So… HVAC is 17 years old and needs either 1K+ of repairs, or to be replaced. HVAC guy who runs his own small company, and who we have used for the last 15 odd years to service and replace parts is going to replace the unit. We have agreed without asking for bids, final price, details, figuring that he will do the right thing and will put together a system that is right for our needs. We are frugal types, but this has ALWAYS been our way! Tile work, carpentry, fencing, roofing… we don’t do the whole “get 3 bids thing”, but instead go with someone who has experience, knowledge and integrity. I am uncomfortable with the whole idea of choosing the lowest bidder; I want someone who will do things right and with good craftsmanship and who will earn enough money doing their job to want to continue doing it. So cheapest is not best. Does anyone else do things this way? Are we nuts?
Nope, that’s how I do everything. I have a contractor who I always use, an electrician, plumber, heating company, etc. Right now I am looking for a floor refinisher so I asked a good friend who recently had hers done and I’m going with him. Even the tree guy I use we’ve had for years and he is not the cheapest by far, but does a very good job and excellent clean-up (important to me.)
Getting 3 bids is not so you can choose the cheapest bid, it’s so you can choose the best bid that makes the most sense for your particular circumstances. Sometimes the most expensive bid might be the best one for you, sometimes not.
We just got 4 bids for a new roof. We are not going with the lowest bidder as it was obvious that he was the least experienced. We aren’t going with the highest either as I didn’t care for how the appointment was handled. New furnace- we only got one bid on a highly recommended man. New sliding door- two bids. It depends on how much the item costs, how much time I have and how much knowledge I have about the project.
I generally operate the same way as the OP. I found a terrific general contractor with his own workers and specialist sub contractors a couple years ago when doing some bath remodels - he’s gotten our HVAC business, roof business and I’m now waiting for his outdoor crew for our patio and outside basement stair repair. I know he’s not the cheapest, but the work is excellent, he’s out immediately if we have problems and he takes the time to explain any and everything I want to understand. By now, he knows the house well and I trust his recommendations are well considered. Perhaps I’m naive, but I’m much less stressed than when trying to weigh bids and assess different companies.
Forgot to add - I’m glad to hear others operate something like me. I’ve wondered if I’m nuts!
We stick with the same electrical/plumbing contractor because he does quality work. We just pay whatever they charge. We’ve had too many bad experiences with contractors who do sloppy work.
It turns out he is going to drop by the “bid” so we can check before they go ahead - so we will actually approve the equipment and cost before any work is done. It’s a “Bid” in that we will agree to it or not, not that we are checking other companies. We trust his judgement, and he knows his stuff, knows which equipment is most troublefree, etc. It will require some carpentry work in the attic to move some trusses, since it is so hard to get in there and change out the equipment and the work takes some finessing.
This way of doing business has worked very well for us, and I don’t ever remember being unhappy with the results or ultimately the cost.
Giving roofers and HVAC guys a “blank check” and letting them loose on your house sounds pretty scary. I’d get a written estimate up front for a job that’s going to be several thousand dollars…I don’t like costly surprises. Getting the bid in hand is smart.
Growing up around tradesmen and contractors makes me always want bids. When my dad was a plumber, he had customers for decades that kept coming back to him but he encouraged people to get multiple bids even if they wanted to use his services for the 100th time. (I actually don’t know why this is or whether or not they ever actually did get other bids.)
All in all, you have to do whatever is comfortable. I would never, ever just go with the cheapest bid (because it’s the cheapest). Skilled labor isn’t cheap and cheap labor isn’t skilled.
Absolutely, Lizard - no blank checks. I hope I didn’t imply that. I always have a written estimate from my trusted guy. What I like about the long term working relationship is that he will suggest several options, often recommending one over another based on his knowledge of my house. I haven’t always gone with his preference and that’s been fine. He also encourages other bids. Occassionally, I’ve gotten one just to verify my trust that my guy isn’t out of line.
I wish we had the ability to do more ourselves, but past experience shows this is bad for the marriage and the project at hand!
Do some research about the tax benefits of the more efficient systems. You don’t want him to make a decision that you might regret later.
We are in between. We do get bids sometimes for major things, like when we put in flooring and roofing and photovoltaic systems. We choose whom to hire based on things other than price–we look at how thorough the bid was, whether it met what we want to have done, what is included in the work (including warranties), what materials are promised, servicing, etc. We don’t choose a bid or person because the bid is the lowest or highest, but prefer a company that has good references and whose bid shows a good understanding of the work we want done and is inclusive so we won’t have some expensive surprises.
For our autos, we have mechanics we have used for 10-20+ years and give them carte blanche. They always call and let us know when the bill will be more than a few hundred $$, as our cars are getting old. They are NOT the cheapest but they know their stuff and stand behind their work. We have been very satisfied customers.
I only hire people to work in or around our home that we can trust. We have used the same plumber for several decades now. If we’re not in, he knows he can get the key from our neighbor and do the work and have an invoice sent to us.
We have done different things different ways. With our HVAC we got several bids (replaced 2 AC units AND 2 furnaces!!!) and found them very hard to compare. OTOH, our friend and neighbor is a gifted designer, has his own tile store and functions as a general contractor. We had him do a complete master bath renovation without getting competing bids. His workers were so reliable, showed up on time, cleaned up afterwards, did great work, very hard to overstate the value of that. I did not get competing bids for our roof replacement because the storm chaser that suggested it did all the legwork and I never would have made the insurance claim without his help so I let them do the work. Lucky for me they did a good job.