Checking an AC Repair Quote: Prices, Red Flags, Questions

Is this AC quote fair?

Line the number up against published prices, make the company name the failed part and show it to you, and sign nothing that isn't written down. This Old House puts a typical installed capacitor at $80 to $400. A quote well past the published range is fine only if it comes with a reason you can follow.

Updated October 29, 2026 · Sources at the bottom of the page

Published prices for the usual repairs

Repair	Installed range	Published by
Capacitor	$80 to $400 (average $175)	This Old House, Apr 2026
Capacitor	$100 to $400	Fixr, Jan 2026
Contactor or relay	$100 to $450	This Old House, Mar 2026
Contactor	$150 to $400	Fixr, Jul 2026
Outdoor fan motor	$300 to $800	This Old House, Mar 2026
Recharge only	$250 to $900 (average $400)	Fixr recharge guide, Jan 2025
Leak repair plus recharge	$200 to $1,600 (average $800)	Fixr, Jul 2026
Compressor	$600 to $3,000	Fixr, Jan 2026
Compressor	$1,000 to $3,000 and up	This Old House, Mar 2026

National figures from two publishers that don't always agree, so where both price a part, both rows appear. None of these is a Columbia average or our quote.

Labor is most of the bill. This Old House prices the capacitor itself at $8 to $45 and attributes most of the installed price to labor. Fixr lists R-410A at $12 to $25 a pound against $50 to $80 for the old R-22, which explains why topping up an aging R-22 unit stings.

Warning signs

From the FTC's guide on home improvement scams:

A contractor who shows up unasked because they happen to be working nearby.
Pressure to decide on the spot.
Insistence on full payment before the work, or on cash only.

The FTC also advises holding the final payment until the job is finished and you are happy with it. I would add two of my own: a price that climbs after the technician comes down from the attic with no clear story, and a full system replacement pitched for a fault the price guides put in the low hundreds.

Six questions before you say yes

Which part failed, and can I see it or a photo of it?
What does that one repair cost, in writing?
Does the trip or diagnostic fee come off if I approve the work?
For refrigerant: where is the leak, and are you fixing it or only adding charge?
What is the warranty on the part, and on the labor?
Inside Columbia: do you hold a City of Columbia mechanical license, and will you pull the permit? Anywhere: is your technician EPA Section 608 certified?

For a major repair or a new system, a second opinion is normal practice. Turning down a quote is always an option.

Three days to cancel, sometimes

Under the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule, some sales made in your home can be canceled within three days. The FTC says a repair visit you requested yourself falls outside it, but extra products or services you agree to beyond that repair may fall inside it. Look for the cancellation notice in any contract signed at your kitchen table.

When it goes badly

Put the complaint to the company in writing first. If that goes nowhere, the Missouri Attorney General accepts consumer complaints online, and inside Columbia unlicensed mechanical work is something to raise with the city's building office.

What Boone County homeowners ask us

Someone quoted $700 to replace my capacitor. Is that normal?

That is well past the published ranges: This Old House lists $80 to $400 installed and Fixr $100 to $400. Ask what else the price covers, and get the itemized quote on paper.

A company quoted $25,000 for a new HVAC system. Is that reasonable?

It sits above Fixr's published $5,800 to $14,400 range for new central air. A number that high should spell out what drives it, such as new ductwork or a second system. Get another bid.

Can I back out of an AC contract I signed at home?

The FTC Cooling-Off Rule allows three days on many in-home sales, though a repair visit you requested is excluded. Extras added on top of that repair may qualify. This is general information, not legal advice.