Price Check... how much should it cost for an Air Con technician in the middle of Summer?

[Deactivated] on 10/01/2017 - 20:42
Last edited 10/01/2017 - 21:33 by 1 other user

So I know that obviously bookings are going to have a waiting time, and a premium is going to be charged for fixing Air Con during Summer. Supply & Demand and all that.

But I just want to check how much is too much.

Quoted for $198 which includes call out + 30 minutes worth of Labour. $44 per additional 15 minutes.

I thought about a portable air con until Summer is over, but it's just not practical because there's not enough space and there is someone with limited mobility who wouldn't be able to step over the hose.

By the way the Air Con is a very old Fujitsu General unit which is just blowing warm air like it's just a fan, and not a very powerful fan at that.

Poll Options

  • 25
    Reasonable
  • 5
    Not Reasonable
  • 4
    Not Sure
Home & Garden

Comments

  • BensonP on 10/01/2017 - 21:00
    +2

    Best thing you can do is get multiple quotes. And quick. More hot weather will come.

    Do not get a portable aircon. They are only good for a 3m x 3m bedroom at best.

    Airconditioning and heating are the only two things I don't skimp on.

  • imtahir7 on 10/01/2017 - 21:08

    well i just had a guy out today to check our evaporate cooler. the fan kind of blew up.

    charged $355 labour and parts to fix the fan and do a bit of a service on the unit. says our pads that suck up the water are damaged due to the exploding fan. quoted 600 to replace the pads.

    • follow on 11/01/2017 - 07:52

      I recently replaced mine for $2200 for the largest unit of Braemar. My neighbor had his serviced and fixed for loud noises for more than $500. Problem still continued. Would've been worthwhile to replace.

  • colormonochrome on 10/01/2017 - 21:13
    +2

    Be aware that you may be up for a new air con unit if it's pretty old. When I moved into a rental, the air con was doing the same thing, blowing air around and no cooling. When the LL called a tech, turned out the external hoses were all worn out, and the external unit leaking, and it would be far more cost effective to replace it with a new one.

    • resubaehtgnolhcs on 10/01/2017 - 22:32

      Yep, got the same advice just a few weeks ago on a 12 year old LG multi-head system, where one heads blows warm tepid air the other head works fine. Was told it was a compressor problem and that it was cheaper to install a new single head unit rather than fix the compressor! Technicians stated that they could use the existing piping in the multi-head for the new single unit, making me assume that I could save some money here on the installation of a new unit! How wrong I was…

      Asked the technicians for a quote on a new single head system and he came back with a quote of $2900 for a 3.5kW Fujitsu system. The Fujitsu unit retails for under $1000 so I am assuming the $1900 plus labour fee is due to the heat of summer! Who would have thought that replacing/repairing a compressor would cost $3000 plus? So I am not sure if this is just a ploy from AC technicians to get you buy a new system once your original unit is dated 10 years or more…

      Also, I was charged $220 for the technicians (x2) to come out inspect the unit and diagnose the fault. In all they spent around 45 minutes on site and sent me the quote for the new unit a few days later.

  • Banana on 10/01/2017 - 21:14

    Dad installs air conditioners for people. I don't believe he charges his clients extra during the peak time. But he would just tell you to wait till he's available. A guy waited 2 years for him. This said client even got a big discount on his final bill. However I do believe his fees are higher than the big guys (TGG), he admitted it's pretty hard to compete with them.

    • trev likes bargains on 11/01/2017 - 23:13

      2 years? Like man years?

      • Banana on 12/01/2017 - 10:37

        Yes. I was pretty surprised when I heard it too!!

  • [Deactivated] on 10/01/2017 - 21:24

    Any idea if it's worth waiting it out to after Summer, is there going to be Discounted offpeak rates then? Or just shorter wait times?

    • PVA on 10/01/2017 - 22:34

      same price just shorter wait.
      book now and you may get someone in Feb/March.

  • UFO on 10/01/2017 - 21:29

    What's reasonable is what people are prepared to pay, and the old supply and demand rule!

    On a 40 degree day when demand is high, service techs have work galore, and motivation of the customer is as high as the temperature… well, you'll pay whatever they want!

    If you don't like it, ask for additional quotes… but believe me, EVERYTHING has raised prices in peak time… snow lift tickets go up in Winter, and car prices come down at the end of year. Everything.

    Mr Aircon man is very busy at summer. Ask him for a service call in April… bet he's half the price ;).

  • Mummy2 on 10/01/2017 - 21:43

    I got my evaporative airconditioning unit serviced for $99 last September. It was a special pice - not sure what the normal price was. I am in Perth.

  • big1964 on 10/01/2017 - 22:18

    My partner has a 12 year old room/window air conditioner that stop working she rang kelvinator to come out to look it and they said you would better off buying a new one as we would probably not have the parts to fix it!!

  • nocure on 10/01/2017 - 22:26

    30 minutes worth of Labour.

    Tell them you want a fixed service price.

  • aussieprepper on 10/01/2017 - 22:41

    Can you DIY AC installs? Are they plugged into a socket or do they have there own circuit breaker? I do not have AC.
    Obviously any thing over 2.4kw couldn't run on a socket unless its 3 phase.

    • resubaehtgnolhcs on 10/01/2017 - 23:13

      Need an electrician for the electrical work, and yes, it has it's own circuit breaker. Also need a plumber that's licensed to do ACs for the piping work - you can't get the gas required without a license.

      • BensonP on 11/01/2017 - 07:38

        99% chance of needing an electrician.

