We have continued to use Central City Air regardless of any dis-satisfaction we may have had with them in the past. They put in our system and it seemed practical to have them continue to maintain it. I can say, without reservation, that they have provided very prompt, courteous and effective service. I cannot change what I said about them in my last review, but I am happy to let people know that they have worked very hard to repair their relationship with us. We will continue call them for our A/C issues... which in these last calls were only for a thermostat concern and not in any way a problem with their previous work. read more

Central City Air made a service call to my residence (my AC went out the day before). The technician, Ian quickly identified the problem as a malfunctioned capacitor and said he thought he had the part in the truck. 2 minutes later after returning from the truck he said he had a replacement capacitor and quoted me a fee of $347.00, which I agreed to; no haggling. He installed it and the AC unit was up and running. He provided the service quickly, courteously and what I thought was professional. HOWEVER: On review of the receipt I had no problem with the trip charge ($65) and labor $15 for 15 min), however on closer inspection I noticed the cost of the capacitor was $267.01!! I researched this part and could not find a similar capacitor for my AC unit higher than $25. The exact identical capacitor installed (American Radionic 2240 55+5 MFD) retails for $32.99. I called the office later that day to inquire about the accuracy of the invoice, thinking maybe there was a mistake. I was told that the capacitor has a 5 year warranty. She said however, someone from accounting (billing? or manager?) would get back to me. After 3 weeks and no response. I called back with the same inquiry and was given the same answer that this part has a 5 year warranty. AFTER NO RESPONSE: I wrote the President of the company stating that: I have been a loyal customer of Central City Air for over 6 years, getting biannual maintainence/service of my AC and furnace. I had been pleased with their service, fees, courteousness of the service staff...until now. I had no problem with the trip charge and labor charge. I probably would not have had an issue if it was double. I realize a service and expertise was provided that I was unwilling or unable to do myself. However, charging $267 for a $33 part (over 8x RETAIL COST) IS OUTRAGEOUS!. I realize there is overhead for ordering, inventorying, storing parts, etc. I realize it has a 5 year warranty (however I've had this unit over 7 years and this is the first capacitor replacement, so the old "standard" capacitor served me well). I also realize I verbally agreed to the estimate before the work was done. I don't have "buyers remorse" but a extreme displeasure in of being taken advantage of. I asked in the letter to the President of Central City Air to look into this excessive charge and that you will find a way to rectify this with an adjustment or credit. THE RESPONSE FROM the President of Central City Air: Thank you for taking the time to write a letter regarding your concerns about the flat rate charge for replacing the dual run capon 8/7/13. Here is a rough break down of the $267.00 flat rate. · We do not mark up the part · There is labor · There is 1 year warranty · There is cost of doing business I want you to know it matters to us that we take good care of you. Pricing right keeps us in business to serve you in the future. ALL OF THIS WAS A POOR EXPLANATION OF THE PROBLEM I HAD so I WROTE BACK TO to the President of Central City Air: The $267.01 invoice charge was listed as the cost of the capacitor, NOT a "flat rate charge". There IS a mark up. The American Radionic, USA 2400 Capacitor was charged as $267.01. This IS an excessive mark up from the retail list of $32.99 as attached in my letter. This certainly is an excessive mark up anyway you look at it. There is labor fee as listed on the invoice of $65.00 (trip charge) and $15.00 (12:52-1:02) There is a warranty, which is confusing and alarming (the invoice states 5 year vs. 1 year warranty by the President of Central City Air). There is a cost of doing business. I fully understand. But $267.01 fee for a $32.99 RETAIL part (American Radionic USA 2400 Capacitor) IS NOT doing fair business, "not taking good care of me" nor a way to demonstrate good will. Central City Air did not respond any further or attempt to explain. read more

