Decision made -- (was Need urgent advice in re: new furnace)

[Dedicated_Dad]

Hi guys.

~2700 sq. ft house, 2 story, .

...snip...

I have to buy a furnace RIGHT NOW. I've no pay since June and am still disabled - expect to be able to return to work in less than a year but cannot be sure. we're financially screwed...

All that said, I have 3 real choices on the furnace and don't know which way to go.

(1) Amana 2-stage burner, multi-speed blower, ~92% AFUE, $2800
lifetime on Heat Exchanger, 10-year parts, 10-year unit replacement

(2) York "fully modulating" - it's like a 100-stage burner, variable-speed DC blower, ~98% AFUE, $3600
lifetime on Heat Exchanger, 5-year parts

(3) Amana 2-stage burner, variable-speed DC blower, 95% AFUE, $3900
lifetime on Heat Exchanger, 10-year parts, 10-year unit replacement

Like everything else, I find reviews saying each brand rules and sucks - often on the same site - and all reviews tend to be either 0/5 or 5/5... No real help there.

The Amana dealer ... Let's just say I have reason to trust him 100% - I have some real leverage on him if he failed to treat me right. He also offers written unconditional 12-months money-back guarantee. If I am not happy or think I can get a better deal 364 days from now he'll take it out and hand me a check. I know this is true, no questions.

I'm waiting now to see if he can match the price/deal on the York unit.

The other (york) quote came from someone I don't know - he was the only one who responded to my online quote request from one of those "get 5 quotes in minutes" sites. He's local too, but seems like a one-man shop as opposed to the first guy's bigger business. Bottom line is I don't have the leverage on this guy I'd have with the first one.

So my questions are these:

Any strong opinions on either brand?
Would I be better off to spend the extra 800 for the better York unit even if it meant dealing with an unknown-quantity contractor?
What about the 1100 more for the better Amana with the KNOWN contractor?
Or the 800 more for the York if the KNOWN contractor can match the other guy's price?

Seems FROM THE SPECS ALONE that the york is the best deal - the 6% fuel savings would pay for itself pretty quick, not to mention the fully-variable thing, but then the parts warranty is 5-year as opposed to 10 on the amana thing. Then, I have to pay for labor either way, and...

NEED THE INPUT, I have to pull the trigger on this TODAY!!

Thanks!

DD

[Fivetoes]

Can you convince your dealer to fix you up with a used furnace until the crisis pases? Give him the promise of buying the replacement from him. Also check home demolishers and remodlers for a good deal. Even if the house burns down, the furnace may still be good.
How do you feel about having an outside wood furnace? Some area don't allow them. Maybe putting in a wood stove for the winter.
I find it funny about the lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger, as it only covers the HE and not the labor or even guarantees there will be parts to replace it with.

[princewally]

Amana = Maytag = Whirlpool. Same parts, same factory.
Westinghouse = York = Johnson Controls = Generation Investment Management = Al Gore

[Dedicated_Dad]

...Westinghouse = York = Johnson Controls = Generation Investment Management = Al Gore

Crap.

Ah, heck. I'm still OK with it - they actually lost money on me... In a weird way I think I actually am happier, maybe... The thought of taking a few out of Al's pocket is sort of encouraging, actually... although I hate to think of giving them a dime,,,

Doesn't matter - it's done, now...

I was having a really hard time making such a big decision under such pressure of time and etc. - not how I like to operate...

My "Amana" guy called me back, he matched the price on the high-end York.

This thing ordinarily goes for over $6k. The "modulating" burner - runs from 35 to 100% in 1% increments - is new technology, and the hvac contractors are all afraid to be the first one to sell it, so none are really pushing it. York is therefore selling them at a loss right now because they want to get them out there. York is obviously confident that this will pay off, so that's a warm/fuzzy...

He had the necessary common-sense caveats for me - it is new technology, and brings with it all that goes with such. That said, I'm getting an absolute top-of-the-line unit for an absolute song. York is a well established company, and the reality is that if I have any significant problem with it, they'll replace it in-toto. I have no reason to worry that I'll be stuck with a bad one, but the unit hasn't been out long enough for him to be able to judge... Bottom line is that I'm pretty much STEALING the furnace but also agreeing to put up with the nuisance if bugs have to be worked out...

Obviously this didn't help my analysis-paralysis...

I put it to him this way: You know my situation. If I were your mom or your brother, what would you tell me to do? He said there was no question - the York unit was a steal. He said if it were HIS house he'd do it, and if it lives up to its "promise" he'll be selling a million of them, in fact he's glad I made him look into the price because he'd missed the premium York is offering... He said this will all actually help him too because he'll be able to charge an easy thousand more and sell them like hotcakes...

I also got 0% financing for a year. I have to make payments of $115/month, which is the $3.6k amortized over 4 years, but as long as I pay it off in 364 days I will not pay a dime in interest. I have no question whatsoever that ANY new furnace - even the cheapest mobile-home model - will save me $115/month off my current gas bills, so I'm not worried about making the payment.

In sum, this little "emergency" is going to actually save me $ in terms of monthly out-of-pocket, and since I plan to sell in 4-5 years I'll also be able to point to a "new" absolute top-of-the-line furnace - guaranteed to give me back my $800 if not already recovered.

The extra $800 translates to ~$15/month on the payment, and will definitely save me 6% on fuel, and even more on Electric because of how the circulation fan works... There's no question of the value, the only unknown is reliability - the "hassle" factor... Considering I got it for about 45% off the proper price, it's worth the minor risk.

Now I just have to hope york got it right and no hassles will ensue... I actually feel pretty good about it!!

Best of all, he'll be here at 9AM to do the install!!

DD

PS: I really appreciate everyone's input. I really don't have the words to say how much I appreciate it - you guys ROCK!!