I had an AC that has was not producing any cold air. I first googled for an AC repair company and called one of the top showing ads. It was a big mistake. They (some call centre from overseas) dispatched a repairman quickly who determined there is no refrigerant, and said additional testing will be required and the cost to fix can be $2,500-$3,500. They charged $150 for the initial diagnosis and wanted to come back and do a nitrogen pressure test for $269 to tell me what needs to be fixed.
At this point I realized that I am being ripped off and called another repair man to give me an opinion. The new guy showed up the same day and he found the leak right away and said that a nitrogen test is probably not needed since he can see exactly where the leak is. He charged $95 for the visit and told me that he will need to find the part in order to give me a quote and fix it.
Later he told me that he can't get the part and that I should replace the unit as it is getting old.
The AC is from 2007 so I was hoping that a fix will be sufficient. And didn't want to spend over $2,000 to replace it.
I called house depot and spoke to Mark directly on the phone. I send him the pictures of the AC and asked if he can give me a quote for a new unit or possibly repair this one. He quoted me for a new unit, which was one of the better quotes I have received.
He then recommended to just fix the leak as he is certain that the AC will work for many years to come. He gave me a quote over the phone for the repair, told me that he has all the parts needed and was able to come and fix it in a few days.
The other companies I called required another diagnosis in order to give me a quote and at this point I wasn't going to pay for the third diagnosis.
Mark from house depot arrived on time and did a very through job. It took longer than I expected but he mentioned that he had to do some extra repairs and maintenance to ensure it is fixed properly. He tested the cold air coming and showed me the temperature of the cold air. He charged me what exactly what he quoted me with no fuss over the extra issues.
I hope I won't need his services any time soon, but when I do I will be sure to call Mark from House Depot again.