Avoid Bonfe's Heating
Sisyphuz
to get it fixed on a Sunday but I had to do *something*. They came out, spent
less than one hour labor, used $10-15 worth of parts and charged me $650.
Never again. If I had it to do over I would drain all the water in the house
and stay in a motel overnight. And get someone not quite as voracious to fix
it on Monday.
Wayne Marsh
> They came out, spent
> less than one hour labor, used $10-15 worth of parts and charged me $650.
That seems high, but probably not out of line with other outfits. I had an
emergency plumbing call at night a couple years ago, and the plumbing
company owner didn't even want to hear my address until I gave him my Visa
card number for a $350 minimum charge -- which I did.
But I don't fault them. If I were a plumber or furnace tech who'd just
worked a long day and was relaxing after supper, thinking about going to
bed, you couldn't get MY ass back into uniform and out again into the cold
for less than a couple hundred bucks.
Wayne Marsh Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
wayne...@mac.com
Gandalf
One way to weed out the ripoff artists is to ask up front about hourly
rate. When they start to say things like 'well, it depends on the
job...' it's a bad sign. If they don't have an hourly rate, you don't
want to hire them.
I feel an extra fee, or higher rate for Sunday is reasonable, but $600
in labor for less than an hour? That's outrageous! I think
you got ripped off. Just my opinion, of course.
Steve Sundberg
We use Minnegasco Service Plus. When our furnace went out on a recent
Sunday, it didn't "cost" us a thing beyond what we pay for a monthly
service charge. In addition, a service guy was here within 45 minutes
of us calling in. So far, in the past year, we've also had them come
out to do a fridge repair and do the annual furnace inspection. Even
if we do wind up paying $300/yr for the coverage we have (furnace, air
con, stove, dryer), I consider it good insurance if only because most
of the appliances in our house (which we bought just last year) are
20+ years old.
Mike O'Brien
> We use Minnegasco Service Plus. When our furnace went out on a recent
> Sunday, it didn't "cost" us a thing beyond what we pay for a monthly
> service charge. In addition, a service guy was here within 45 minutes
> of us calling in. So far, in the past year, we've also had them come
> out to do a fridge repair and do the annual furnace inspection. Even
> if we do wind up paying $300/yr for the coverage we have (furnace, air
> con, stove, dryer), I consider it good insurance if only because most
> of the appliances in our house (which we bought just last year) are
> 20+ years old.
Same here. Service Plus has paid for itself over and over through the years.
Regards,
Mike O'Brien
Trying to keep the barbarians from
the gate, but they all have fake
IDs...
---
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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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Brian Elfert
>if we do wind up paying $300/yr for the coverage we have (furnace, air
>con, stove, dryer), I consider it good insurance if only because most
>of the appliances in our house (which we bought just last year) are
>20+ years old.
Doesn't Service Plus have a limit on repairing old appliances?
At some point, the costs for parts will exceed the cost of a new
appliance. I can't imagine Service Plus is going to keep shelling out to
keep your 20 year old stuff working indefinitely.
Brian Elfert
aquilllathehun
"Gandalf" <g.ga...@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:3e5f0a1f...@news.visi.com...
One thing that nobody has mentioned, none of you know what was actually
wrong with the furnace, how old is was, or any of the circumstances. I would
bet the original poster has no idea what the part costs or what they did.
Also how does anyone know the condition of the furnace, was this due to
negligence on the part of the owner?
We've all seen the sting operations on 20/20, but in this case we know none
of the circumstances.
So how can anyone give an opinion on anything other than its a lot of money.
Moral of the story: have your furnace checked regularly to avoid being at
the mercy of an emergency
or weekend charge by furnace people you don't know.
Steve Sundberg
AFAIK, there is no limitation. Of course, if a part can't be replaced
or repaired because it's no longer available ... well, we'll cross
that bridge when we get to it. However, the dryer is a Maytag. <grin>
Btw, we coincidentally had our early 1980's-era furnace inspected
shortly after the Sunday failure. Sometime between the repair and the
inspection, one heat exchanger had cracked and another was on its way
to cracking. Yipes! Had a new furnace installed within 24 hours of
signing the contract. We used Apollo Heating here in St. Paul, and
were impressed not only by their price but also their service. Even
though the new furnace came with a 10-year parts & labor warranty,
we're keeping Service Plus for the other things.
LJ
home.
"aquilllathehun" <aquill...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:v5v4564...@corp.supernews.com...
