Warranty for online heating and cooling equipment purchase

It costs a lot to operate a business today and the manufactures do not want to get stuck paying for warranty parts for your mistakes. All the manufactures I know of want only dealers who are EPA certified selling and installing there equipment. All warranty repairs must also be made by the dealer as well as any defective part returned for credit must come from a dealer. In order to be a dealer you must attend special training by the manufacturer so they feel confident to allow you to sell an service there equipment.

Costs of doing the HVAC biz

As to mark up or costs of business, keep in mind a quality contractor that will be there for you when you need him may have some or all of the following business expenses:

Not limited to;

401K
Coffee
Health Insurance
Holiday Pay
Office Benefits
Sick Pay
Uniforms
Vacation Pay
Air Conditioning Equipment Maintenance
Building Repairs
Cleaning Service
Electric Utilities
Facility Mortgage Payments
Furniture
Gas/Oil Bill
Landscaping
Office Rent
Parts Storage Racks
Security System
Shop Tools
Callbacks
Miscellaneous Hardware
Air Conditioning License
Answering Service
Bad Debt
Business Licenses
Cash Reserves
Certification Tests
Chamber of Commerce Dues
Collections
Company Picnic
Dealer Meetings
Employment Testing
Help Wanted Advertising
Interest Expense
Internet Access
Inventory
Inventory Shrinkage
Invoices
Legal Services
Liability Insurance
Management Training
Mobile Phone Charges
Mobile Phones
Office Training
Pagers
Property Insurance
Recycling
Subscriptions
Tax preparation
Technician Training
Trade Association Membership
Brochures
Charitable Contributions
Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Door Hangers
Home And Garden Shows
Magnets
Newsletter
Newspaper Advertising
Other Advertising
Outdoor Advertising
Patches
Radio Advertising
Sales Commissions
Warranties
Website
Yellow Pages
Youth Sports Team Sponsorships
Accounting
Calculators And Adding Machines
Computer System Maintenance
Computers
Copier
Copies
Fax Machine
Files And File Cabinets
Network
Office Supplies
Phone Bill
Phone System
Postage
Postal Equipment
Printing
Software
Stamps And Pads
Telephone Bill
Telephone Equipment
Training Equipment
Trash And Disposal
Water Bill
Call Taker
Dispatcher
Employee Incentives
Employee Pay
Management
Office Staff
Receptionist
Technician Pay
Federal Taxes
Local School Taxes
Local Taxes
Municipal Property Tax
Other property Taxes
Sales Tax
Social Security Taxes
State Taxes
Unemployment Insurance
Worker's Comp
Gasoline
Ladders
Radios
Tires
Tools
Truck Decals
Truck Depreciation
Truck Insurance
Truck Inventory
Truck Ladder Racks
Truck Maintenance
Truck Shelves
Trucks
Profit
Tool Insurance
Truck Plates
Life Insurance
Equipment Insurance
Warranty Expenses
Code updates
Other trade book updates
Permits
Dental / Vision Insurance
Equipment Consumables
Inventory Tax
Research & Development

I am fully aware of what it costs to operate a small business. I appreciate the fefresher coarse though :-) What I was hoping for is for someone with past experience with this situation (purchase equipment from an online dealer and have a CERTIFIED HVAC tech install it), or someone with direct knowledge of this situation to give me a straight answer. Does the mfg honor the warranty's when the equipment is purchased on the Internet, or not. I don't need a thesis on why the HVAC business needs to mark up the equipment so high. I understand that. They have to make a living and keep their business running. They will make a living when they charge me 1500 to 2000 dollars for a day and a half of work to install the equipment. I also have to survive and feel it appropriate to research all my options for saving what looks like 2000 to 3000 dollars by buying the equipment on line. Someone just please tell me if the mfg will honor the warranty in this situation as long as a certified tech installs it(not myself). Thanks in advance.

Does the mfg honor the warranty's when the equipment is purchased on the Internet, or not. NO unless purchased and INSTALLED by a professional HVAC dealer who is a dealer for the specific manufacturer of the equipment you buy. If you want to hear that again call the manufacturer and let them explain then get them to send it to you in a letter for your records.

A certified tech means nothing since they are not a dealer for the manufacturer who's equipment you bought. I have a vast experience turning down warranty claims since I am sent out sometimes by different manufactures to settle a situation.

What you have going on here is a supply house advertises equipment on lets say Ebay. They sell you the equipment then they tell you if the parts go bad to call them and they will take care of the part. This does not work very well since the manufacturer knows that game. A few warranty parts might slip past the factory but eventually they will want the warranty cards returned along with a invoice for the purchase and the install by one of there dealers. This is when the problems start.

My best advice is for you to call the warranty division at the equipment manufactures home office and as I said before get it all in a letter for your future refrence.

