AC Repair vs. New Unit

Posted by: Denver AC repair

We often get asked "Is AC repair going to be the a better option or should I just buy a new unit?" When considering whether you should replace or repair the unit, the age is a very important factor. Did you buy the air conditioner yourself or was it in your home when you bought it? If so, the approximate age should have been in your disclosure statement. Did you buy the air conditioning unit? Did you buy an extended warranty when purchasing it? If you purchased your unit you will know how long of a warranty it has and the exact age. Most air conditioners come with at least a 5 year warranty, some up to 10 years.

If you have an older unit, finding replacement parts may be harder to come by. Then again, some of the older units are easier to repair because they were not built with all the complicated parts that newer air conditioners have. If it is under 10 years old, it is very possible that it would be less expensive to repair it than to purchase a new one. The parts are probably going to be more expensive because new systems have more digital and electronic parts. Having said this, the new parts and repairs will probably still be less than buying a new air conditioner.

If your unit is still under warranty, you will want to go with repair service. You may want to check and see if your warranty specifies repair by a certain company. If so, and you call someone else to fix it, this will void the warranty. Most of the time you will just have to pay for the labor of the Air conditioning repair since the parts will be under warranty. This usually depends on the company's policy's and how old the unit is.

Since air conditioning systems generally last up to about 10 to 12 years, if yours is not very old the repair will most likely be the better option. Of course, one of the things to take into consideration is how well maintained it has been. Have you had it serviced regularly? The filters should be changed frequently to keep the fan and other parts from becoming dirty as this can cut down on the life of your air conditioning unit.

Purchasing home appliance insurance is another option you have as a home owner. This will cover your air conditioning system as well as other major appliances in the home and can help immensely if you need AC repair. The cost of appliance insurance is penneys compared to buying a new air conditioner.

When trying to decide on repairing the air conditioner or replacing it with a new one, you will have to take all these things into consideration and compare the costs. If the repairs are beginning to add up because something is consistently breaking down, you may have no choice but to buy a new system. Buying an energy efficient air conditioner will be less expensive in the long run than always having to repair it. Depending on your units age, utilities and maintenance will cost more money than the new machine.