The air conditioner in my (Queensland) unit was not working. The PM arranged for a serviceman to look at it, he said it needed a replacement part which is no longer available therefore he recommended replacing the whole aircon. He charged $90 to look at it and give that information.
As the quote was $2600 I asked the PM to obtain 2 more quotes. He said he had contacted 2 other companies but they both would charge $95 to enter the property so he would provide the information they needed to quote without looking on site.
Is this usual for companies to charge just to do a quote?
Am cheesed off at this huge cost when I've only owned the unit for 2 months!
2600 seems pretty high. Is it a centralised ducted system or do you have separate units for different rooms/areas
Only a 2 bed unit with living downstairs and 2 beds upstairs. Its a split system, don't think its ducted. The aircon itself is approx $1500 the rest of the cost is in installation and hoses. Yeah, seems steep to me too.
There is a few Australian sites out there that can give you a pretty accurate quote of what it should be, you just put in the details size of rooms etc. I forgot what its called but it has plumbing, electrical and tiling etc shouldn't be to hard to find with a google search. I used it for carpeting rooms and i had a tradie match the price the website gave me. hope this helps
Tony Fleming | Triumphant Property Group
http://www.triumphantpropertygroup.com.au
Email MeNSW Buyer's Agent specialising in Western Sydney-Blue Mountains-Orange-Albury
I had an aircon install in my IP in Sydney in Jan 2010, and I don't see how costs would have gone up too much.
I bought the air con myself from Bing Lee for about $900-$1000 on sale it was a Kelvinator 6.5kw I believe, (not inverter – inverter units are more expensive save electricity in how they operate, I didn't care much as i wasn't paying the elec bill, and 99% of tenants wouldn't make a distinction between the two when choosing a house to rent) appropriate enough for the area anyway. It then cost me $550 including GST to install it, I am guessing this price would not have changed too much, though I rang a few installers myself and their quotes ranged from $550 – $800.
The other cost involved is the length of piping from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit, usually the include around 3m in their install cost (all quotes I received said the same), this is enough for the units to be against the same wall, outside unit on the ground, inside unit on the wall where you would expect it to be. This is about $50-$70 a metre, I cannot remember exactly, though replacement shouldn't need this nor drilling etc, so the time they save on this should cover labour on removal of the old unit.
Remember most PM and REA look after a lot of properties, and some of them just do the bare minimum, so if you want to save some money, I would suggest organising it yourself, contacting installers in the area to get quotes, and if you live close by maybe even picking up a unit on special from a retailer if it is cheaper (just make sure the size is appropriate to the room as if the unit is too small for the room and breaks down that is your fault and won't be covered by warranty). Once you get the best price get them to contact your PM and go from there, your property manager has other problems to attend to and spending a whole day getting detailed quotes is not in their interest, they will just shoot off emails and wait for replies.
Edit: When I bought my unit from Bing Lee they gave me a list (3-4 pages about 40-50 people) of all licensed installers in the area, they don't recommend any, but they were able to offer a list, if you ring retailers in that area they may have lists they can email you if you can't find any on line.
I'll ask a few questions: how old is the a/c unit? What part has failed? Will you be covered on insurance (has your PM recieved a report from the a/c contractor identifying the fault?) Why don't they pass the particulars onto the next contractors for a quote?
Tell the PM to contact companies which will not charge for a quote (there are plenty out there) or arrange the quotes yourself.
1200 – 1500 should be your target range for a 2bdr unit. Simple split cycle systems are pretty cheap these days and replacement installs are straightforward.
FMG allow 2 hrs for a swap out in their mining camps. That gives you an idea of how much work's involved.
These guys are flogging 6.5kw reverse cycle units for $900. Your neck of woods too.
- 6.5kW Split System Air Conditioning Unit.
- Reverse cycle system – heating and cooling
- Brand New Units in boxes
Scott, the unit is 6 years old so I imagine the aircon is too. The serviceman who looked at it said the compressor needed replacing but parts are no longer available.
The quote for a replacement states cost of the aircon at $1498, installing 3 metres of pipe $785, and electrical $352.
The PM has said he will ring some other installers and give the details over the phone so they can quote without having to visit.
Think I should make some phone calls myself as well. Surely it shouldn't cost this much.
Thanks for tips everyone.
Hi Wendy,
Check your PM Agreement – some PM will charge (try to charge) for obtaining quotes.
Any fees and charges for obtaining quotes or supervising work should be outlined in your PM Agreement.
Remember that you do not have to allow the installer to source the aircon for you. If you buy it yourself you can have them hold it at the store and arrange for the installer to pick it up from there if need be. There are often money-back deals available. I bought a 5.3kw Kelvinator last year…. ticket price was $1100 but it came with a $300 cash back offer. Installer charged $650 to do the install which included mounting the external piece up high so nobody would damage it at ground level.
Jacqui Middleton | Middleton Buyers Advocates
http://www.middletonbuyersadvocates.com.au
Email Me | Phone MeVIC Buyers' Agents for investors, home buyers & SMSFs.
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