        An A/C unit of 2400 watts or below can have a 10 amp plug, or 3600 watts could have a 15 amp plug. (Input watts- not heating/cooling capacity)

        For example a 8kw cooling/9kw heating rating A/C could have a 2420 watts cooling/2640 watts rated input.

        Hope this helps someone haha

  • dan76n on 10/01/2017 - 22:41

    I'd call around first as that price could be reasonable or it could be due to the tech being so busy they'll charge what they want.
    I'd also consider a new unit if it's really old as the last thing you want to do is pay for repairs for it to have another fault soon down the track.

  • PVA on 10/01/2017 - 22:45
    +1

    I would start looking at a new air con if the other is very old. Prob wont get parts for it.

    We had a Panasonic, was about 10 years old or so, got someone out who spent hours trying to fix. he just charged me for Gas in the end (gas was a little low). all sensors worked fine, compressor worked, but fault was somewhere else possibly control board. Parts are impossible to get for older models.
    I asked another air con place and they said without even visiting that it was better to replace, parts are too hard to get for any brand.

    • resubaehtgnolhcs on 10/01/2017 - 23:17

      Yeah, I think parts may be a big problem with older units (10yrs plus). But having said, its frustrating knowing you have to spends thousands because some part that may have only cost a fraction of the replacement cost is not available!

      • Banana on 12/01/2017 - 10:40

        Our old house was a junk yard and it was for times like this! My dad had kept every part he crossed path with,from the popular big brands to brands no one had heard of!

    • StewBalls on 10/01/2017 - 23:19

      This. Install price for a swapover is usually considerably cheaper than a new install…that $198 + extra should be nearly half the install.

      • resubaehtgnolhcs on 10/01/2017 - 23:52

        Is your comment about being considerable cheaper based on the fact that piping and electrical work is already there? This hasn't been my experience in the last few weeks. There's debate as to whether old piping should or even can be used with a new install due to the different gas used today (Freon vs R22). Maybe you can save a little bit on the electricals as everything should already be there, it would just need connecting. But my $2900 quote makes me think that summer peak season has a lot to do with the price (especially when you consider the heat wave like days we have been having in Sydney in the last two months).

        • PVA on 11/01/2017 - 09:05

          Install for ours originally was $650. The replacement a year ago was $450. Electrical is already done, as well as holes in walls etc. so install is heaps easier. They don't reuse the pipes.
          Is your quote the unit and install from an air con company? I found it much cheaper to buy from JB hifi and get it installed ( was something like $2300 total vs $2900 from an air con company)

        • StewBalls on 11/01/2017 - 09:06

          @resubaehtgnolhcs: Your $2900 comparison appears to be based on you being taken for a ride by your AC guy…in answer to your question, as noted by PVA, other variables are also involved.

        • resubaehtgnolhcs on 11/01/2017 - 11:38

          @PVA: Yes, the quote is from an AC company. I'll start looking into the retail stores!

        • resubaehtgnolhcs on 11/01/2017 - 11:39

          @StewBalls: Yep, I agree with you in regards to being taken for a ride!

        • StewBalls on 11/01/2017 - 11:41

          @resubaehtgnolhcs: To help put it into some perspective, my AC guy just did a 6kw new install for me including supply of a Hitachi unit for under $2k…hopefully this helps your negotiations.

        • resubaehtgnolhcs on 11/01/2017 - 11:45

          @StewBalls: Wow! Great, thanks for the info that at least gives me some ball park figures to work with. How long was your pipe run? Mine is about 6m with 3 90 degree bends - so I also need to factor this in…

        • StewBalls on 11/01/2017 - 13:06

          @resubaehtgnolhcs: In fairness, it was near back to back, less than a couple of metres difference…but it was an elevated install, so needed a second guy for a couple of hours that would normally have been a one-man job at ground level.

        • PVA on 11/01/2017 - 22:36

          @resubaehtgnolhcs: geez, 6m is a long distance away. You sure you can't wrangle it any closer.

          Our total for a 7kw Panasonic was $2200, back to back install. That was last year and Pana had a 8 year warranty.

        • resubaehtgnolhcs on 11/01/2017 - 22:43

          @PVA: Yeah garage is in the way, so it has to run the width of the garage wall

        • PVA on 11/01/2017 - 23:03

          @resubaehtgnolhcs: that maybe the expense. I didn't think they could go that far.

        • resubaehtgnolhcs on 11/01/2017 - 23:44

          @PVA: From my research most reverse cycle AC that you can buy from the stores can go a maximum pipe length of 20m. Whilst this would explain some cost, over on the WP forums they claim that the actual pipes themselves are not that expense by the meter, it's the labour involved that pushes prices up. In my case most of the labour has already taken place (holes drilled in walls etc), so I would just need some bending of pipes.

          Also, with my quote they were going to use the existing pipes! So this doesn't explain the cost. I was definitely being taken for a ride!

        • PVA on 12/01/2017 - 00:09

          @resubaehtgnolhcs: i see, i thought it was a max of around 5m.

          yep, try JB hifi and ask for a deal - dont go by the sticker price at all.

        • resubaehtgnolhcs on 12/01/2017 - 00:26

          @PVA: thanks, will do!

  • CheapskateQueen on 12/01/2017 - 22:22

    Ha. Perfect topic. I asked my property agent for quotes cos the last thing she billed me for was a rip. Said they charged a call out fee just for a quote.

    How does one get quotes then?

    • [Deactivated] on 12/01/2017 - 22:46

      If anyone was looking to learn a trade, this would be the job for them. They'd make an absolute killing

    • wholistic on 31/10/2017 - 07:08

      Talk to friends locally that had a good experience.
      Use their referral when getting in touch.

  • jerjergege on 13/01/2017 - 08:49

    Same as a technician in winter.

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