Hello,

My son and his wife will have to replace their house air conditioner. Live

in Mass.

Typical 3 bedroom Split style.

I'm trying to help them out a bit, but certainly no expert with this.

Unit is very old now, and the type where the condenser is located outside,

and the evaporator is mounted to the duct work by the furnace (hot air

heating system).

Before we call in some contractors, thought I'd ask you experts he

Is Trane still considered the "best" brand re reliability, etc. ?

I guess most important, are there any brands (or models) to stay away from ?

Any thoughts on what to ask contractor, things to look out for, gotchas,

etc. would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

I dont know if Trane ever was the best. Thats what the commercials say though... They can all be reliable when serviced properly. Some will be more efficient than others. Watch out for all the bells and whistles, that shit costs a lot more to repair when they go out.

Ive worked HVAC in Fresno, CA for a long time. Its known as the armpit of Cali cause it stinks and its hella hot! All brands can work well for you. Its just like car audio though, whats in your budget? Do you want fancy features?

My advice is to pick one that is at least 15 seer rating. Get yourself a trustworthy repair man!!! I cannot stress this enough. You WILL spend money on unneeded repairs if you dont. When someone comes by to service your unit or fix a problem, its always much more likely that they will try to upsell you or even lie about your problem. And what are you to do about it? Call another guy and pay another service fee since you didnt have the first guy do the work? Id hope not.

Find a good repair guy that does installation also and stick with him. Let him do the whole job. He might also be more likely to give you deals in the future for long time service.