe the problem with your furnace. That will give an idea of the
labor involved to fix and therefore what is reasonable as charges.

From the little you had said it sounds like the wire from the
transformer was faulty (open or shorted) and wouldn't operate the gas
valve. You could have replaced he wire yourself. The 24V transformer
shouldn't fail. All it does is to operate that gas valve and it needs
to work only when the furnace is running, a very light workload for
something with no moving parts to wear out. I wouldn't want to add to
your aggravation by commenting on the charges.

One more tip. In my city the gas company provides a free service for
gas furnace, gas hot water heater and gas fireplace problems, .
Probably your city's too. Their service department mandate is to
maintain the gas service. For example if your pilot light is out and
you have no clue as to where to look or what to do they will come and
relight it and show you how you can do it yourself. No charge. If
you suspect that combustion gasses may be leaking into your house
(carbon monixide, nausea, vomitting) they will inspect your furnace
and advise you if you need a new furnace (leaky heat exchangers cannot
be replaced under the law) or do a simple fix. No charge. Suspected
CO poisoning is a high priority call (24 hour emergency service) that
will being their service technician over to your house immediately.

Fixes that do not require parts are free. A wire replacement for your
transformer to gas valve is free. If the transformer needed replacing
they will charge only the price of the transformer. Same "price of
gas valve" only if that needed replacing. They won't clean your
furnace and they won't do big jobs like furnace replacement. But they
will give you an objective opinion/report on what needs to be done.
You can phone around HVAC contractors to get a price quote for a
clearly described problem.

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:48:54 -0500, Bubba
wrote:

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:10:01 GMT, PaPaPeng wrote:

On Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:28:19 -0800 (PST), wrote:


How did you choose the company who worked on yourfurnace?
My plumbing/air/heating guy weve used for years just retired. I tried
getting a referral from him, but he was having health problems. I
asked around and no one had anyhting for me, so I remembered seeing
their trucks around & gave them a call


You didn't describe what type of furnace you have, the high tech high
efficiency type with an electronics board (expensive parts) or the
regular type without electronics (easy and cheap to fix).

Your description sounds like the older regular type which is quite
easy to repair and the parts should cost under $50.

PaPaPeng. You are a fuquering idiot and you dont have a clue what your
are talking about.

You also didn't
describe the problem with your furnace. That will give an idea of the
labor involved to fix and therefore what is reasonable as charges.

From the little you had said it sounds like the wire from the
transformer was faulty (open or shorted) and wouldn't operate the gas
valve. You could have replaced he wire yourself. The 24V transformer
shouldn't fail. All it does is to operate that gas valve and it needs
to work only when the furnace is running, a very light workload for
something with no moving parts to wear out. I wouldn't want to add to
your aggravation by commenting on the charges.

PaPaPeng. You are still a fuquering idiot. If the homeowner knew what
was easily wrong he would have fixed it. If 24V transformers dont
fail, then why do I carry several of them on my service truck? Why
wouldnt a short in a wire on a older furnace cause a transformer to
short? or a gas valve to short? or a thermostat heat anticipator to
short?

One more tip. In my city the gas company provides a free service for
gas furnace, gas hot water heater and gas fireplace problems, .
Probably your city's too. Their service department mandate is to
maintain the gas service. For example if your pilot light is out and
you have no clue as to where to look or what to do they will come and
relight it and show you how you can do it yourself. No charge.

PaPaPeng. You are still a fuquering idiot. Now you have told us that
persons that have no business lighting a pilot should do it themselves
and the utility company is telling them to do this? You are completely
clueless about life.
Our utility company will come out and light a pilot but they will
charge you for it and they will not tell you how to do it.
I can see it now.............."Well that there gas company guy told me
how to light it if it ever goes out again so I did and the furnace
blew up. It killed my kids, maimed me for life and burnt my house
down".
Now just who with the deep pockets do you think is going to have to
take responsibility for that mess?

