Lennox Heat Pumps through Costco?

Looking at a heat pump replacement.

Anyone done this through the Costco/Lennox thing or gotten a guesstimate from these guys?

Yes, I know it's only a referral to a local HVAC outfit. But you get a 10% Costco gift card, so hey, it potentially could pencil out, maybe...

Dunno. Should I bother getting an estimate and see what the numbers are?

Also, is Lennox stuff any good? Does ANYONE make decent heat pumps these days? Our ancient Trane has survived a ridiculous amount of time, but is today's Trane still any good?

A few years back purchased two complete AC units to replace two existing units on gas furnaces that 3 years old. AC were 22 years old. Still worked but the plan was to sell the home in two years and old AC units were going to be liability.
This was in suburban Chicago area.

Used the Costco in store “guy”........which of course is local HVAC contractor. This was an in store sales guy for the week.
All in, they beat all the other estimates by $1700 with a better warranty and 5 year free seasonal check. Plus the Costco rebate card........

Worked for me.....

Sold the home three years later transferred the seasonal check up and warranty to the new owners.

Don’t remember the brand...........

bwringer said:

Also, is Lennox stuff any good? Does ANYONE make decent heat pumps these days? Our ancient Trane has survived a ridiculous amount of time, but is today's Trane still any good?

Click to expand...

From what I've read, it's the contractor doing the install that makes a much bigger difference than the actual equipment itself, but perhaps someone else will come along and comment differently.

I've had HVAC coils fail (under warranty) - so there are some crappy units out there, but the "****" level doesn't show up for a while.

And the "pricing" of this stuff is a bunch of wand-waiving. We're all paying multiples of actual cost for an "authorized" installer certified (usually) by the manufacturer... It's not like you can compare system A to system B.

Thanks for the real-world info.

I have a local HVAC outfit that has treated me very well and they'll get a strong benefit of the doubt.

But I'll at least see who's really doing the Costco installs and get an estimate.


There's one local company that won't get my business; I had what turned out to be a bad relay a while back, and they sent a tanned, oiled, muscled, perfectly coiffed perfumed dandy in a pristine white shirt and, I **** thee not, a bowtie.

He spent five minutes looking at the system from a safe distance, didn't even sully his perfectly manicured hands with a screwdriver, and handed me a $9,500 estimate for replacement. "Sign here, please."

Maybe the Chippendale's act works on lonely ladies, but, uh, no.

Decided to sweat for another day or two, got some recommendations from friends, and called a different company. They sent a guy with a little honest dirt on his hands and clothes and no bowtie, who quickly found and replaced the bad relay, caught up the maintenance, and got everything working again for a couple hundred bucks.

Guess who's getting the call for a replacement estimate?

dcg9381 said:

From what I've read, it's the contractor doing the install that makes a much bigger difference than the actual equipment itself, but perhaps someone else will come along and comment differently.

I've had HVAC coils fail (under warranty) - so there are some crappy units out there, but the "****" level doesn't show up for a while.

And the "pricing" of this stuff is a bunch of wand-waiving. We're all paying multiples of actual cost for an "authorized" installer certified (usually) by the manufacturer... It's not like you can compare system A to system B.

Click to expand...

^^^This^^^

Take it from a guy who's done A/C for over 30 years and ran his own contracting business for half of that. When it's all said and done most units are about the same. They use the same compressors, relays, capacitors, etc. The only differences are how they assemble the parts and where. Three tons is three tons is three tons - don't let anyone snooker you into thinking higher efficiency means more or "free" capacity.
What you want is a local guy you can trust. Not a flashy truck, not fancy talk, but proveable dependability over time. Needless to say you have had to have experience with his work in the past, or someone you trust has. A guy who will shoot straight, tell the truth, do the actual work and be there if you need him.
Every guy has there "favorite" brand for one reason or another. Your trust should be in the man, not the equipment. And price really doesn't enter into it, because it's something you can negotiate. Quality you can't!