My daughter is looking into a new furnace and central air unit. We had a contractor come out and he kept adding things to the list of NEEDS. The home is 1896, has a chimney and natural gas furnace( dating 1964) He finished his quote and then said "oh I almost forgot you need a chimney liner that is an additional 450. " he claims it is per building code. I just wondered if this is true as my neighbor just had new furnace put in and they vented through side of his basement wall with PVC type pipe? Can anyone tell me if she is being swindled or if this is actually a true need? The home is in Monroe/Wayne County NY We are getting several other estimates but I would like to know something about all this before the next estimate.. Also man claims that 6500. For amana furnace ( 60, 000btu-multi stage) and central air unit ( rated 13-15) is the cheapest she will find with a life time warranty, and that his company is the only one whom offers 10yr labor and part warranty as well as life time warranty from amana on part specific base ( main compressor goes entire unit is replaced- as long as you have it service with them every year at 90$ per appliance)

Suggest you trust your logic and instinct here. Do you know what a chimney liner is? If something were "required by code" he wouldn't have "almost forgot". He just told you how he does business. Move on to another contractor.

I'd find out what the state has for free or low cost energy audits, sometimes handled by gas companies. A house that old should have energy efficient windows and insulation and door insulation before anything else. A newfurnace putting out heat that leaks out immediately isn't the first step.
If all that is done, I'd call 2 other contractors for quotes.