Home Warranty

[KBScobravert]

We had AHS. The AC took a shit last year. They "repaired" it, well more like limped it along until our plan expired. 6 months later the heater won't cycle off found out the AC won't cool either. Payed to have a guy come out and look at it and he said the last folks to touch it (AHS) rigged it to work for a while but not safe and the unit should have been replaced back then (July 2010).

Now I get to foot the bill for a new AC. Had we kept the AHS who knows what kind of trick besides a hard start kit they would have put on it to make it last another year.

[sdun]

It's all in who comes out to repair it. AHS sends the work order to a local company who has a contract w/ them. If you know a contractor that does work for them that does good work you can request that contractor. It's also a good idea to look over the shoulder of the guy that comes out. I don't trust anyone so I ask questions about why they are doing what they are doing. If you are nice about it most will tell you what you have and what they are doing to repair it.

[ceyko]

Wow, a lot of opinions from one end to the other on this one.

I've never used a home warranty company but was thinking about it when I buy my next home. Since the home will be right around 10 y/o which is when things start crapping out.

[2000 vert]

It's all in who comes out to repair it. AHS sends the work order to a local company who has a contract w/ them. If you know a contractor that does work for them that does good work you can request that contractor. It's also a good idea to look over the shoulder of the guy that comes out. I don't trust anyone so I ask questions about why they are doing what they are doing. If you are nice about it most will tell you what you have and what they are doing to repair it.

X2 on this. The techs know you are not on the hook for the bill so they usually will fix everything that needs to be fixed. IE they get paid more.

[red95gts]

I had AHS for 2 years - complete waste of money. My A/C Evap Coil took a shit and they replaced it with a POS no-name unit and did a half-ass install. They attempted to bill me $1500 for "non-covered components" and cited that my system wasn't up to code. A trip to the city inspector's office proved that $1100 of it was bullshit, so I paid $400 and they were pissed. However - 2 years later, I paid out of pocket to replace it again, along with all the other HVAC components so in the end I took a bath on it.

AHS will try to send out a "ServiceMaster" group for most calls, in my experience. Be forewarned that AHS and ServiceMaster are owned by the same parent company. They are in on the scam. I would recommend you take the $500 and put it in a savings acct. When something breaks, dig into savings.

[Lone Sailor]

Looks like we're with Old Republic this time. We'll see how it plays out.

[KBScobravert]

I had AHS for 2 years - complete waste of money. My A/C Evap Coil took a shit and they replaced it with a POS no-name unit and did a half-ass install. They attempted to bill me $1500 for "non-covered components" and cited that my system wasn't up to code. A trip to the city inspector's office proved that $1100 of it was bullshit, so I paid $400 and they were pissed. However - 2 years later, I paid out of pocket to replace it again, along with all the other HVAC components so in the end I took a bath on it.

AHS will try to send out a "ServiceMaster" group for most calls, in my experience. Be forewarned that AHS and ServiceMaster are owned by the same parent company. They are in on the scam. I would recommend you take the $500 and put it in a savings acct. When something breaks, dig into savings.

sounds a little worse than our experience with them not even a year ago for my A/C repair. ........... I get to replace the whole unit right now but atleast when I am paying for it I know that I have more of a right to fight for what I want this time around.

The guy that came out to look at our current unit is a husband of one of my wife's coworkers. He basically said the work they did last year was a splint and bandaid when complete surgery was needed.

[RuStYpNuS]

This all goes back to what I said before. the contractors are on a cost per call and are required to keep the cost down to get more calls dispatched. The service call is a way to get the contractor in the door and then they can try to up-sell you on stuff. Sometimes they will take a hit with the warranty if you agree to upgrade and pay the difference.

Old republic was probably one of the easiest to deal with FA second and AHS last.

AHS and service master are owned by the same parent co I believe but being an electrician we were just sub contracted

If your not investing in the platinum package then I wouldn't spend a dime with AHS. That's just my .02 and being that I was a contractor for over 3 years with them I think that says a lot