I would not recommend Boonstra. I give them credit for always being available and showing up on time; maybe because rarely are they called twice by the same customer. I called to have a/c repaired. It was obviously a freon issue and the leak has to be found otherwise they can't recharge the freon. After a 20 minutes diagnostic and one very long cell phone conversation to "Bob" regarding cell phone apps...long story short, apparently the valves outside were leaking. "We will try to get the valves but it's an old unit so we probably won't be able to find them - here's your bill for $450". Incidentally, during the phone call to "Bob", valves were found!!! Oddly, 12 hours later repair person calls..."the valves we found were gone". Huh? "Sorry, there's nothing we can do except replace the unit but, if you do go with a new unit, they will credit you the $450 repair bill."
Same day I call for someone to give me an estimate for a new unit and he shows up exactly on time. Very nice young man that spent longer than the repair man...hemmmed and hawwwed took vague measurements. Started at $4800 and eventually got down to $3200 all in. (By the way, none of the rebates in their full-page ads applied of course.) I told him I would think about it since I've sold my house and don't really want to spend money for a unit I'm only going to have for another 65 days. He calls me back the next day and leaves a message about a "fix" he might have that I would be very happy with and won't cost nearly as much. He doesn't say what it is however. Yesterday, the unit couldn't be fixed...now it can? Again, huh?
So to shorten the story even more, as of yesterday after contacting a friend of a friend who has been in HVAC for 32 years, I have a working a/c unit with a fixed leak, NOT AT THE VALVES, but behind the condenser which required a 1/4 turn of a wrench, a fully-charged unit and only paid $120!!!
Maybe because I'm female or maybe because they knew I had to have a functioning unit for the new buyer of my home but, they basically robbed me of $450 to give me an incorrect diagnostic AND tell me there was nothing they could do except replace it. Nice business practises.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $450.00
- Company Response
Thank you for your feedback. Well, I certainly can’t make heads or tails on how you have chosen to interpret a relatively easy explanation of what was (and assuredly continues to be) the problem with your air conditioner. I assume you have left this unit for the new home owner to inherit?
Your a/c system has leaky valves. We know this for fact because of the detailed leak search done by one of our fully trained professionally certified HVAC technicians. Our technician performed the leak search (where price and details of the leak search were fully disclosed and approved by you prior to any work being done) as a means to find the issue as to why your old air conditioner wasn’t working.
After the leak was detected, our tech had to find out if the valves for you model were available in our warehouse, or if we had to order them from the manufacturer/distributer. Our technician was even uncertain if they were still available. You have an old and rare unit where parts are not readily available.
To properly repair, recharge and balance your unit can run into the hundreds of dollars range, and for a unit that old, a better option could be to replace the unit.
For someone who is looking to move within a month, they may choose to find a “quick fix”, and typically that person may “know a guy…”. You know, just top off the refrigerant so that it passes the home inspection. Problem is, when the temperature drops this winter, the restrictors in the valves (“O” rings which are made of a different metal than the copper valves, and contract in cold air at a different rate) that have been compromised and caused the refrigerant to leak in the first place, will again leak out refrigerant all winter long until depleted. When the new home owners turn on their a/c in the spring, guess what?...no cooling again.
Your comments on this web page were the first I or anyone from our office had heard on this matter. After reviewing your comments, I tried to contact you on several occasions, but my calls were not returned. I assume you have since moved on to a new home. I would be more than happy to discuss this service call with you, and try to come up with an amicable resolution for your dissatisfaction.
If not, I expect we will probably get a call from the new home owners in the spring when the a/c unit doesn’t work again.Sincerely,
Todd Byerley
General Manager
Boonstras One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning