I'm extremely disappointed with my experience with PDS Plumbing & Air. I called them because my AC…read morewas not working during a very hot week, and I have children in the house, so getting the system running again was extremely important.
Their technician came out, diagnosed the problem, and told me that my transformer and capacitor needed to be replaced. I was quoted approximately $1,155 for the repair. I understand that companies have overhead, technicians need to be paid, and businesses need to make a profit. I have absolutely no problem paying a fair price for professional work. But in my opinion, this quote was outrageous.
What bothered me even more was that the technician told me the parts for my AC unit were backordered, making it seem like they were difficult to get. That turned out not to be true in my experience. I was able to locate and purchase the parts myself that very same day. So I honestly don't understand why I was told they were backordered when I had no problem getting them immediately from a local supplier.
I'm pretty handy myself, so instead of agreeing to the repair, I decided to purchase the transformer and capacitor myself. As shown in my receipts, I paid less than $80 total for the parts. One receipt shows $32.61 for the transformer, and the other shows $42.40 for the capacitor -- $75.01 total.
What makes this experience even more frustrating is that replacing those parts did NOT fix my AC. After doing additional troubleshooting myself, I discovered that the actual issue involved the low-voltage circuit. I eventually tracked down the problem myself and got my AC running again.
So not only was I quoted over $1,100 for a repair involving parts that cost me about $75, but I was also told those parts were backordered when I was able to purchase them the same day, and after replacing them, the AC still didn't work because that wasn't the actual problem.
I understand there is much more to a professional service call than the cost of parts. You're paying for labor, experience, insurance, vehicles, overhead, and a company standing behind its work. But there is still a point where pricing feels excessive, especially when the proposed repair does not address the actual problem.
What really disappoints me is that when someone calls an HVAC company during extremely hot weather, especially when they explain that they have children in the home and need their AC working, they are relying on that company to give them an accurate diagnosis and a reasonable repair option. In my experience, that is not what happened here.
Based on my personal experience, I would not recommend PDS Plumbing & Air. I strongly encourage homeowners to get a second opinion and compare pricing before approving an expensive HVAC repair.
I'm attaching my receipts as proof of what I actually paid for the parts. The transformer and capacitor together cost me $75.01, and I was able to purchase them the same day despite being told the parts were backordered.
I'm glad I was ultimately able to troubleshoot the low-voltage issue myself and get the AC running for my family, but I shouldn't have had to diagnose the actual problem myself after receiving a professional service call and being presented with a $1,155 repair quote.