Question on furnace replacement in Carmichael (Sacramento) Duplex

[Lenny B.]

Hello, My tenant is reporting a problem with the furnace heater. A technician from Bell Brothers identified a problem with the motor, it's basically stuck. He says replacing the motor would cost about $700-900 and it's not certain that it'll fix the problem, Installing new one would be like $4K with permits etc....

The furnace currently installed is:
Borg Warner
Model# UK8060-21
Serial# 3398 m4

It's probably an original heater from 1978 when the duplex was built. My questions are:
- Based on the age of the furnace, does it make sense to replace it instead of fixing it?
- $4K replacement cost sounds too much for a 1000 sq. foot unit....
- If there are any contractor recommendations to do the job for less, I'd love to hear...!

Thanks,

Lenny

[Pat L.]

Originally posted by @George P.:

you can call around or post ads on CL for licensed people. they'd love to get the extra work after hrs.

i pay $1k for a furnace swap, including the furnace. 

and no, i am not giving out the contact to anyone.

I would definitely retire it.

$1,000 is about right even for a Goodman Hi EFF. We get ours from acwholesalers.com then have one of our HVAC guys file the paperwork for the install warranty. Only had one Goodman warranty claim in the last 5 years & we are going on 7. Yet a new Lenox we inherited lost both inducer & blower motors along with the capacitor after 3 years. We drove around for parts in the middle of a Buffalo snow storm. 

They never fail in the summer :)

Good luck