I can’t give you a repair price over the phone, because I don’t know what’s broken yet. What I can do is show you exactly how the number gets built. So here’s how we price every HVAC repair, first visit to invoice.
The diagnostic visit
Every repair starts with a $99 diagnostic visit. A tech comes out, tests the system with real instruments, finds the fault, and writes up what it’ll take to fix it. That’s what the $99 pays for: a tech’s time on site and a diagnosis from readings, not a guess from the noise your unit makes.
If you go ahead with the repair, the $99 is credited toward it. That’s why you’ll see us describe it as a $0 service call with a completed repair. It’s not a discount or a free estimate, just the same $99 moving from one line of the invoice to another, so you never pay for the diagnosis and the repair as two separate charges.
If you decide not to repair, or the honest answer is that the system isn’t worth fixing, you’ve spent $99 and you know exactly what’s wrong. That’s worth having, especially if someone else has already quoted you a replacement.
A written quote before any work starts
The diagnosis ends with a written estimate, and nothing gets replaced until you’ve approved it. The estimate lists the part, the labor, and the timeline, and we agree on that timeline before work begins. If a part has to be ordered and the date moves, we tell you as soon as we know, not when you call to ask.
Doing it in writing means you’re deciding with the real number in front of you. Get a second opinion, or sleep on it. We don’t pressure either way.
Parts and labor
Past the diagnostic, a repair invoice has two pieces: the part and the labor to install it.
The part is the easy half. A capacitor is a small, cheap component. A compressor or a coil is not. Brand-specific parts cost more than universal ones, and parts for discontinued equipment cost more still, when they can be found at all.
Labor is where Bay Area rates show up, and it’s usually the larger half of the bill. Labor covers the time to reach the component, replace it, and run the whole system to confirm the repair took. That last step matters. A part swapped without a test run is how you end up paying for a second visit.
We run 7 AM to 7 PM, seven days a week, with no overtime charges.
If you want a sense of where common repairs land, we’ve written up the ranges separately for AC repair and for furnace repair. I won’t repeat them here. The ranges are wide, and your estimate is the only number that counts.
What moves the number
Same symptom, two houses, two different bills. Here’s why.
Refrigerant work
Anything involving refrigerant costs more than anything that doesn’t. A low system has a leak somewhere, and the job is finding it, recovering the charge, fixing the leak, pulling a vacuum, and charging the system back to the manufacturer’s spec. That’s hours of work with gauges and a recovery machine, and by law it takes an EPA-certified tech. Older systems still on R-22 add the cost of reclaimed refrigerant on top.
We don’t sell a top-off as a fix. A top-off with no repair behind it is work without a part, and work like that may carry no warranty, because the refrigerant is going to leave the same way it left before. Finding the leak costs more up front and less over the year.
A capacitor versus a control board
These two show up in the same “AC won’t start” call and sit at opposite ends of the price sheet. A capacitor is a stocked part that a tech replaces and tests in the same visit. A control board is brand-specific, often has to be ordered, and costs far more as a part before any labor.
That gap is why we don’t replace boards on a guess. A lot of “bad board” calls turn out to be a wiring fault or a failed sensor feeding the board bad information. Testing that takes a little longer and saves you the price of a board you didn’t need.
Access
Where the equipment lives changes the labor. An air handler in a tight attic, a package unit on a roof, or a furnace wedged into a closet with no clearance all take more time than the same unit at ground level with room to move. The part is identical. The hours aren’t.
Age
Old systems cost more to repair, and most of it comes down to parts. They’re harder to find and slower to arrive. The components around the failed one are often near the end of their own life, so a tech may find the second problem while fixing the first. On the cooling side, older equipment usually means R-22, which makes any refrigerant work expensive.
None of that means an old system shouldn’t be repaired. It means the estimate should say what the tech saw, so you’re not blindsided by the next call. Ours does.
The repair-or-replace conversation
Sometimes the repair estimate lands where replacing the system is the better use of the money. When that happens, we say so, and we say why: the confirmed fault, the age of the equipment, the refrigerant it runs, and the condition of everything else in the cabinet.
You get the repair estimate either way, so you can compare both options on paper, and the decision is yours. I’ve written up the framework I use for that call in repair or replace your HVAC. The short version: a small part on a healthy system is almost always worth fixing, and a major failure on an old system usually isn’t.
How install quotes work
There’s no diagnostic fee on an install. The on-site assessment for an installation or replacement is free. We measure the home, inspect the existing equipment, the ducts, and the electrical capacity, then send a written project estimate after the visit.
What moves that estimate most is the equipment tier (single-stage versus variable-speed), the condition of the ductwork, and the electrical scope, meaning whether the existing circuit can stay or a sub-panel is needed. For reference, a furnace replacement runs around $6,500, a mid-tier system around $12,000, and a top-tier system $15,000 and up. A full package, meaning a Daikin or Mitsubishi-class system with a new line set and all the labor, runs around $25,000.
The maintenance plan
Our maintenance plan is $290 per visit, 2 visits a year. Each visit includes a new filter, a full diagnostic, and a system cleaning. It’s how a capacitor drifting out of spec gets caught in April instead of failing in July.
The plan also affects installation warranties, covered below. We don’t push it on customers who don’t need it yet. If your system is new and we installed it, we’ll tell you that at the estimate.
Warranty
Repairs carry a 1-year warranty. If the problem comes back within that year, we come back.
New HVAC system installations include 10 years of manufacturer parts coverage and 2 years of labor coverage. Labor coverage extends up to 10 years only while an active maintenance plan stays in force at $290 per visit, 2 visits per year. Exactly what’s covered goes on the written estimate before you sign anything. The full terms are on our warranty and callbacks page.
What to expect when you call
It comes down to $99 to find out what’s wrong and a written number before anyone touches the system. Repair visits are Same or Next-Day Service when the schedule allows. We’re licensed (CSLB #1136642) and insured, and I stand behind every job: the work, the invoice, and the warranty.
Call (925) 999-4095 and we’ll get you on the schedule.
Key takeaways
- The diagnostic visit is $99, and if you go ahead with the repair that $99 is credited toward it, which makes a completed repair a $0 service call.
- You get a written estimate after the diagnosis and before any work starts, with the part, the labor, and the timeline on it.
- Refrigerant work, brand-specific control boards, hard-to-reach equipment, and old systems are what push a repair bill up; a capacitor on an accessible unit is the other end of the sheet.
- Repairs carry a 1-year warranty; installs carry 10 years of manufacturer parts coverage and 2 years of labor, extending to 10 years only while the maintenance plan ($290 per visit, 2 visits a year) stays active.
- When a repair estimate gets close to replacement territory, we put both options on paper and let you decide.
Related questions
Is the $99 diagnostic fee separate from the repair cost?
Do I get a price before you start the repair?
Why does a control board cost so much more than a capacitor?
What warranty comes with an HVAC repair?
Does the $99 diagnostic apply to installation quotes?
Need help with your system? Call (925) 999-4095 or book a visit. Repair diagnostics are $99, credited toward the repair. Installation assessments are free.
Further reading
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