RighTime Home Services San Diego

My installer, Jordan, was friendly, professional and extremely competent. The experience couldn't have gone better

Jordan worked very good and very carefully. He explained all the details needed to operate the thermostat and the alarm detecting CO. Jordan's work is very neat. We do appreciate his help. By the way, I'd like to thank Eric, for his good and clear explain to change the new heater furnace and sign the contract.

Eric was called out to assist a fairly new technician with the company in evaluating an existing air conditioning unit at my elderly parents home in Vista. Right away, Eric recalled that he had been to my parents home 2 years prior for a tune up service. He was very knowledgeable, conscientious, systematic, and deliberate in diagnosing the issues involved with the air conditioning system. His excellent interpersonal skills were evident as he provided us with all the appropriate information needed to make an informed decision in regards to the repair of the existing unit versus the installation of a new one. His calm and personable demeanor put my parents at ease during what could have been a very stressful situation for them. Eric was a superb example for the new technician to emulate and I believe an invaluable asset to your company. Bravo Zulu!

I wasn't able to get an appointment for a month, but it is summer and completely understandable. The technicians arrived a bit later than the time I set up for my appointment, but they did call to give me a 45 minute heads up, which is very nice. The technicians checked out my AC system and once they had everything apart gave me a basic overview of how the system works. They suggested some future repairs and considerations, but were not pushy about getting the work done or signing up for anything. Great easy experience.

Hired them through Home Depot because I just moved into a house where there had been no maintenance on the systems. Eric Y. was the technician who came out. He spent time teaching me about what we had (along with showing me pictures on his phone) to help me understand what needed to be done to bring it all up to code.

Eric was Excellent very professional and explained every thing. I think his recommendations were right on. I Hope have him back for the fall check up

Eric came to my home and was right on time. He was exceptionally knowledgeable, Thoreau and one of the most professional techs I have ever met. He gave me great info on my system and showed me many things that could be improved upon with it which I intend to do in the future.

Great. Eric arrived on time, put on booties to protect flooring. Personable, knowledgeable. And so far, no leaks! Good value through home depot! Would definitely use them again.

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No complaints about any staff. Their prices are just now so high I can't afford them. I had used them consistently since we bought the house new!

I received the quote on December 13th which I accepted was punctual.  I had next day installation was on a Saturday was here at 9:00 as stated installed my new Furnace. I'm very happy with this company I would hire them again.

I purchased a new Heating/AC Unit from ARS in October 2009.  The AC unit ceased to function properly in October 2012.  An ACS technician came out October 19th and got the unit working, but it again ceased to function one day later.  Another technician came out on the 20th and discovered that the Service Valve was leaking.  He ordered the part and a third technician came out to install it on the 25th.  However, he was ill-prepared to do so and called another technician.  Finally, the fourth man to work on my AC unit knew exactly what needed to be done.  The work I observed was complicated and time consuming, but he effectively and efficiently replaced the Service Valve, installed a new liquid line dryer, conducted a nitrogen leak test, and recharged the system with refrigerant.  Although, the problem wasn't initially diagnosed correctly, ARS was persistent in trying to fix my AC system.  Ultimately, they did sent out a seasoned pro who restored my equipment to full function.  ACS honored the warranty without hesitation. There was no charge for the three service calls or the work and parts needed to repair the AC unit.  It has worked effectively since repair last October (2012).  I would have rated ARS higher for overall experience and quality if it hadn't taken multiple service calls and four technicians to diagnose and fix the problem.

About two years ago the heating/air conditioning system originally installed failed after a long history of poor quality and poor heating and A/C. The replacement was not inexpensive (about $12K), but the complex installation was done in two days in the winter.  It's operated without a hitch since and provides much higher quality heating and A/C at much lower annual cost than the original.  
This is a great company and we've been very pleased with the work they've done.

The technicians installed the new AC.  They did not even change out the air filters.  Less that one month later the power board broke.  I was told that this was separate from the AC so was not under warranty.  There was also an AWFUL smell when the AC was turned on.  After the power board was replaced it took a few times running the AC for the smell to go away.

