When my A/C unit stopped blowing cold air I had a tech out to diagnose. My gut feeling was the unit as going to need to be replaced, especially since it was a Carrier, and parts are sometimes hard to come by.
I know the Tech and knew that if he could fix it, he would.
On the other hand, if it was to be replaced, he would not charge me for the service call and diagnosis, just for the new unit and the labor to install it.
So if someone else is going to do the whole job, then get the charges straight before inking the deal.
Now if you are planning on buying and installing your own A/C, then further diagnosis by a tech is going to cost you extra since no one works for free.
The compressor in our A/C had already been cycling on and off way too often, and then it just stopped working. The tech checked out the inside electrical and worked some of his magic to get the compressor to run, and we went on the roof and the one line got cold and frosted up immediately. He said while it was good the compressor was running, that the frost formed way too soon. But no cold air ever came out, and shortly thereafter the compressor shut off. Freon leak, obstructed flow, or whatever, with a sealed unit the labor cost to do further analysis did not seem to be the right economic choice.
So it was my call. And I called for a new A/C
I watched them install the new unit. Getting the old unit off the roof and the new unit on is not a one man job.
Offhand I do not remember the make of the new A/C, but it did come with a two-year guaranty instead of just one, which made it my choice. The different units all cost just about the same.