If
you suspect that combustion gasses may be leaking into your house
(carbon monixide, nausea, vomitting) they will inspect your furnace
and advise you if you need a new furnace (leaky heat exchangers cannot
be replaced under the law)

PaPaPeng. You are still a fuquering idiot. What rock did you come out
from under? "Leaky heat exchangers cannot be replaced under the law"?
Are you just ill or retarded? Heat exchangers get replaced all the
time.

or do a simple fix. No charge. Suspected
CO poisoning is a high priority call (24 hour emergency service) that
will being their service technician over to your house immediately.

Fixes that do not require parts are free. A wire replacement for your
transformer to gas valve is free. If the transformer needed replacing
they will charge only the price of the transformer. Same "price of
gas valve" only if that needed replacing. They won't clean your
furnace and they won't do big jobs like furnace replacement. But they
will give you an objective opinion/report on what needs to be done.
You can phone around HVAC contractors to get a price quote for a
clearly described problem.

Free? Nothing is free my boy. Nothing. You are a very clueless boy.
Bubba
==============================

Glad I never met a trademans from hell like you. You would have been
more inventive in your billing than the service guy who ripped off our
OP. You have been ranting in this newsgroup for years and its always
the same hysterical posts.

My city certainly does have pretty good laws (no market an unscruplous
person salvaging old parts for resale) and a good gas company.
Last October I called out the gas company guys three times within a
week. Three different service techs came within three hours and all
were really nice guys. All no charge for doing the problems I
described in my first post.

Its simple enough for the OP to call up her own gas company and find
out their service call options - what will they do, what's free,
what's chargeable, etc. Go from there. The worst that can happen is
nothing.

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:35:54 -0500, Bubba
wrote:

Guys like you that have no clue what it costs to run a
business. Try it sometime. You wouldnt last a week. In case you havent
noticed..........gas is not $0.39 a gallon anymore, a gal of milk is
not $0.65, your home utility bill isnt less than $50 a month and
sending a kid to college doesnt cost $300 a semester. I wont even
bother to mention health insurance costs.


Of course I do, the cost of running a business. No one owes you a
living. If you can scare people to call you for every little problem
so that you can rip them off that's not my problem. Meanwhile there
are lots of people who seek advice here as to whether its something
they can do to avoid spending unecessary money. They are welcome to
free advice. They can decide for themselves if the advice is valid or
whether they should call a service guy. The knowledge helps them spot
scammers from hell like you in an instant.

In case you haven't noticed the designs of modern appliances have been
simplified so that a reasonably handy person can install or replace
the any module themselves without having to be an engineer. Anyone
can handle a wrench and a screwdriver. That's commonly all that is
needed to replace an appliance module and get the appliance running
again. Nobody including tradesmen does parts repairs anymore. It
takes too much skill and time. You'll go bankrupt doing parts
repairs. The skill of a repairman these days is to know which module
is producing the problem, quickly replace that, confirm that's the
fix, collect money and get to the next call.

wrote:

My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing
Services based out of Garden Grove, CA.
I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement
$290 for the hot surface ignition
$99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even read-
his hand writing was so bad.
HE WAS THERE FOR 40 minutes! No more.
Please tell me if anyone knows how above average this pricing
is ........
I read somewhere if any furnace repairs are over $500, then its time
to buy a new one anyway.
Is that correct? If so, why didnt he mention that?
Hmm,
That is outrageous! Called on week end? Parts cost is ~50.00 tops.
Either one is not a major component.

On Jan 14, 7:41*pm, wrote:
My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing
Services based out of Garden Grove, CA.
I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement
$290 for the hot surface ignition
$99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even read-
his hand writing was so bad.

I don't get it. You paid for a bill that you couldn't even read,
without questioning it?

Larry,
My husband & I were both at work. My mother was at the house & signed.
Believe me if I was there, things would have been different

wrote in message
...
Larry,
My husband & I were both at work. My mother was at the house & signed.
Believe me if I was there, things would have been different


Where did you get the name of the company that did the work? Was this a
company you'd done business with in the past?

