Home Warranties
- Thread starter hellbunny
- Start date
We've used American Home Shield for several years and have been pretty happy with them. They've covered everything they said they would and we haven't had to fight with them over paying out. Link to their website:The Link
It's definitely been worth it for us. Our A/C unit went out last year and with the warranty covering that, it paid for itself several times over. If you've got expensive systems/appliances (A/C, heater, etc) that are older, it's definitely nice to have just in case. Our house was built in 1957, so the plumbing coverage helps us justify it as well.
The only complaint we've had is that they have certain companies that they contract with to do their repairs and sometimes scheduling them can be a ***** (their A/C contractor in Houston in August comes to mind). Honestly though, I'd bet that every home warranty company has their preferred repair contractors they want you to work with. In our experience, there is a time limit. When their guys couldn't get out to look at our A/C within 24 hours, we were allowed to find someone ourselves.
It's definitely been worth it for us. Our A/C unit went out last year and with the warranty covering that, it paid for itself several times over. If you've got expensive systems/appliances (A/C, heater, etc) that are older, it's definitely nice to have just in case. Our house was built in 1957, so the plumbing coverage helps us justify it as well.
The only complaint we've had is that they have certain companies that they contract with to do their repairs and sometimes scheduling them can be a ***** (their A/C contractor in Houston in August comes to mind). Honestly though, I'd bet that every home warranty company has their preferred repair contractors they want you to work with. In our experience, there is a time limit. When their guys couldn't get out to look at our A/C within 24 hours, we were allowed to find someone ourselves.
We had American Home Shield the first year and were very satisfied. They asked us if we wanted to extend the warranty after that time and we declined. In retrospect, it was a BAD decision. We were hit with a number of repairs in year two and would've benefited greatly from the extended warranty. I highly recommend them.
We are so ahead of American Home Shield, they will never let us drop their policy (in the hopes they eventually they will get their money back). They replaced our AC unit in San Antonio. If you own an older home, it is definantly worth it if you are not particular about brands.
BigXIIHorns
25+ Posts
I have one and it's saved me money. The only issue is that they will replace your appliance with the absolute cheapest thing on the market. This means that your AC unit or water heater is apartment quality contractor grade stuff after they replace it. Also, the contractors they use are usually bottom of the barrel types. I did a BBB search on the contractor that was supposed to replace my AC unit and his rap sheet was very long. He pulled my old unit and then kept stalling for a week to put in the new unit, turns out that his credit was no good at the supplier and he didn't have the cash to buy the new unit. Three contractors, two units and 4 weeks later I had working AC. Nightmare. Although I still saved a few grand but had no AC for over a month last summer.
That said I still came out ahead and renewed my contract. I used Texas home warranty, A susidiary of Americn home shield
That said I still came out ahead and renewed my contract. I used Texas home warranty, A susidiary of Americn home shield
BigXII: That's one reason I'm leaning towards Everything Residential. They pay full rate to their contractors so hopefully that means more reputable people. I'm also willing to pay for an upgrade to whatever they budget for a replacement if it will save me headaches in the future. And it's $35 per service visit instead of $50 with American Home Shield.
Well, at least it sounds like it's worth getting and keeping.
Well, at least it sounds like it's worth getting and keeping.
hornian
1,000+ Posts
I hate to be the negative one but...
I live in a house that I rent from my aunt and it is about 50 years old. She bought it last May, and got a home warrenty with American Home Shield.
It was alright when the garbage disposal crapped out, but when one of the tubs started to back up, we had a hell of a problem. The plumber they sent out said that they were going to have to yank out the tub, rip out the entire drain line to the street, etc. over $2K was the estimate, and you just know that once they got started they were going to run into problems that raised the price. Whats worse, American Home Shield wouldn't pay for it all, they just sent us a check for $700 and said "balls in your court."
Anyhow, we got a second opinion from a contractor we use alot, and all it took was some industrial strength drain cleaner. I **** you not.
So not only did they send someone out who tried to rip us off, they wouldn't pay for the repairs in full. We came out ahead, but the warranty was not renewed last month.
However, I'm the only one here with a bad experience, so take that for what it's worth.
I live in a house that I rent from my aunt and it is about 50 years old. She bought it last May, and got a home warrenty with American Home Shield.
