Recommend Me The VEU Installer to Replace My Ducted Gas Heater to Split Systems

Banana3 on 24/06/2024 - 15:11

Hi everyone,
Putting my trust in OzB community, does anyone have a VEU registered installer they would recommend to decommission my ducted gas heater and install split systems? Not wanting to just randomly contact them as I have not so good experience with these things.

I'm looking for a few ones to compare the quotes. Keen to hear your recommendations for honest and reliable ones, especially those that don't rip you off knowing you'd be getting VEU rebates. Hope it's not a long shot.

Also would appreciate anyone who has done a similar thing sharing their experience, what to look out for, ballpark figures, lessons learnt, etc.

Thank you heaps!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • jv on 24/06/2024 - 15:29
    -3

    F

    • Banana3 on 24/06/2024 - 16:18
      +2

      Oh wow, this is exactly my thought when I received a notification that @jv has commented on my post! The universe works in a mysterious way.

  • JIMB0 on 24/06/2024 - 15:30
    +2

    Get them to quote but don't mention the rebate until after. Watch out for cowboys, there's plenty out there. Don't pay until job is finished and done properly.

    • jv on 24/06/2024 - 15:42
      -1

      Watch out for cowboys, there's plenty out there.

      How do you tell? By the hats?

    • jm7 on 24/06/2024 - 16:18

      Agree about not mentioning the rebate. I got an initial quote prior to asking about the rebate which was really competitive, then asked to add another split and they tried to extort me.
      With the rebate, you will never actually know how much rebate 'you' received so it pays to get a few quotes and compare. The agents can skim as much or as little as they like off the rebate unfortunately

  • bmxr on 24/06/2024 - 15:44

    Hipages or Oneflare - get 3 quotes and check their reviews.

    • beesider on 25/06/2024 - 11:34

      There's very few companies on hipages that do VEU rebates. I posted a job there and received very inflated quotes, and most of them want to pocket half the rebate (i.e. offering just $1100 on a 7kw system whereas it should be $2100-2500). And all these companies want to sell only expensive aircons - Daikin, Panasonic, Mitsubishi.

  • kobeduck on 24/06/2024 - 15:56
    -1

    Why do you need to decommission your ducted gas heater? Unnecessary cost

    • Jolakot on 24/06/2024 - 15:58
      +4

      You have to decommission for the rebate, no other choice

      • kobeduck on 24/06/2024 - 16:21

        I hope the rebate covers the cost then. Good luck

        • Jolakot on 24/06/2024 - 17:14

          It should cover the full cost of a single 7kW split system, not a bad trade for a 20 year old heater.

          • kobeduck on 24/06/2024 - 17:19
            +1

            @Jolakot: Sure if you can find a tradie that don't also know about the rebate and would price accordingly.

  • Jolakot on 24/06/2024 - 16:04
    +3

    Same boat, yet to find a mob that charges reasonable prices for supply and install, seems the moment you ask about the rebate they add $2k to the price.

    I will say, don't bother with Coldflow, they refuse to supply any affordable options and wanted $6k minimum after rebates for 3 small split systems.

    Might have to buy them myself and get them to just install and decommission, but it's almost impossible to get a straight answer about which models are eligible, seems a bit half-baked at the moment.

    • beesider on 25/06/2024 - 11:24

      There's a list of eligible models on VEU website.

      There's also a list of eligible companies that can get the rebate. I got quotes from some of them and was really disappointed - with the VEU rebate they want to charge the market aircon price + $2k for install, whereas the market install price is $700-900. No bulk installation discount.

  • jm7 on 24/06/2024 - 16:16
    +2

    Alot of smaller businesses can claim the rebate on your behalf through an agent. The Heat Shop in Williamstown has a good reputation.

    • beesider on 25/06/2024 - 16:56

      Rang them up. They only do Daikin. 7 kw Daikin split with installation all up is $3500. Rebate is $1750 and they charge an admin fee of $250. So roughly $2000 out of pocket. Not worth it. I'd rather buy a 7 kw Hisense aircon at the Good Guys Commercial for $1.1k and get it installed for $900, and be still eligible for future potential rebates.

  • jm7 on 24/06/2024 - 16:20
    +2

    Recently paid $6k plus GST out of pocket (claimed VEU) for 3 x 2.5kw and 1 x 5kw Daikin splits. I believe the rebate was approx $2.3k

    • Banana3 on 24/06/2024 - 16:22

      Thanks, mate. Did you use the Heat Shop that you mentioned above? Did that include decommissioning you old ducted gas as well? Are you happy with everything?

      • jm7 on 24/06/2024 - 16:26
        +2

        I didnt use The Heat Shop because the quote was higher than what I paid. Ended up using a smaller business and I am happy. They disconnected the ducted gas and had to provide photos to claim the rebate.

        • Jolakot on 24/06/2024 - 16:58
          +3

          Would you be able to share the name of the company? That sounds like a very fair price

          • jm7 on 24/06/2024 - 19:09
            +1

            @Jolakot: What area are you in?

            • Banana3 on 24/06/2024 - 20:28

              @jm7: I'm also interested to know the company that you used. I'm in the inner western suburb.

              • beesider on 27/06/2024 - 12:01
                +1

                @Banana3: Don't bother with that guy. I reached out to him and his quote was absolutely uncompetitive - the most expensive out of all. For a 7 kw Daikin split he quoted $4400 for supply and install with a VEU rebate of $1500. He works only with Daikin.

                • Banana3 on 27/06/2024 - 12:12

                  @beesider: The Heat Shop or the guy that @jm7 used?

                  • beesider on 27/06/2024 - 13:58
                    +1

                    @Banana3: The guy. The Heat Shop is about $1k cheaper than the guy jm7 used.

                    I don't know why is that, maybe that guy is swamped with work now. I also got an impression that even though it's winter, the aircon guys aren't looking for jobs to do as opposed to other trades. Neither of the companies followed up with me after sending their quotes. Neither of them, including the guy, wanted to haggle after I told them their quotes were too high.

            • Jolakot on 24/06/2024 - 21:34

              @jm7: Inner west, near Keilor East

        • Sidor on 25/06/2024 - 07:13

          Did they just disconnected gas to the gas heater or ducts as well? They did not removed the dcited gas heater, did not they?

          • jm7 on 25/06/2024 - 12:21

            @Sidor: They will remove it if it can be removed.

            • Sidor on 26/06/2024 - 07:25

              @jm7: But it will ended up with a hole in the brick wall in my case?

        • A Banana4scale on 25/06/2024 - 23:39

          also interested in the installer you used (I am in the suburb next to yours). DM me if you are willing to provide the name

    • kobeduck on 24/06/2024 - 19:52

      The 3x 2.5 kw were Daikin? Which model?

      • jm7 on 24/06/2024 - 20:12

        The base one. The larger one is the one that comes in black or white.

  • jhaley3180 on 28/06/2024 - 19:56
    +2

    Can I recommend you avoid Glower (https://www.glower.com.au/). Got a quote from them to install reverse cycle central (Mitsubishi) a fortnight ago, confirmed the quote yesterday and was in process of finalizing today when I was told there was a $5000 bonus cost because…. The VEU rebate has changed… No wait the quote that was correct yesterday was a "introductory offer" and the Mitsubishi price was now $4.9k higher….. Hmmmmmmmm but they have another offer on a cheaper option (aka here comes the cheap Chinese offer)…. Nothing like a good quality bait and switch scam…. Girl talked around and around in circles about how yesterday's special offer was not available today but boy could they offer another cheap brand now?

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