I have been a fan of Central City Air (CCA) for more than 20 years - I appreciated their late founder's innovative engineered approach to AC systems that was in stark contrast to the typical industry cookie-cutter solutions. CCA installed our last AC system in 2000 for $9,200 (a lot of money back then) and I'm happy to say that it continues to serve us well. Their service technicians are courteous and competent, but I continue to be disappointed with their service/repair pricing, particularly their crazy mark-up on parts. Strange business model: build and install some of the best HVAC systems in Houston and get a premium price for it - fair is fair after all, but then extort their customers on repairs giving their customers a reason NOT to choose CCA to design/install their next system. In 2013, CCA came out to replace a contactor and the cost for the contactor was about 10 times the retail price - CCA charged $350 for 20 minutes of labor and a $20 contactor. Last night, the compressor turned on but the indoor blower fan didn't. The night was going to be reasonably cool, 71F, so I left a voice message on CCA's system asking for service call in the morning - I also made an online request for service and followed up with an e-mail with our particulars. We didn't get a call from CCA in the morning, so we called them at 9:30. Our previous requests hadn't been acted on. CCA said a technician wouldn't be able to come out until 4PM. While waiting for the tech to arrive, I began to worry that the fan motor might have failed, and, being late on Friday, I could just imagine being without AC until a replacement fan could be secured on Monday. I confirmed that the fan motor worked when connected to power - I added a jumper to bypass the HVAC control board. My suspicions then focused on the fan switch built into the HVAC control board. I found a replacement control board on Amazon (among others) selling for $91 plus shipping. The technician arrived at 4:15 PM and, in less than six minutes, he confirmed that the motor was good and the control board had indeed failed. He had a replacement board on his truck and offered to install it for $545, which was their discounted price (6% below their standard pricing). The installation would involve unplugging 12 wires from the old board and plugging them into the new one - probably 10 minutes at most. I really wanted CCA to get a sale - after all, the tech drove an hour through Friday rush-hour traffic, but $545 was just a ridiculous price for that scope of work. I called their service manager and the tech called the owner to see if CCA would consider doing the job for, a more-reasonable but still highly-profitable, $300, but CCA's management refused to budge on price, so, unfortunately, the CCA tech left at 4:40 PM with only the $70 trip charge. I purchased the control board on Amazon and wired in a remote switch to turn the fan on and off when needed until the control board arrives on Monday. Had CCA been more reasonable on pricing - or at least been willing to negotiate, they would have walked away with at least $230 (and perhaps a bit more) in additional service revenue without spending much additional technician time, and I would have nothing but praise to heap on Central City Air at this point. Oh well. read more

We are long time customers of CCA starting in 2001 when they installed our Amana outside unit 4 ton. We followed instructions, keeping no bushes around and the grill area debry free often hosing or sweeping around it. We have had them out every year for service and it has been mostly worry free for 17 years Imagine today any house hold appliances lasting that long They eventually replaced inside furnace as well as duct work. Soon it will be time to replace outside unit and plan on using this business again Yesterday they came out replaced a capacitor 352 included trip charge filter as well as check up. We are pleased with their service and so grateful of worry free ac unit and furnace for many years Thank you Ds read more

Service doesn't get any better than this! My grandmother called John Moore because she was having water coming through her ceiling. The plumber said it was a job for a/c and sent an HVAC technician instead. Her system is 9 years old and the technician said all of her equipment needed replacing in order to stop the water leak. I called out Central City Air for a second opinion. The technician Sam and his helper Javier found that there was a problem with the original install. They installed a "T" and valve in order to blow the drains. That's all they had to do!!! The water leak stopped. There was no equipment needed. They did not come out here looking for a sale, they came out to fix the problem for my grandma. She was very impressed with their honesty, professionalism, knowledge, and courtesy. We are customers for life and will be telling everyone about the amazing service that comes from Central City Air!! read more

I have been a customer of Central City Air for the past 8 years. Two years ago, I had my garage apartment finished out as a family/media room and Central City Air designed and installed the air conditioning, a Fujitsu mini split-duct system. The system failed while still under warranty. They made a repair but it failed again several months later. Central City Air concluded the evaporator coil and air handler should be replaced under warranty. It took Central City Air more than four months (through the summer heat) to install the replacement parts. After the installation, they left an 8" by 10" hole in my wall for me to repair and sent me a $660 bill for the labor on installing the replacement parts which were under warranty. read more

Central City Air doesn't deserve even one star. After keeping me waiting all day for A/C repair services (with the temperature outside in the triple digits and the temperature in the house above 85 degrees), the technician showed up only to tell me that he couldn't work on the unit b/c it is on the roof (a one-story house). The office manager and the owner would not help either. So, at 5 p.m., I was left with a broken air conditioner and no one to call to get it fixed so that I'd have A/C overnight. Central City had serviced this very same A/C unit many times in the past (over 13 years). Their actions today were unconscionable and unethical and I will never use them again. They should not be in the customer service business. They are a truly awful company. read more

I was a customer for several years. The quality of their service is quite good, but their prices border on outrageous. I also got tired of their office staff, who seemed indifferent and were never helpful. There are many other companies in Houston that offer quality service at significantly better prices with much friendlier service. Look elsewhere. read more

Our AC went out this afternoon (Sunday) and my husband called the after hours help number. Within two hours, the service man is at our door. Less than 30 minutes he has the problem fixed by replacing the capacitor. Now that is great service. Again. This is the second time we have called Central City this year and we recommend them to our neighbors and friends. read more

They have been to my house numerous times for maintenance and repairs. I have never had any problems with them working on my system that it is 25 years old. Charges have always been reasonable. They were quick to get repairs done so I was not without AC too long. You usually get a live person every day of the week if there is a problem and a tech at your house to fix the problem. read more

I have used Central City Air for maintenance and repairs on my AC and heating unit for 5 years. Whenever there was a problem with the unit, a technician was dispatched the same day and was able to diagnose and fix the problem immediately. The charges were fair for the work done and there were no recurring issues for the repairs provided. The technicians that were at my house were very knowledgeable and you could tell they take pride in doing the job right the first time. read more