ReplyBe careful about maintenance. While it's important, it's not all that it's cracked up to be. Get the wrong guy in there and he'll make things worse.
Regular Guest
You are right - Maybe I was leaping to a conclusion there, but it was based on the looks and I got when mentioning the words "Home Warranty" to the tech. I still feel like the tech that installed my system did a great job, and I appreciate that. I am sure that he will give me the list and cost breakdown that I probably should have requested before I replaced the unit, and hopefully that will be the end of all of this. I will not assume that the reason it was not given was shady business, because I saw the unit, and I lived with its undependable self for 4 years. Another thing I have learned here is that I need to read the new manual soon, and make a plan for the recommended regular cleaning and maintenance to keep it working as efficiently as it is doing today. I wish there was something I could do to cause this company to pay reasonable wages for warranty service contracts. This is the same business practice that causes good doctors to opt out of HMO's. I understand how it is to run your own business, as I also have one of those. Have a great day!
http://www.marykay.com/donnakay2005
Professional Member*
Be careful about maintenance. While it's important, it's not all that it's cracked up to be. Get the wrong guy in there and he'll make things worse.
Regular Guest
I was referring to doing the cleaning and regular maintenance myself -
I have never had any problems before in doing that, except for the lack of time. Since my father was "Mr. Maintenance", I know what to do in most cases, but it has been my bad judgment in the past to trust it will be done by the man of the house just because he is the man. This is why I hire people now (after 2 cars bit the dust and numerous other disasters). At least there is some hope that they will stand behind their work. I should have had "Dear old Dad" train men before letting them enter my houseBut, that is another story. I will still call a professional for the big jobs, but there are a lot of small things a homeowner can do to keep things running smoothly.
Regular Guest
Did I miss something here, or is it just me...
O.P. has spent over $2400.00 on this home warranty for the past for years.
O.P. states that suing the company will cost him and them at least $2000.00 to appear, and the new unit was LESS THAN that.
So what else can fail in this house that makes this warranty worth $2400.0?
My understanding of home warrantees was that they were mostly used by home sellers to limit problems that may be caused by having one of the home's major systems fail shortly after the house was sold. sort of a "good faith" coverage thing.
At least that is what I did when I sold my house... now, when I bought, I told the seller not to waste their money, as I would probably just replace anything that went wrong with my "new" 17 year old house...
I sure as heck wouldn't be paying to insure a buch of worn out appliances in my house...
Regular Guest
In answer to the most recent post: As I said before, the home warranty came with the house, and I continued it another 3 years primarily because of the external AHU looking so badly. I am a one income family, and radically large, unpredictible bills are not in the budget. This is another reason people have home warranties. Many fixed income people have them, because Social Security, etc. is not something you can increase for emergencies. Luckily, or not, this failure happened 10 days before the warranty expired for the 4th time. If they had handled this issue with the same service and professionalism as the other small claims I have made over the years, I would probably still have it. The difference is, like the guy said here, this particular HW company has recently opted to lower the amount they contract to professionals in this field. This has resulted in at least this group being either poor quality, or too busy to meet any urgent needs (like mine were this time). If this is indicative of the rest of the professionals they "work with", it is a good time to get out anyway - and stay out. We always have the option to put money aside to cushion these unexpected disasters. The HW seemed to be an alternative to that. They did help with numerous smaller things that normal inspection did not expose during the purchase. It would be great to buy a shell of a house, then come in and gut it and fill it with new wiring, plumbing, appliances, electrical fixtures, etc. But, the only place that happens for those of us making under $200K/year is on TV! I saw 3 couples yesterday who spent an average of $200k each completely remodeling their 'new' houses. My whole house was significantly less than that. Just be thankful that you guys can do a lot of these jobs yourself, and know it was a professional-quality job!
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