They did the inspection and correctly noted that the 2 furnaces were old, needed replacing and were dangerous.They condemned both and shut one down in the interests of safety. I would not let them shutdown the downstairs one because this would have left us without heat and had been functioning OK for the 13 years since we moved in.
It soon became clear that they came to the house prepared to give an immediate estimate for the replacement of 2 systems at a cost in excess of $23k and offered to do the work within a day or two. Some scare tactics were used in an attempt to get me to sign the contract immediately.
I told them that we had lived with this risk for many years and could do so for another week or so while obtaining other bids from local contractors on Angies list. While researching the choice of contractor we Iearned that ARS were facing charges in Arizona for using scare tactics to intimidate customers  into signing immediately,similar  those that I had experienced.
There is a happy end to this story because I hired FlowMax shown as highly rated on your list and was very pleased with the result. Their  bid was close to several other competitors but more than $4000 lower than ARS. Furthermore they used equipment of a higher specification than offered by ARS, completed the complicated job in 2 days just before Xmas and were very clean and efficient.

Our gas central heater failed in late December 2010, on New Year's Eve. Since this was during a cold snap and since we had an elderly relative staying with us, I didn't delay things by getting competing bids (this was before I joined Angie's List)  but rather called ARS, which had replaced a water heater for us a few years earlier.

Doug Snyder, from ARS, arrived on Monday, January 3 to diagnose the system. Using a miniature camera that he had snaked into the innards of the furnace, Doug showed me that the heat exchanger was cracked due to rust. It was determined that air conditioner coils, which were installed by Sears many years earlier, were improperly installed and caused condensation to drip onto the internal parts of the furnace instead of being drained out. There was rust, corrosion, and rusted-out spots throughout the furnace and blower unit. The condensation had also dripped into the electrostatic air cleaner that Sears had installed at the same time as the air conditioner and which had failed a year or two earlier. The furnace and air cleaner (if we wanted a replacement) would have to be replaced. Also, although the furnace and air conditioner complied with building codes when it was installed ten years earlier, replacing the furnace meant that the HVAC system would have to be brought up to current code (for example, the exhaust pipe for the heater could no longer be tied into the exhaust pipe for the gas water heater, but would need its own separate pipe to the outside). As a result of this, the entire HVAC system would have to be replaced, a Title 24 duct leakage test would have to be performed, and a City inspection would have to be performed.

Doug laid out the various replacement/repair options open to us. We chose a 60,000 BTU Rheem gas furnace, a 2.5 ton Rheem air conditioner condenser and evaporator coil, and an integrated electrostatic air cleaner. The system came with a 3-year labor, 10-year parts and compressor, and lifetime heat exchanger warranty. Parts and labor for removing the old system and installing the new HVAC system was about $12,650. The electrostatic air cleaner added about $1,200. The Title 24 compliance inspection (performed by a third-party) was about $975. Doug subtracted 10% (about $1,200) previous customer discount, for a total price of $13,592. Doug did try to get us to purchase some additional options, but we declined. Installation was scheduled for 2 days later, Wednesday, January 5, and I was told the installation would be performed in one day.

Installation went smoothly. Two ARS technicians (I did not write down their names) arrived, removed the old HVAC system, and installed the new system. This included drilling a hole through the wall of our stucco, frame house to accommodate the separate furnace vent pipe that I mentioned above and installing a condensation pump (the Sears installation relied on gravity). It was a long day, but they completed the removal and new installation of the new HVAC system and tested it by day's end as promised, and we had heat again. And they swept up after themselves. The technicians were very polite and took the time to explain to me what they were doing.

The Title 24 Compliance test (a duct leakage test) was performed on February 27 by a third-party company, Quality Verification Services, which has no affiliation with ARS. Our system passed the test on the first try.

In late summer of 2011, about 8 months after ARS installed our central HVAC system, a problem developed in the air conditioner condenser (the part of the AC that is located outdoors. When the AC finished cooling the house, the furnace blower and the compressor fan would shut off, but a loud humming/buzzing noise kept coming from the outside compressor. This happened intermittently; sometimes it would not happen at all, sometimes it would stop after a few minutes, and sometimes it would persist until the next time that the AC started. I called ARS to have a technician come out.

