Extended warranty

[mehmoodc]

I have finally settled on the system I am going to buy to replace the existing furnace and AC.

It is Bryant's 2 stage, variable speed furnace 110K BTU, 1 stage 3.5T AC and evolution control. Details are as below:

Bryant 355AAV060100 90I furnace
Bryant 165ANA 15SEER 3.5Ton AC.
Aprilaire Humdifier
Evolution control thermostat

The final thing that is holding me up is warranty. One guy basically gave 5yr parts and 1 yr labor on both. The other guy gave me 10Yr P/L on furnace and 5/5 on AC with 5 yr complete unit replacement if compressor or HX fails within 5 yrs.

The first guy is quoting me $XXX for 10Yr P/L on both. The second one is willing to come down on price but would not include the first year maintenance, warranty would be 5/5 on both furnace and AC.

Now the question is 10P/L on both really worth or would 5/5 do? Really the only addition the second guy is giving is the extra 5yrs on P/L on furnace. What is normal and reaonsable? Do things break between 5 and 10 yrs or after 10 yrs. I know it is a hard question but assuming the sizing is correct, installation is done properly by reputable company and the units are properly maintained (I am planning to go for a yearly maintenance contract) what is normally recommended not as a sales pitch but an honest opinion from professionals?

[RoBoTeq]

With the complexity of today's HVAC systems, it is a good idea to purchase an extended parts and labor warranty. This does several things for the consumer as well as the contractor.

For one, it provides a longer standing relationship between the consumer and the contractor right off the bat. It also provides peace of mind to the consumer that as long as they properly maintain the new system, they will have zero monetary output if anything does go wrong.

I suggest that all new systems have a 10 year parts and labor warranty. After 10 years, you will have weeded out any any system component and/or installation descrepencies that can really strain a consumers bank account without an extended warranty.

Extended warranties are insurance policies that provide the best value for peace of mind in today's consumer market. The cost of HVAC extended warranties are by far a better value then extended warranties are on most other products.

[hankmcneil]

Go for the longest warrenty you can get, you WILL NOT BELIEVE the cost to repair anything on the units you have chosen!!!!

[4l530]

More warranty is always better than less.
So I don't know what the guy's asking price is for the 10 year parts and labor warranty is but if it below the mid three figure point, the repair cost of one good breakdown could meet or exceed it--I'm thinking control board, maybe blower motor, maybe gas valve. If you do not get the extended warranty, you'll wish you had if one of these goes out after the standard warranty period.
Now it seems to me that most of the parts that are going to go out on a furnace will weed themselves out within the first ten years. And it seems to me like years seven through eleven or thereabouts is where I see most of these failures. This is just from my own personal experience, others may have a different experience.
Now on the condenser, it seems to me more like parts will go out at any time, regardless of age, but still with a higher likelyhood as the unit ages.
Having a maintenance agreement is a good idea but some parts will still fail at an inconvenient time if they want to. The extended warranty is money well spent, IMO.

[mehmoodc]

Thanks everyone. I was also more inclined toward extended warranty. In the past I have gone for extended warranties/protection plan, in some cases it has been worth the money in some cases not. If a Sears salesman tries to sell me extended warranty on a Sony flat screen TV or a Canon Digital camera I would refuse that outright because I know there is very less chance of something going wrong with these kinds of purchases. I did take extended warranty on a Crasftman mower and boom, a week after the regular warranty expired the carburetor blew up and 4 weeks later the vaccum bag ripped. I was coaxed into taking an extended warranty on my Honda minivan but on a hindsight I should have refused that. So basically I evaluate based on complexity, chances of failure and cost of repairs.

I wasn't very sure on the HVAC system as it seemed that the latest generation systems are very sophisticated, well built (material, construction etc) and probably have lesser chance of failure than one I have currently that's 20 years old. But if there is a very high chance that it could happen between 7 and 11 years I will go for it as it is slightly less than the mid three figure point.

[RoBoTeq]

While HVAC systems are better built from certain standpoints, they are actually more prone to failure because there are simply more operational parts and they are more sensitive to normal issues such as voltage drops/spikes, moisture issues, grounding issues and occasional poor maintanance.

[duxinaroe]

Get the warranty.

Warranty is the future. It is everywhere from $20 headphones to every appliance in the home.

10 to 15 years from now service will all be warranty

Warranty Response Team at your service!

Scary thought.