A second opinion

Every summer, we have our air conditioning and furnace checked. Well, we called a company that came in last year.. we'll call them company A. We did this last week. Guy from Company A comes in, checks the air cond and when he goes to clean the furnace...he gets my dh over and tells him that our furnace has a crack. He shows my dh some probe picture. My dh could not see the crack. The guy said he couldn't clean the furnace b/c of crack and we need to get that fixed. We could get a new heat ex.changer or just get a new furnace. Our house is only nine years old...and we maintain our furnace. So, my dh asks...what can happen b/c of crack? Guy answers...it could leak carbon monoxide or throw fire balls. Hmmmm...I got scared w/the carbon monoxide thing but fire balls? Really? I've never heard of that. So guy goes on to tell us our options and how much a new furnace would be...3k - 4 k plus labor. What? Yikes! My dh stresses about this most of the weekend (with exception of my party). We look at our finances and consider our options. We decide to call another company in to check the furnace and get a second opinion. I just had a gut.

So, last Mon...guy comes in from Company B. A company we used before are very reputable , their fees are more expensive but we decided this second check might be worth it. So, guy comes in...is weary about a furnace check in summer...we explain that we are teachers..yada..yada..yada. This guy checks the furnace and says "There's nothing wrong with it." He then asked if we had Company A check our furnace and if they told us that we had a crack and it could throw fire balls and leak carbon monoxide? My dh and I were floored (and speechless). We never said anything to this guy about the other service man. He then told us that service men from this other company are known to throw out these scare tactics and they are told if a house is older than ten years or close to it...they need a new furnace. They are out to make a buck.


All I can say is...it's good to get a second opinion...especially on a big job like replacing a furnace. We trust company B. My dh and I were thankful we took the time to think this through and we followed our gut. All my dh could ask was "Don't people believe in God anymore?" Interesting question huh? We just have to be careful consumers.

Okay...in other news...I officially only have one more class session left. I'm getting psyched about s'ting (as you can see by my new background). In about three weeks...I'll be starting my s'ting experience. I pray it's a good one. Where did the summer go????

I hope to go back to my scrapbook.ing and reading since I won't have to be doing reseach anymore. :)

BTW: Guy from company B informed us that a furnace nowadays has an automatic shut off if it should get too hot or catch fire...so it doesn't throw fire balls.