Heater replacement cost

[BruceJ]

I have a StaRite Max E 400 that I’m told I need to replace. I’ve been quoted $6,400 plus installation. When I looked it up online, I saw that the heater is generally available for about $2,500. My pool guy says he can’t match online pricing, but dropped his price to $4,900. That still seems like an unreasonable markup for just installing an existing heater. Which one of us is out of line here?
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[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

$4,900 is more in line for an authorized pool installer heater than $6,400. Pool stores prices are typically 2X the online price. If you can get him down to $4,500 you have a good deal.

 

[BruceJ]

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[Newdude]

Call a furnace repairman. Most of them that do propane/NG also work on pool heaters. Swapping out an existing heater is cake for someone in a work truck stocked with every last fitting they would need to retrofit it. Even if they wanted $1000 for parts and 1.5 hours labor it would be $1400 cheaper than the pool people’s best offer.

 

[BruceJ]

Yeah, I’ve thought about that too. Although he reduced the price some, I’m still paying $400 for installation which is done by someone else anyway - a “heater guy”, I’m sure.

 

[Newdude]

Buy it yourself and hire the sub directly. Some warranties are less/void if not installed by a manufacturer approved installer but you’d have almost enough left over to replace the whole thing if need be. If it was only a couple hundred dollar repair you would still be up a lot. Also check your credit cards to see which one offers the best warranty. Some are 2 years and would actually be better than the manufacturers warranty anyway.

 

[borjis]

If they replaced it with the Raypak equivalent, you pay for the heater, then the installer for 400 you'd be looking at $ 2,900
which seems much more reasonable.

I paid around $ 2,300 including install from a local pool place that happens to not gouge people (RARE!)
but that was for a lower priced 266k btu version.