Andy in Scarborough

I had a 50 gallon hot water heater, rented from direct energy, that needed to be serviced or replaced. Rust running down the tank from the top seem. It was also leaking gas and it seemed to be coming on frequently.. Insulation may have been getting old too.. I decided I would buy my own tank versus a rental since, in my opinion, direct energy is a rip-off and arrogant to their customers!! When I started looking at fliers and ads I could not find anyone selling and installing hot water tanks. All I could find was tankless water heater ads.. Maybe I should be getting a tankless!! ? Okay now what? I knew nothing about tankless products!! I spent days researching the internet for the pros and cons of having a tankless. Then spent days looking at different products. Then spent days looking at reviews of the different products. Then spent days trying to determine the right contractor! By the time I was finished I was completely lost and uncomfortable about who to call. So I went to the yellow pages and made a list of phone numbers. No one would give a quote over the phone. 3 contractors made appointments, and 2 advised they would call back to schedule an appointment. I wanted to see what products they were selling and discuss the installion of the actual job. I now had some idea of several models but which one? The first guy was from Universal Energy. He gives a quote of $4000 to $5950. He is pushing the Navien unit. He looks at the area and has a can do attitude. He doesn't go outside. He leaves me with no information. I advised I will call and let him know. When the second guy showed he was pushing the Navien models. He was very helpfull when explaining the product, it's features and benefits. He left me a quote and some material to consider. The third appointment never showed up! I was at the point where you just want to get it over and done!! I was now leaning toward the Navien and was still considering when I received a call from one of the call me backs. I almost told him too late.. I didn't like the first guy so I wanted a proper second quote. He wanted to come immediately. I agreed. When he showed up I thought he worked for Carrier due to his logos, which was the same as the yellow pages ad.. I thought I was calling Carrier!! We went to the location both inside and out. He points out the different things he needs to do due to code regs. He wants to cut into a clauset and go outside from there.. He is selling the Rinnai and some other brand. After discussing the issue of no drain for a condensing model he determines that the model I needed was RC80HPi. During the meeting we were interrupted several times as he took other calls. He leaves me a quote for $3220 plus GST installed. 20% down. I now realize he is not Carrier but Cozy Comfort Plus Inc. I advise I will call back after I do some more research. As he leaves he makes a statement... 'Stay away from the Navien' I was leaning toward the Navien!! Crap!! Now I need to do more research!! Salesman and product of the month?? Navien or Rinnai? I decided the Rinnai had a better history for quality, support, and a fewer operational problems. Knock at the door.. The guy from Universal Energy wanting to know if I had made a decision. I advised that I was in the middle of researching and that I had told him that I would call him back. He said he would come back around 5:30. Never showed until 6:00pm when I went out to the back yard. He must have left as he was gone by the time I returned. I called the Cozy Comfort rep back and asked him to stop by and make a contract. When he arrived he wanted to take pictures and look at the fit again. Now he wants to tack on another $40.00 to replace a pipe, down from the usual $60.00, and not listed on the quote despite it being a topic of conversation. I just agreed to get on with it!! Once again I asked him if he had the model right as I was thinking of another model, which he had sited as the older model. The install is scheduled for the next day, Wednesday. Later on Tuesday he calls to advise that the model we signed for was the wrong one!! It was the condensing unit. Over the phone he leads me into the Rinnai.us website. I didn't go there before because I live in Toronto. He points out the R75LSi model, which was the original Rinnai I thought was the right one!! He advises they can still do the install on the Wednesday. He advises he will send a new contract with the proper model with the installers. I agree and get started on another project. When I get back I find a phone message from the installer stating that they did not have the stock. He advises they can do the install on the Friday and they will order the unit on Friday!! Next day I called the sales rep to find out what was going on. Suddenly I can't reach him. I leave a message about service since we had discussed the subject pointing out that he had sold me the wrong product and failed to meet the install date that was agreed upon. I waited over 3 hours, no return call. I wrote a letter to Cozy Comfort. Mailed it immediatly. Put a stop payment on the deposit cheque and arranged with another contractor over the phone!! Who you may well ask? Coretemp Heating. I found them after re-visiting the Rinnai.us site. They were number ONE on Rinnai's best service list. I then went onto google and found this website which also had a first class evaluation on Coretemp Heating. 100% satisfied. I went to their website and find an ad with a quote!! I made contact with the owner Richard. I was impressed just by the way we communicated on the telephone. He stuck to the quoted price and advised he could do the install on the next Monday. He examined the site and had a better solution for the install than the guy from Universal Energy. We agreed to the job and shook hands. Later Richard filled out the necessary paperwork. Messing with the gas lines Richard was obliged to check my old furnace. He explored with camera and showed where the heat exchanger was cracked in several places. He advises that he has to red flag the furnace and close it down. He advised that I had a few months left to decide before the colder weather returns. I asked if he had one in mind to recommend. He did, the RUUD model advising it was a little more expensive but it was an excellent unit or he would not recommend it. Now or 3 months from now! I discussed again with Richard, availability, installation date, and a new humidifier.. We shook on it. He showed up on the Thursday, today, and installed my new RUUD furnace. He prepared his invoice once again after the work was started. My THANKS to Richard's team!! Janis who made the call backs and appointment schedule. Chris who was very skilled and new exactly what he was doing. Ken who was on the job training while pursuing his formal education as a student... AND Richard himself! I was even part of the team as I assisted in running a flex hose to drain moisture from the furnace!! It was an excellent job!! I am very very pleased, satisfied, and more relaxed about choosing the right folks for the job... If you are researching your options, stop and give Richard at Coretemp Heating a call!! You will not regret the service or the price, about $7500 for everything... Way to go Richard and team!! Hopefuly you would need to come here for a while but I do look forward to seeing you all again!!