The cheapest AC repair is the one that never happens
Almost every July emergency we run traces back to something a May tune-up would have caught for a fraction of the price. Book the visit before the season does it for you.
The spring visit
What a real tune-up covers
A tune-up isn't a guy glancing at the unit and leaving a sticker. Ours is a working visit — the same checklist our maintenance-contract customers get twice a year, which is why one of them reported "few, if any, problems" across thirty years of service:
- Condenser coils cleaned properly — harbor salt air and June cottonwood fluff choke Staten Island units faster than most techs expect
- Refrigerant charge verified, and if it's low, we say so and find out why — low charge means a leak, not a top-off subscription
- Capacitors and contactors tested under load; a capacitor reading half its rating is the single most common July failure
- Condensate drain flushed — the clog that otherwise announces itself through your ceiling
- Filters changed, blower and airflow checked, thermostat verified against an actual thermometer
- A plain-English report: what's healthy, what's wearing, what to budget for
When to book it
April and May are the smart window — before the first stretch of 90° days fills the schedule with emergencies. Book a fall visit for your heat at the same time and you've matched the rhythm our contract customers have run on for decades. If you'd rather never think about scheduling again, the Home Comfort Plan does both visits on autopilot, with priority service in between.
What it costs
The fee is quoted on the phone when you book — no surprises at the door — and the $25-off service call offer applies. If the tune-up turns up a real problem, you get a written repair price before we touch anything, and you decide.