Question:
I have a question about home warrantees. I had one bought
for me as part of my house sale, and now they want to
re-sign me up with a home warrantee agan (the warrantee
company, American Home Shield).
For $229 / year they want to cover the major systems,
majors appliances, and such. They only one that I think might
be worth it is the air conditioning system outside the
house, the compressor unit. I've heard those can get pretty
expensive to replace.
So, my question is, what do you think about the price, versus
my chance of losing my air compressor? I have a Trane
air compressor, and the house is 10 years old
How long do Trane air compressors last?
Answer:
I have a Trane, it is 3 years old and was bought to replace my old General
Electric (which was actually a Trane with a GE label) that failed after 22
years. I live in southern Canada where the air conditioning gets to rest for
6 months a year, but the last half of its life it was overworked because of
an addition on the house. We decided it was more economical to just work it
to death rather than to replace it while there was still life in it. It
often ran 24 hours 7 days a week to keep up with summer temperatures. My
replacement was larger and more efficient.
I just purchased a Train Heat Pump and they told me to expect at least 20
years from it with basic maintenance (replace the filters on schedule, wash
the outside unit once/year)
I can't tell you the price of replcingf the compressor, but my whole heat
Pump, both inside and outside units, with install (3 men, all day) and a
really BIG compressor unit (heat pumps tend to have larger units then
straight AC) was <$5000. Replacing the compressor is far less labor then
the inside work but it is the most expensive single component in the system.
I would guestimate ~$2000 but that is based on VERY limited knowledge.
You might want to call your local Trane dealer and explain the decision you
are working on. A reputable dealer should be able to give you a rough
estimate over the phone. (although they will probably also offer you a
service contract that includes replacing the compressor if it fails, my
estimate for a full replacement service contract on the whole heat pump was
~$200/year after the 10 year extended warrenty (which was free because I
purchased during a promotion) expires.
