Home Warranty

[Krob1114]

Guys, I'm not much for social media. This is the only presence I have online, no Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I've got a complaint I'm telling everyone about. We've had a home warranty for 6 years and spent all that money basically to have an A/C contractor come out a few times and replace a capacitor or add freon. Once we needed something, they did absolutely nothing.

Our smaller unit for the office and master bedroom went out on May 29th. The contractor they sent out said our compressor was shot and needed replaced. They then tried to sell me a whole new system as ours came with the new home we bought in 2005. First American Home Warranty said they would only replace the compressor, which as near as I could find out was around $800 (hmmm) for our smaller unit. I found the whole outside unit online for $1400 in the 2-ton size. The contractor sent me a letter saying that it would not be feasible to replace the compressor and it would cost more in the long run, and added if they did replace it, there would be a charge to me for $832 for modifications. I looked at the exact same unit on YouTube, and there are no modifications; pretty much sweat the copper off and then new one back on.. I refused to pay. FAHW said they ordered a new compressor, and it would be in June 21. On June 23, contractor called and said they would come out on Monday, June 26th.

The contractor showed up to check the system again. I knew they didn't want to change the compressor. This time, it was the service manager. He didn't even bring the compressor with him. He wound up getting the compressor to work and it's now been 5 days. The part that gets me is that we went 4 weeks without A/C for no reason and even spent $400 to get a portable unit that we now don't need just so my wife could work in the office. Plus, when I asked him how he would change the compressor, he said exactly like I described on the YouTube video.

This unit is a dual zone with two dampers in the attic. They're not working. FAHW refused to pay for them.

[Krob1114]

In 2021, my dryer went out. It needed a new heating element. I paid $85 for a service call, only to find out 2 days later that the repair man couldn't come out for 2 weeks. I started thinking about how much time and money I'd spend to take clothes to the laundry for 2 weeks. I looked at a YouTube video, went to MId-America Appliance, and bought the part for $85 and fixed it myself in 2 hours.

Don't remember the date but we had a problem with the water valve on our refrigerator, so we had no ice or water. FAHW said it was not covered.

[Krob1114]

BEWARE! We've wasted money for years.

[bruceb58]

Home warranty...other than extended auto warranties, the largest rip offs known to man.

[sailor55330]

I bought a home a couple of years ago that the seller provided a home warranty. It was absolutely worthless.

It took me 2 months to establish a working log in due to "system issues"
$100 service call--regardless if they do anything
Everything requires a 2 or 3 step approval process, which is slow.
The list of contractors they used were the absolutely lowest rated contractors in the area----I made 4 service calls and all of assigned companies had 1 star reviews---they even assigned one contractor to service my home in Georgia that was based out of Orlando, FL...go figure
One of the contractors they tried to send out had been out of business for 2 years

In total, the home warranty would have cost about $800 out of pocket. I got 1 $89 ice maker replaced, and then the refrigerator died, which they wouldn't touch. THis was the premium plan.....so glad I didnt' pay for it.

I would not spend any money on this type of service. FWIW, I bought an extended warranty on a car once and didn't find it much better.

[Krob1114]

The reason I started this thread was to help anyone here considering a home warranty. This is such a helpful site. Thank you Sailor and Bruce.

[Tuscany]

IMO.
I've never bought a warranty on anything in my life. House, car...whatever.

I look at the strip in Las Vegas from the Mandalay on down in total awe of its beauty and investment...and can guess with certainty that the odds always favor the casino, and Vegas was built on those challenging the odds against.
Nothing different with a purchased warranty.

[Krob1114]

Before I could finish out the A/C problem, the automatic billing went in for another month. One of my hot water heaters went out. Local contractors wanted between $1800 and $2600 to replace it. I wound up getting contractor from warranty company but had to pay them $450 for modifications. Bull. The originally said $630, but the warranty company said they'd cover the resealing of the vent which was $180. Contractor didn't even need to do it. Just trying to get more money out of me because warranty company doesn't pay them enough.

[dustinm]

Before I could finish out the A/C problem, the automatic billing went in for another month. One of my hot water heaters went out. Local contractors wanted between $1800 and $2600 to replace it. I wound up getting contractor from warranty company but had to pay them $450 for modifications. Bull. The originally said $630, but the warranty company said they'd cover the resealing of the vent which was $180. Contractor didn't even need to do it. Just trying to get more money out of me because warranty company doesn't pay them enough.

The home warranty companies seek out the cheapest contractors they can find or new uneducated ones. Then after they signed a contract and finally realize they have been duped look for ways to recoup lost $$$. I feel for the home owners and contractors in this situation.

BTW this is what is happening to healthcare as all the mom and pop Dr offices retire or get bought up by large corporations...

[notstock4long]

We had a home warranty when we lived in AZ. It was about 12 years ago, but I believe we had to have it as a stipulation related to the VA loan we used to buy the house. I think it was a one time cost of $1250. It ended up working out well for us...within a couple of years we had a new water heater (they actually paid me when a basic unit and labor would cost so I could install a much nicer one) and a completely new HVAC/heat pump system (whole house was electric...no gas). But, I too am completely disgusted by the amount we spend on insurance and the like, although this one time it did actually work out for me. Luckily we bought at the worst of the housing market crash in one of the worst markets, so five years later I sold the place for almost 4X what we paid for it.