It was alright when the garbage disposal crapped out, but when one of the tubs started to back up, we had a hell of a problem. The plumber they sent out said that they were going to have to yank out the tub, rip out the entire drain line to the street, etc. over $2K was the estimate, and you just know that once they got started they were going to run into problems that raised the price. Whats worse, American Home Shield wouldn't pay for it all, they just sent us a check for $700 and said "balls in your court."
Anyhow, we got a second opinion from a contractor we use alot, and all it took was some industrial strength drain cleaner. I **** you not.
So not only did they send someone out who tried to rip us off, they wouldn't pay for the repairs in full. We came out ahead, but the warranty was not renewed last month.
However, I'm the only one here with a bad experience, so take that for what it's worth.
I'm finding plenty of negative reviews on the net about AHS, but that's probably because they're among the biggest. Most common complaints seem to be incompetent contractors, poor quality replacements, using every loophole and technicality they can to avoid coverage, not treating emergency claims as such, long repair time periods (particularly on old/rare parts). Still, it's often hit or miss, some people will have a plenty of properly handled claims but then one big stinker. They're also in satisfactory standing with the BBB. Unfortunately, I haven't found a lot of 'fair' independent reviews on this topic so I have to go by personal reviews and reports.
capnamerca
500+ Posts
American Home Shield is no better than any other insurance company. My experience was extremely negative, but again, it was on the A/C where the contractor was trying to get me to pay for things I didn't need. I went behind his back and paid normal prices from my usual AC guys who I trust totally, and actually SAVED money. AHS is mine for another 4 months, but after that, it's not getting renewed.
We had multiple bad experiences with AHS - they will do whatever they can to get out paying and their replacement units are typically very low end builders' untis - we dropped them 2 years ago. Unless you see an immediate problem (e.g. AC is 20 years old and is on its last legs), I would recommend against AHS.
AHS sucks! they refused to send a repair guy to fix our heater on the coldest day of the year (a Friday) when the guy finally showed on Monday, he said to lie next time, and say we have small children and they'd give in and send someone. (the repair companies are independent of AHS) we cancelled- also, there's a pending class action law suit against AHS.
GhostOfTomJoad
500+ Posts
We opted not to renew our AHS warranty. They did fix one item (AC unit--cold start switch went bad so it kept tripping the circuit; nothing big but it was done within 2 days of reporting it).
We also contacted them 6 weeks prior to the AC unit problem when our water heater went out. They were so bad with this (reported on a Tues. night, called back on Wed., scheduled to have a tech look at it Fri., then said they couldn't get anyone to look at until the following Mon.) that we told them to screw it & had the WH replaced ourselves.
One thing I leared is that AHS owns ARS & they are typically the first group they schedule to come look at whatever your problem is. I've had some good experiences w/ ARS in the past, but I'm still leary of the conflict of interest there. And I've also heard (from a plumbing contractor that was once a part of the certified AHS network) that they will indeed replace any item w/ the cheapest, lowest quality component possible (he basically described many the materials AHS provided as so low quality you wouldn't put them in a $300 a month rent house).
Nobody really wants to pay for the big surprises that come w/ owning a house, but what I've quickly learned is as painful as it may be writing the occasional big check to cover a repair, you sleep very peacefullly at night when you know the job was done right.
We also contacted them 6 weeks prior to the AC unit problem when our water heater went out. They were so bad with this (reported on a Tues. night, called back on Wed., scheduled to have a tech look at it Fri., then said they couldn't get anyone to look at until the following Mon.) that we told them to screw it & had the WH replaced ourselves.
One thing I leared is that AHS owns ARS & they are typically the first group they schedule to come look at whatever your problem is. I've had some good experiences w/ ARS in the past, but I'm still leary of the conflict of interest there. And I've also heard (from a plumbing contractor that was once a part of the certified AHS network) that they will indeed replace any item w/ the cheapest, lowest quality component possible (he basically described many the materials AHS provided as so low quality you wouldn't put them in a $300 a month rent house).
Nobody really wants to pay for the big surprises that come w/ owning a house, but what I've quickly learned is as painful as it may be writing the occasional big check to cover a repair, you sleep very peacefullly at night when you know the job was done right.
Me too. They also say they replace with equal (value) parts/equipment, not builder quality. Might be a crock but on paper they look 'better'. Looks like you really need to stay on top of how things break, and how much poking around you do, regardless of the company you go with.
Thanks for the replies!
Thanks for the replies!
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