During the time between the installation of the HVAC and this problem, I had joined Angie's List. I looked up ARS, and was not entirely pleased with what I read. Some people gave ARS an "A" rating, others gave ARS a "D" or and "F" rating. I read all the reviews, especially the "D's" and "F's," and prepared myself for a fight with ARS.

I called ARS on a Thursday morning to schedule a technician, fully expecting to be put off for a week or two (my previous experiences with Sears home repair always resulted in delays of 10-14 days to arrive). I was told that a technician could come in an hour. I wasn't ready for that and asked if the appointment could be made for the next day in the afternoon. The service call was scheduled for between noon and 2PM the next day (Friday). On Friday, I prepared my self for the technician to show up late. Lance arrived at 12:05PM.

I described the problem to Lance, and attempted to demonstrate the intermittent problem to him. The compressor ran fine. Lance removed the cover from the compressor and we tried repeatedly to get it to fail. After about an hour, we were ready to give up, but decided to do one last test. The compressor failed: The fan turned off but a loud humming continued. Lance determined that a contactor -- a relay used to turn the compressor on and off -- had broken contacts and replaced it. Total charge for the service call was $0 since the unit was still under warranty.

As some other Angie's List members have reported, Lance did try to sell me some add-ons at the end: locking refrigerant connector caps (he said teenagers have been known to breathe the refrigerant to get high -- maybe true, maybe not) for $130; an automatic louver to fit on top of the compressor unit for $275; and an air purification system for $1,450. I declined, and that was that -- no pressure.

All in all, I am very pleased with the service from ARS. I expected the worst, but received the best service from them of all the repair services that I have used. All the ARS people with whom I dealt were very professional and competent. Their prices may be a tiny bit on the high side (that's why I gave them a B for price), but they deliver excellent service; and the B for quality was for the malfunction during the warranty period, but this was more likely the fault of Rheem manufacturing than ARS. Yes, I'd use them again.

They told us what was wrong with the old unit and why we needed a new one. They performed the install the same day and that was it. Their technicians were polite and fast.

They did some repair and duct work as our entire system failed last week. The technician came in an hour’s time and did a thorough analysis. He then advised us that, the entire system had failed. He was quick and analyzed well. Then we picked up the system from them and they started the installation in an hour’s time. They completed the entire process by the next day and did a great job. I will continue to use their services in future.

Old system was inspected on one day, cracks in the heater element was identified. New system was bought. New system was installed completely in one day. Clean professional install.

It seems that all these folks want to do is find problems which they can then just charge you lots of dollars to correct. My HVAC system is 3 years old; however, the past two visits, they found thousands of dollars of repairs that they thought should be made. I am not an expert, so maybe the repairs suggested are legitimate; however, at no time did they even mention that it was likely that the manufacturer's warranty would cover at least the parts (the system has a 5 year warranty) - they just wanted to charge me for new parts and labor. As a result of the costs they requested, I inquired as to how much it would cost to replace the system. They offered to replace the system for a cost which was about 40% higher (even with the 10% discount they were giving me as I have a service contract) as other HVAC contractors (who are rated highly on your site). In addition, the system that ARS was offering me is rated much lower by consumer agencies than the top rated system that was being offered by the other HVAC contractors. It appears that ARS likes folks to get service contracts so they can get folks to spend lots of dollars in repairs (which may be covered by a warranty, but which they do not even suggest), or to get folks to pay large sums to replace their systems.

they were professional but they pitched things that were not included. They bashed the previous company that was out and performed less. They didnt even include the filters! I called and emailed to complain but received no reply I disputed the charge. Anytime you see a big company with fancy vans and binders with flat rate pricing head for the hills.

They are pretty good and we would continue to use them in future.

Mike and Charles arrived as scheduled, friendly and professional. They were very thorough and helpful. It was a pleasure doing business with this company. I originally got a coupon in the mail but checked Angie's before calling. I no longer call anyone without checking Angie's first. Reviews on this company were right on.