CPR AIR CONDITIONING & HTNG LLC

Late on a Sunday evening, my wife and I realized that our AC unit had failed. Not knowing who to call - and wanting someone to come out that evening - I went online and called the first business I found who would come out that evening. (This was NOT CPR Air.) A short time later, the person showed up, inspected my AC informed me that I had a and quot;locked compressor and overheated condenser fan motorand quot;. This person said I needed a and quot;start kit and capacitor partsand quot; totaling $580, however he thought I MIGHT also need a and quot;condenser motorand quot;. He even said he had and quot;not seen anything like thisand quot; suggesting that the unit might have been hit by some type of electrical surge. He also wasn't sure how long the repair would last, so I requested a quote on an entirely new unit. (Keep in mind, this unit is less than 8 years old.) It was hot - I just wanted the AC fixed - however the person didn't have the parts on the truck to properly fix the unit. Knowing we would have to wait until morning, my wife suggested we get a 2nd opinion.
Remembering that a family member knew someone in the business, I called and got CPR Air's phone number. I called just after 7:00am and Chuck answered the phone. I described the issue to him and almost immediately, he thought he knew what was wrong. In just a few hours, Chuck was at my home and fixed the unit very fast. As he thought - it was NOT what the other company's person said was wrong... the unit only needed a starter. Net-Net.... even though Chuck knew I was prepared to spend a considerable amount MORE, he was honest and completely transparent with me and saved me (at least) several hundred dollars. It's also worth nothing that while CPR Air is in Sugar Land, I'm near Cypress... so don't let distance keep you from calling. These guys are GOOD - they know what they are doing and will be completely upfront with you.

I called at 5PM in the evening. Chuck was very responsive and came to my home within 2 hour. He seems very knowledgeable of AC unit. He was able to detect that water was the cause of the short. So that is what $159 is for, the inspection. That's too not bad considering it is an emergency call. But that ends there. The scam artist started to emerge.
The next day he called back with an estimate of how much it will cost to replace the control board. He quoted ~$1000, where ~$700 was for the control board itself. This is extremely marked up and straight out a scam. I understand that company can mark up parts. But not by this much. He has a very car salesman attitude, very pushy. He started by using all the buzzwords, explaining to me how the new digital boards are so much more complex than the old analog boards, and therefore the price increase. He claims the price was quoted directly from Lennox themselves. I don't buy that claim. Little did he know, I am an Electrical Engineer myself. So all those buzzwords he used on me didn't really work. I understood right away exactly what he was trying to do. I normally don't try to challenge everyone with my expertise and let people do their job. But as he started he and quot;persuasion,and quot; I had to interrupt it.
Bottomline is this. I called him so he can do the repair since I am busy with my own job. But I ended up with your typical pushy carsman, trying to make me buy an overpriced mudguard.


Update: Since CPR so kindly gave the world his view on the situation. I got my AC fixed for less than the cost of his control board alone (See my other review). The 19W94 Ignition control board is an OEM control board. It does NOT cost $700, or anywhere close to it. Please go ahead and Google how much the 19W94 board cost if you feel the need. I fully understand the need for marking up parts, but his $700 price tag for the control board will NEVER be justified no matter how much he tries to sugar coat it. Have a nice day.