Now if you do not believe me read it here for yourself.

on, any unit ordered over the Internet.))

Read it all here.

http://www.goodmanmfg.com/Portals/0/pdf/PWCACHPCA.pdf

NOTE: a dealer is who sells equipment to a homeowner.

A distributer sells equipment to the dealer

The above warranty is standard in the industry.

And what you get is the labor for any warranty work, normally in our company not a heating and air, the manufactor only warranties the equipment, not the labor, and they will also normally agrue the warranty is from improperty install or repair if not done though a authorised dealer.

So if you can have the time to take a part off the unit, mail it back to the factory, wait for them them to decide if it is warranty or not, and maybe mail you a new part, then great

Also included is the installers liablity to install, what if he hooks it up and your house burns down, guess who will be sued.

Also seldom will you find any repair place that will install equipment that you don't buy from them, and they will not warranty their install, so if they hook it all up and it does not run, they blame the equipment and still want to be paid.

Thanks gentlemen for your advise. I definitely will take all of that under consideration.

With that said...let me float a scenario out there. Lets say that I have an independent HVAC contractor that is willing to purchase the equipment that I have found and then just charge me the price of the equipment plus his installation fee. Does this not then protect the warranty, as a certified and liscensed contractor actually bought and installed the equipment. This contractor specializes in the brand that I am looking at. Not trying to cheat the HVAC companies out there who practice honestly and work hard, but am trying to save a couple thousand dollars, as I work hard for my money as well. I am not or would not ever attempt to install this equipment myself and have the upmost respect for those who are skilled in doing so. I am just trying to make this affordable for my situation. Ido intend to have a liscensed HVAC contractor hook it up. I go to church with one who was recently laid off from a big heating and cooling corp. And has gone into business for himself and willing to work with me. What are your thoughts here.

If he has gone into business for himself, he will soon find he needs to get his equiptment through a supplier. Even if he purchases it online, warranty will still be void. Doesn't matter who purchased it online, warranty will most likely be void. If he has all of the licensing and insurances that are required, he should have no problem setting up an acount with a reputable supplier.

Purchasing certain things online works well, however furnaces is not on of these item... There is a reason they are so much cheaper online(no one will stand behind them, not the seller, not the manufacturer, not the installer). If you plan to purchase it online, just hope it works without any troubles for a very long time, and know that if something does go wrong, you will have to foot the bill to have it fixed.

I personally have worked on quite a few customer purchased equiptment, supposedly "professionally" installed. And I usually got the call shortly after install because it "wont work" They always ask if its under warranty, and of course I say no. I didn't sell the epuiptment, or install it, but they want me to spends hours in paperwork and phone time trying to get the thing warrantied(at my expense?). Plain and simle, just doesn't work that way. I wish you the best of luck with your project.

I go to church with one who was recently laid off from a big heating and cooling corp. And has gone into business for himself and willing to work with me. What are your thoughts here.

Did he spend big bucks for workers comp insurance or are you going to let him take you to court to pay his lifetime doctor bills when he gets hurt on your job. If he gets killed on your job his wife will own your home!

Is he a fly by night because who is going to fix your stuff when he moves out of town to get a job.

These are just a couple of items with many more.

I have met people like you before and I understand you want to save money but you will get what you pay for and nothing more no matter who buys and installs what.

I would NEVER install customers equipment or service it for that matter unless I was helping one of my HVAC friends and that would be more for fun than profit. It is not worth the headache.

Thanks Mygirlsdad77. I appreciate your insight and reccomentdations and all with compassion and without sarcasm. It can be done HVAC100.

The installer I am speaking of does have an account with a local supplier. It was I who initiated looking at prices on line, and he did warn me to check out the warranty circumstances. He is a long time friend of mine(35 years) and has been in the business for nearly 30 years(not for himself until recently as I noted earlier). I was simply looking at all my options and looking for more information on this warranty situation in order to make an informed decision.

HVAC1000 I would like to see you for once answer a question without being sarcastic and condescending. I don't know what you mean by you "have met people like [me] before". You don't know me, but if you are referring to honest hard working people just trying to make it without being taken advantage of by people like YOU, then maybe you have met people like me. I get on here for good, honest, straight forward answers. Not smart elic sarcastic answers by people like you who seem to only want to protect and defend your HVAC "friends" while stroking your own ego. So do me a favor and don't answer anymore of my posts. Thanks all others for your genuine professional help.

You make me laugh and that is a good thing. When you stop trying to cheat you might find a deal. LOL The problem is you just do not like my honest opinion and that is OK also. You were given facts and links to back them up and I guess this destroyed your idea of buying the equipment cheap and still having a warranty. Sorry for your misunderstanding of the truths I told you and trust me I will have no desire to answer any more of your posts since you just cannot handle the factual information.