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re: New A/C System - Pay in Full or Finance?
Posted on 7/8/26 at 8:16 pm to TheMagicMan
Posted on 7/8/26 at 8:16 pm to TheMagicMan
Some suggestions from an old person with life experience
#1 All things will end, start setting aside the money each year the day after you buy the new item to buy the replacement. Never had to finance any car owned or other similar item in my lifetime.
#2 Old does not mean no longer good. I have a GE fridge in the garage (it was bought new for the house) and it still works.
#3 Yearly maintenance costs money and is a pain but it can double the life of what you buy.
#4 HVAC (especially the AC) is rigged by the coolant. The older the unit the more the cost and scarcity to recharge what you have have to pay means ALL units will be replaced before they are dead.
#4 HVAC - the AC, I clean my fins yearly and charge it at the beginning of every hot season. Also change the filters every 3 months and have traps on all the vents and draws to keep the ductwork clean as possible.
#1 All things will end, start setting aside the money each year the day after you buy the new item to buy the replacement. Never had to finance any car owned or other similar item in my lifetime.
#2 Old does not mean no longer good. I have a GE fridge in the garage (it was bought new for the house) and it still works.
#3 Yearly maintenance costs money and is a pain but it can double the life of what you buy.
#4 HVAC (especially the AC) is rigged by the coolant. The older the unit the more the cost and scarcity to recharge what you have have to pay means ALL units will be replaced before they are dead.
#4 HVAC - the AC, I clean my fins yearly and charge it at the beginning of every hot season. Also change the filters every 3 months and have traps on all the vents and draws to keep the ductwork clean as possible.
0
Posted on 7/8/26 at 8:18 pm to TheMagicMan
quote:
Others say to keep that money invested as you will make more in investments that what you will pay in finance charges
If they were offering you 0% interest for 12 months or something that’d be the way to go. But I haven’t seen much of that the last couple of years. So unless you get some sweet financing I’d just use cash if you’ve got it to spend.
Posted on 7/9/26 at 12:42 am to TheMagicMan
quote:
The current unit is 3.5 tons for comparison purposes, so it seems risky to go from 3.5 tons to 2.5 tons. As the townhome is around 1,400 square feet, it's right in the middle. 2.5 tons are typically best for 1,100 - 1,500 square feet, while 3 tons are typically best for 1,500-2,000 square feet.
You don’t guess on sizing tonnage of an HVAC for cooling & heating based on square feet. You perform a manual J heat load calculation (I’ll let you look it up). It takes into consideration geographical location, square footage, ceiling height, house orientation, number of windows and their size, house insulation (floor, ceiling, attic), etc. You want a DYI go at it?, here is a free online manual J calculator LINK or you can pay a professional $300-400 to calculate it for you.
$9K is not a bad price, at least in my area.
Posted on 7/9/26 at 6:08 am to TheMagicMan
If you can pay in full and it’s liquid cash not coming from an investment where you may owe taxes if you pull it out then pay in full.
I’d look into seeing if you can get any new credit cards with 0% for 18 months and pay that way and just pay it off over 18 months with no interest
I’d look into seeing if you can get any new credit cards with 0% for 18 months and pay that way and just pay it off over 18 months with no interest
Posted on 7/9/26 at 8:11 am to Chad504boy
quote:The finance company charges a percentage to the merchant. The longer the length of the 0% financing, the higher the percentage the merchant pays.
The way an ac guy explained it to me, even a 0% financing, someone is eating that financing cost
Think similar to how a merchant eats a processing fee every time someone pays with a credit card. Except the percentage is higher. And offering 24 months interest free costs the merchant a higher percentage fee than offering 6 or 12 months interest free.
So if an AC company is offering him interest free financing, they have to factor that expense into their markup and he’ll probably end up paying more than if he just paid outright. Probably talking about somewhere in the 10% range cost to the business for 12 months interest free plans and higher if they offer longer financing terms.
This post was edited on 7/9/26 at 8:18 am
Posted on 7/9/26 at 8:14 am to XxxSpooky1
quote:
Such bullshite. Pull the coils, clean them, put them back in.
This. One you get one of these new pieces of shite you’ll be doing this every 5 years or so.
HVAC has become the biggest scam and they have us all by the short and curlies
This post was edited on 7/9/26 at 8:15 am
Posted on 7/9/26 at 8:49 am to TheMagicMan
I generally support smaller reputable operations. You may pay more but you are not a number to them. With regards to paying cash or financing, pay cash and move on.
Posted on 7/9/26 at 8:57 am to TheMagicMan
Ask for a cash discount
Posted on 7/9/26 at 9:01 am to moock blackjack
Also consider that this new propane based green new deal Freon ain’t worth a shite
Posted on 7/9/26 at 7:34 pm to moock blackjack
I appreciate all the help. I'm definitely saving a lot of this for the future.
So ironically, after getting 4 A/C companies to stop by, a friend of mine finally responded with an independent guy they use. 3 of the A/C companies just recommended a new system and wouldn't even touch the current system. The 1 A/C company advised they could clean the coil and perform full maintenance, but it would be like $1,500.
My friend's independent guy comes in, shows me exactly what side my coils are completely dirty and pretty much blocked. Even showed me where the water is coming down and why it's pooling in that specific area.
He ended up doing a thorough clean of the coils (and keeping the coils in place, I was advised not to have anyone remove the coils for cleaning) and bleached down the inside unit where some of the mold had started to grow. $125.
My now former A/C guy (who doesn't know I've essentially fired him, lol) charged me $325 for the nitrogen treatment of the A/C drain line. So chalk that up. But still, $450 is great overall and my A/C has had significant service.
I know it's only buying me time, but the more time I can use the existing system the better. I might end up looking around in December when there are far more deals or just going to when it truly breaks. Thank you all for your help on this.
So ironically, after getting 4 A/C companies to stop by, a friend of mine finally responded with an independent guy they use. 3 of the A/C companies just recommended a new system and wouldn't even touch the current system. The 1 A/C company advised they could clean the coil and perform full maintenance, but it would be like $1,500.
My friend's independent guy comes in, shows me exactly what side my coils are completely dirty and pretty much blocked. Even showed me where the water is coming down and why it's pooling in that specific area.
He ended up doing a thorough clean of the coils (and keeping the coils in place, I was advised not to have anyone remove the coils for cleaning) and bleached down the inside unit where some of the mold had started to grow. $125.
My now former A/C guy (who doesn't know I've essentially fired him, lol) charged me $325 for the nitrogen treatment of the A/C drain line. So chalk that up. But still, $450 is great overall and my A/C has had significant service.
I know it's only buying me time, but the more time I can use the existing system the better. I might end up looking around in December when there are far more deals or just going to when it truly breaks. Thank you all for your help on this.
This post was edited on 7/9/26 at 7:36 pm
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