The Gap Is Real, and It's Explainable
A homeowner in Anderson Township gets three quotes on the same failed furnace. First company says $12,000 for a full system. Second says $6,500. Third says the furnace is fine and it needs a $300 part.
That's not a made up example, that's a normal Tuesday. And the natural reaction is to assume two of the three are crooks. Sometimes that's true. More often, all three are quoting genuinely different work, and nobody explained that to you.
The problem isn't that the numbers differ. It's that most quotes are written in a way that makes them impossible to compare. One line, one total, sign here. You're being asked to make a five figure decision with less itemization than a car repair.
So here's how to read them. Not so you can find the cheapest one, because cheapest is frequently the wrong answer. So you can tell which number is honest.
What a Quote Should Actually List
Get every quote in writing, and expect all of this on it. If a line is missing, that's your first question.
- The exact equipment. Brand, model number, and efficiency rating for the furnace, and the same for the coil and condenser if they're in scope. Model numbers let you look the equipment up yourself. "High efficiency furnace" is not a model number.
- Capacity. The size in BTUs, and ideally a note about how they arrived at it. More on this below.
- Labor, itemized separately from equipment. You want to see what the install actually costs.
- What else is being replaced. Thermostat, flue liner, gas line modifications, new plenum or transitions, condensate pump, electrical work. This is where quotes silently diverge.
- Removal and disposal of the old unit.
- Permits and inspection, if applicable to your job. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, so confirm with yours, but it should be named on the quote either way.
- The warranty, both of them. Manufacturer parts warranty and the contractor's labor warranty are two separate things with two different lengths.
- Payment terms. Deposit, schedule, and what financing actually costs if you use it.
A quote with all of that is comparable to another quote with all of that. A quote that says "New Furnace and AC, installed: $11,400" is not comparable to anything.
Legitimate Reasons Two Numbers Differ
Before assuming bad faith, understand that these gaps are usually real work:
Different scope. The $12,000 quote may include a full system, new ductwork transitions, and a coil. The $6,500 quote may be a furnace only, reusing the existing coil and lineset. Both can be honest. They're different jobs.
Different efficiency tier. A 96 percent furnace costs more than an 80 percent unit up front, and the venting requirements are different, which affects labor. Whether the higher tier pays back depends on your house and how long you're staying.
Different equipment class. Single-stage, two-stage, and modulating furnaces are three different products at three different prices. A variable speed blower costs real money. None of that is a scam, but you should know which one you're buying.
Labor rate and crew. A shop with salaried technicians and a truck full of parts costs more per hour than a guy working alone. Sometimes you want the guy working alone. Sometimes you very much don't.
Repair versus replace. The third quote in our example wasn't cheaper because they cut corners. It was cheaper because they thought a repair would hold. That's a judgment call, and it's the one worth pushing on. We wrote about the honest version of that math in replace versus repair, and the same logic applies on the heating side.
The Things That Should Bother You
Now the other list. None of these is proof of anything by itself. Two or more together, and slow down.
The price expires tonight. Equipment costs don't change at midnight. A discount that only exists if you sign before the technician leaves your driveway is a closing technique, not a deal. Real quotes hold for a couple of weeks.
No load calculation, or a size based purely on what's already there. The right furnace size comes from a calculation that accounts for your square footage, insulation, windows, and how leaky the house is. "Your old one was 80,000 BTU so we'll put in 80,000" carries forward whatever mistake was made last time. Oversizing is extremely common and it causes short cycling, which we covered in what causes short cycling.
Verbal pricing only. If they won't write it down, there's a reason.
A condemnation with no evidence. If a quote is premised on a cracked heat exchanger, you should see photos of the crack. Every time, no exceptions. We wrote a whole post on this because it's the most abused diagnosis in the trade.
Financing pushed before price is settled. When the conversation moves to monthly payment before you've agreed on the total, the total is being hidden from you.
Wild swings between the same company's own quotes. If the price drops $3,000 when you say you're getting another estimate, the first number was never real.
Five Questions That Sort It Out
Ask all five, of every company. The answers separate people fast.
- What size did you calculate, and how did you get there?
- What exactly is included that the other quote doesn't include?
- What's the labor warranty, in years, in writing?
- If this were your house, would you repair it or replace it, and why?
- What's the total if I pay cash versus financed?
Question four is the useful one. A company that will talk you out of a replacement they could have sold you is telling you something about how they operate.
How Many Quotes to Get
Three. Two doesn't give you a middle. Four or five is usually just delay, and delay costs money if you're heating with space heaters while you shop.
Line the three up and compare the line items, not the totals. Nine times out of ten the gap resolves into scope, and once you normalize the scope the real spread is much smaller than it looked.
A practical way to do that. Take the most detailed quote and use it as your template. Go to the other two and ask them, specifically, whether each line on that quote is included in theirs. Is the coil in there? The disposal? The thermostat? The permit? Half the time you'll discover a $6,500 quote and an $8,500 quote are actually a $6,500 quote and a $6,800 quote once you add back the things the cheaper one left off. The other half of the time you'll find out the expensive one includes work you don't need.
And don't feel awkward about telling each company you're getting other estimates. Every contractor expects it on a job this size. The ones who get weird about it are telling you something useful for free.
Our approach is Repairs First, which means if the honest answer is a $300 part, that's the quote you get, even when the furnace is old enough that a replacement would be an easier sale. Our technicians are salaried and earn no commission on equipment, so nobody in this company gets paid more for talking you into a bigger job. We write everything down, including the model numbers, and the quote holds.
If you're sitting on quotes that don't add up, we'll come look and give you a third number. We work across Anderson Township, Mount Washington, Newtown, Mariemont, Madeira, Loveland, Milford, and Amelia. Call (513) 951-8539 or get in touch here.