Melba's Jammin'
Sundberg) wrote:
> On 28 Feb 2003 15:57:44 GMT, Brian Elfert <bel...@visi.com> wrote:
>
> >dee...@mm.com (Steve Sundberg) writes:
> >
> >>if we do wind up paying $300/yr for the coverage we have (furnace, air
> >>con, stove, dryer), I consider it good insurance if only because most
> >>of the appliances in our house (which we bought just last year) are
> >>20+ years old.
> >
> >Doesn't Service Plus have a limit on repairing old appliances?
> >
> >At some point, the costs for parts will exceed the cost of a new
> >appliance. I can't imagine Service Plus is going to keep shelling out
> >to
> >keep your 20 year old stuff working indefinitely.
>
> AFAIK, there is no limitation. Of course, if a part can't be replaced
> or repaired because it's no longer available ... well, we'll cross
> that bridge when we get to it. However, the dryer is a Maytag. <grin>
Glad to hear the old one is better than the ones they're making now. I
don't like mine -- I've had two service calls on it, plus my Brother
John The Fix-it Man.
My Maytag dishwasher, OTOH, rules!
For HVAC & plumbing stuff, we're loyal Genz-Ryan customers (they're in
Rosemount).
--
-Barb --
<www.jamlady.eboard.com> -
Cook-in pics posted 2-23-03.
dme...@mn.rr.com
How about 50 years old? The last time they came to repair our
range (original with the house built in 1953) they told us this
would be the last time they could fix it. Not because of any
policy, but because we had finally exhausted the supply of parts
available for it. No matter what piece of crap we've asked them
to fix, they've done it without complaint. They kept a 20 year
old dishwasher going an extra 6 years, a 26 year old fridge an
extra 5. It's the biggest bargain in Minnesota.
--
Dan Mercer
dme...@mn.rr.com
Brian Elfert
>to fix, they've done it without complaint. They kept a 20 year
>old dishwasher going an extra 6 years, a 26 year old fridge an
>extra 5. It's the biggest bargain in Minnesota.
They must be making money somehow on this service or they wouldn't offer
it.
Brian Elfert
Steve Sundberg
Look upon it as an insurance policy. Beyond the $99.95 furnace
inspection that's included with Service Plus, I suspect most
households every year don't ever see another Minnegasco service tech
come through the door. The utilities must have some form of actuary
tables set up, like insurance companies, that give them some idea as
to the likelihood, and frequency, of consumer appliance repair calls.
I know they'll be making some money now off us for the next few years,
what with our recent furnace purchase. But we can't drop the furnace
from the plan without dropping the whole plan; even so, we still feel
it will work in our favor -- or close to it -- in the coming years
because of the coverage given the air con, water heater, and other
appliances.
The one repair call we had for the fridge was worth $145, and that was
a fairly simple repair AFAIK. I never asked what the Sunday furnace
call was worth.
Bill Seurer
> I know they'll be making some money now off us for the next few years,
Actually, they make a **TON** of moeny off these. Most people don't
ever have problems who get them. The few who do (like you) spread the
word and lure more people in.
So, good for you that you are doing well! Overall, though, it's a total
rip off.
dme...@mn.rr.com
I would guess by making people who were busy part of the time busy
all of the time. Gas and electrical repair work, particularly in
Minnesota, is cyclical. People replace units when weather is
mild, but repairs occur at the beginning of the heating and
cooling seasons when people first notice a problem. Then you get
other peaks during heat waves and cold snaps. You have to staff
for the critical periods, this gives people work to do during the
lulls.
--
Dan Mercer
dme...@mn.rr.com
dme...@mn.rr.com
That's like calling life insurance a rip off if you don't die, or
health insurance a rip off if you stay well. The benefit of
insurance of any kind is the ability to budget and prevent
catastrophic costs. It's a free country, but I prefer the
coverage. Like I say, I've never lost money on it. I have a new
fridge and heating/cooling plant and water heater - but, there's
always the washer and dryer and they aren't getting any younger.
Minnegasco (Reliant?) already did two overhauls of the washer and
replaced the heating element on the dryer and i suspect more work
is due.
--
Dan Mercer
dme...@mn.rr.com
Wayne Marsh
> The benefit of
> insurance of any kind is the ability to budget and prevent
> catastrophic costs.
"Catastrophic" is the key word. The rule of thumb is to insure only against
losses that you can't afford. So I insure my house against fire, but I don't
buy the maintenance "insurance" on the $40 boombox I bought at Best Buy.
dme...@mn.rr.com
The Maintenance plan covers
washer/dryer/refrigerator/stove/furnace/AC/water
heater/dishwasher/garbage disposal. That's a lot of coverage and
repairs to any of those are likely (see the beginning of this
thread) run into the hundreds of dollars. That's catastrophic to
me.