How long has it been possible for you to establish a relationship with a
reputable company? In other words, did you just move to your area, and had
no idea who to call? Or, have you been there for a number of years?

On Jan 16, 1:12*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Larry,
My husband & I were both at work. My mother was at the house & signed.
Believe me if I was there, things would have been different

Where did you get the name of the company that did the work? Was this a
company you'd done business with in the past?

How long has it been possible for you to establish a relationship with a
reputable company? In other words, did you just move to your area, and had
no idea who to call? Or, have you been there for a number of years?

Heh Joe, give the guy a break. He already told you his previous
service guy retired for health reasons and wasn't able to make
recommendation for another company. If your heat was out in the
middle of the night and it was getting cold, how much investigating
would you do? Sure, it's always a good idea to ask around if you
can. But sometimes you may not be able to.

Asking for a diagnosis and cost to repair BEFORE telling them to go
ahead and fix it would have probably gone a long way to avoiding this.

wrote in message
...
On Jan 16, 1:12 pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Larry,
My husband & I were both at work. My mother was at the house & signed.
Believe me if I was there, things would have been different

Where did you get the name of the company that did the work? Was this a
company you'd done business with in the past?

How long has it been possible for you to establish a relationship with a
reputable company? In other words, did you just move to your area, and had
no idea who to call? Or, have you been there for a number of years?

Heh Joe, give the guy a break. He already told you his previous
service guy retired for health reasons and wasn't able to make
recommendation for another company. If your heat was out in the
middle of the night and it was getting cold, how much investigating
would you do? Sure, it's always a good idea to ask around if you
can. But sometimes you may not be able to.

Asking for a diagnosis and cost to repair BEFORE telling them to go
ahead and fix it would have probably gone a long way to avoiding this.

=======================


Honestly, if my winter sleeping bag couldn't get me through the night, I
would've gone to a hotel and dealt with it in the morning. $85 for the hotel
room seems like a drop in the bucket compared to getting reamed the way the
OP did.

On Jan 14, 6:41*pm, wrote:
My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing
Services based out of Garden Grove, CA.
I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement
$290 for the hot surface ignition
$99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even read-
his hand writing was so bad.
HE WAS THERE FOR 40 minutes! No more.
Please tell me if anyone knows how above average this pricing
is ........
*I read somewhere if any furnace repairs are over $500, then its time
to buy a new one anyway.
Is that correct? If so, why didnt he mention that?

Ive had contractors rip off my parents and myself, I just stop pay on
the check and renegotiate. I know at the time you paid you did not
have the suspision to research the bill.

FWIW, we would probably charge somewhere around $225-250 to diagnose the
unit and replace the parts you mention. Transformers usually do not fail
on their own. Usually a short in the 24volt side is the cause. The short
is usually either in the wiring going to the a/c, or the homeowner
accidentally shorting them attempting a DIY. I know that cost of living
in Ca. is much higher than here, but from what you describe, it sounds
like you paid about twice as much as the repairs should have been.
Larry

If you don't like what contractors charge, learn hw to fix stuff
yourself.

On Jan 15, 12:49*pm, wrote:
If you don't like what contractors charge, learn hw to fix stuff
yourself.

Whats your problem?
I didnt know that we would get charged that amount, like I said-If I
were there things would be different

wrote:
My furnace wasn't working, so I called Cole heating / Plumbing
Services based out of Garden Grove, CA.
I was charged $320 for the transformer replacement
$290 for the hot surface ignition
$99 for a maintenence fee & $25 for something else I couldnt even
read- his hand writing was so bad.
HE WAS THERE FOR 40 minutes! No more.
Please tell me if anyone knows how above average this pricing
is ........
I read somewhere if any furnace repairs are over $500, then its time
to buy a new one anyway.
Is that correct? If so, why didnt he mention that?

I don't know anything about your furnace. My specialty is ghosts.

There are two in your house. Call me. Bargain rates.