--
Dan Mercer
dme...@mn.rr.com
Bill Seurer
> The Maintenance plan covers
> washer/dryer/refrigerator/stove/furnace/AC/water
> heater/dishwasher/garbage disposal. That's a lot of coverage and
> repairs to any of those are likely (see the beginning of this
> thread) run into the hundreds of dollars. That's catastrophic to
> me.
At my previous house I needed one repair to appliances ever in 11 years.
At $300/year for 11 years that one repair would have cost me $3300
instead of the $75 it did. And for $3300 I could replace many of the
appliances outright. I know the person who bought our house and they
had to have the furnace repaired in the 5 years since (we took and
washer and dryer and since replaced them).
Believe what you like but ON AVERAGE these plans are total rip offs.
dme...@mn.rr.com
The fact that you get lucky doesn't make the plans a rip-off,
anymore than health coverage is a rip-off if you don't get sick.
People with new appliances and new heating/AC don't need this
coverage. People who don't use their appliances heavily don't
need this coverage. But those of us unlucky enough to do a dozen
loads of wash and ten loads of dishes/week with appliances more
than 10 years old (or, with a stove that's 50 years old) are
grateful they exist. You pays your money, you takes your chance.
You realize, of course, just mentioning your good luck has
jinxed you? I can hear your appliances expiring from here - PING
SNAP BWOING PHHT!
--
Dan Mercer
dme...@mn.rr.com
TH
between the furnace and chimney had started to rot on top. It was a 3ft
piece of 4 inch single wall pipe. It was covered but they still left a bill
to show what it would of "so-called" cost to fix. 349.00!!. What a joke. A 4
dollar piece of pipe and exactly 18 minutes he was here to replace it. Plus
2 lost days of work for me since they never showed the first date set, and
wont give you a time frame under 6 hrs any given day either. My neighbor had
his furance go out and they said they can no longer get parts to fix it. His
cost: 4700.00 for a new furnace installed by them. I got quotes from 3
heating guys at work since I am in the building trade and all were under
1500.00 for the SAME furnace installed. But they dont "finance", so he had
to have the thieves (service plus)do the work. I did find if you say your
house smells real bad of gas, you can get them out the same day instead of
waiting 3-5 days for them to show up:) I may be stopping my service plus
this month since it doesnt seem like a bargin to me. Ive found that the 300
bucks a year would cover my repair needs using "honest" companys to just
come out and fix the rare problems i've had.
I had a good laugh at circuit city when I bought my camcorder a few weeks
ago also. They offered me a 3 year plan for 350 bucks on a camcorder that
cost 329.00. I told him I could probaly just buy 2 of the camcorders instead
and stick one away then, in case the first one broke after the intial 1 year
waranty. He didnt even smile after I said that :)
"Bill Seurer" <Bi...@seurer.net> wrote in message
news:3e637...@news3.prserv.net...
Ted Rattei
: I had a good laugh at circuit city when I bought my camcorder a few weeks
: ago also. They offered me a 3 year plan for 350 bucks on a camcorder that
: cost 329.00. I told him I could probaly just buy 2 of the camcorders instead
: and stick one away then, in case the first one broke after the intial 1 year
: waranty. He didnt even smile after I said that :)
I got an equally stupid offer when I went to Best Buy to purchase a
$25 cable. For 8 bucks, I could have a service plan that ensured that
the cable will continue to work for 3 years. I started laughing, and
told him that if it broke, I would just buy a new one. I wonder if
they sell service plans for the candy bars that are at the checkout
line?
--
Ted Rattei ** te...@visi.com
On Vacation from the .com industry
PGP Key 7A97D689: 3D24E61E56AD5B74 55D7323715E18940
Key available by finger or www.keyserver.net.
Bill Seurer
> TH <M...@spamless.com> wrote:
> : I had a good laugh at circuit city when I bought my camcorder a few weeks
> : ago also. They offered me a 3 year plan for 350 bucks on a camcorder that
> : cost 329.00. I told him I could probaly just buy 2 of the camcorders instead
> : and stick one away then, in case the first one broke after the intial 1 year
> : waranty. He didnt even smile after I said that :)
>
> I got an equally stupid offer when I went to Best Buy to purchase a
> $25 cable. For 8 bucks, I could have a service plan that ensured that
> the cable will continue to work for 3 years.
These things always amaze me. The whole extended warranty thing is a
huge scam. Actually, it's not a scam. It's a tax on the mathmatically
challenged.