Airmakers Heating & Air Conditioning

8/19/2014

Our AC has never been cool since we moved in to a semi-new (7 years old) home in 2010. We have had various vendors coming over to diagnose the system. A lot of money was spent with little results - replaced the compressor for $800, added coolant for $400, adjusted dampers for $600.

Finally, with this year seemed extra hot, we decided to replace the system. We got 3 bids, one from Costco, one from a friend's recommendation, and the Airmakers from Yelp. The Airmakers bid was the most affordable. Since we could use the additional money - who couldn't, we decided to go with the Airmakers.

The installation was difficult due to the small attic space where the evaporator and the furnace are located. It took the crew whole day on a Saturday to complete the installation. They even inspected the duct work which was not part of the quote.

However, the next day the AC stopped working. I called Van and he came out and took care of it on Monday. In a complicated whole system replacement, I almost expect some kinks need to be ironed out. The fact that it was straightened out the next business day was great!

To go with the new AC, I decided to purchase a smart home thermostat. I called Van up and he came by and installed it free of charge! This was definitely above and beyond their call of duty. They made us very happy customers!

10/10/2014

I read all of these great reviews and I cant imagine you all as liars,however my experience working with this company has been a complete and total nightmare.
Paid Van in full IN ADVANCE $4150.00 to install a brand new BRYANT 2 and 1/2 ton A/C unit. I was leaving for vacation so Van wanted to be paid before I left.
Having owned a small business myself,I totally understood him not trusting.
When I returned I found my queen sized air mattress in my garage that his workers used to drop their tools on to be ruined. I called Van,and after much attitude,he replaced my air mattress. This is just the beginning of the nightmare,the A/C has broken down 3 times since 6/15/14,3 times in 3 months.
Broken down THREE times in THREE MONTHS and it is BRAND NEW !!!
Fed up with Van,I called Bryant the manufacturer direct. 10/9/14
They informed me the product must be registered within the first 3 months,and Van never bothered to register the product.
Van and "AIRMAKERS" are not on their list of approved contractors.
None of the warranty paperwork was filled out for my homeowners book either.
Like I said,it was a race to get out of here,once I wrote the check.
Van has been here 3 times to service the unit,once he said it was a leak,next he said it was the compressor,then the last time,he said "in 22 years,I have never had a problem like this,I dont know what is wrong"
When I suggested my NEW SYSTEM was a lemon,,and he should just replace it,,he scoffed.
This guy changes faces once he is paid.
BEWARE
I have a 89 yr old father with heart problems.
Van has promised me,,,each time he comes out,,he will "drop what he is doing" if I need help,,each time that has equated to his last service call for the week,,,4 pm on Fridays.

My next step is to call a lawyer.
Stay tuned as this soap continues,,,

7/31/2014

I needed a completely new air conditioning system.  I called a lot of companies and I got a lot of quotes.  Airmakers was one of the lowest quotes I received.  The furnace and condenser I received was great quality, and has been working awesome.  

When the system was installed, I didn't like where it was exactly placed.  The owner, Van came out right away when I called him.  He looked at it and agreed that it should be moved.  He moved the condenser, which was a half day job, at no charge to me.  He didn't give me a hard time about it at all.

Van told me exactly what everything was, and did not try to take advantage of me.  He gave me a quote, and all I had to pay was exactly what he quoted me.

I believe the customer service Airmakers provides is top quality.  I was left very happy, and not completely broke!  I would recommend Airmakers to anyone looking for service, repair, or installation of a new air conditioning system.

7/16/2014 Updated review

As an Update:

I finally have had a chance to change out the thermostat. That was the issue.
A/C unit was working the whole time. Thanks again for not taking advantage of me !!

5/7/2014

Thank you Van at Airmakers!! Right in the middle of the heat wave, our AC went out. I did call a couple of the other "big name" places and none of them could make it out until the following week.

I saw the good reviews for Airmakers and gave them a call. Van was able to make it out that day. Unfortunately, the repair wasn't the most common capacitor failure. It was the fan motor. To make it more difficult, my system probably belongs in a museum it's so old. But, Van worked his magic and found a new motor for my system!  The cost for the motor and repair was below what I'd anticipated, so I'm glad I made the call.

I will definitely call Airmakers when we upgrade our system and for any problems we may have in the future.

6/21/2014

Van was absolutely amazing.  He arrived on time for the estimate and gave us a great price!  It meant a lot that Van actually looked at like it was his home and his money.  They were awesome and did a great job!  Bring it on summer!

8/19/2013

Two stars because he showed up the for the first appointment, but never returned ANY calls for the second appt.

My landlord hired Airmakers to repair the A/C in my unit. Van showed up hours after she made the call, but because he couldn't get access to the roof he left. He gave me his card and we agreed that once I had contacted the HOA manager and got him access to the roof I would call him back to schedule another appointment. Well, then he became unreachable. I called and left messages THREE days in a row with no response.

So my A/C is still broke and I'm looking to give my business elsewhere. Please be advised those of you contacting this company!

............days later- he called my landlord back and finally showed up to fix the A/C. He did a good job and his service guys were very nice-  but what's with the communication bro? Seems I'm not the only one (here on Yelp) that's had that problem. What can be done to amend these feelings?

8/21/2014

I can't say anything about their work...they don't have appointments for 3 weeks!!!  Someone needs to hire more techs?  I could understand a week or two but you can't even fit a 1 hour maintenance call?  Unavailability loses my business instantly.

2/20/2014

Van replaced a furnace for me in a rental unit I own in San Diego. He was able to get me an estimate and get the job done quickly even though he often failed to call when he said he would or schedule appointments. Luckily, it all worked out. The new furnace cost $1800 which is $100 more than the estimate that I got from Absolute, but it took them over six weeks to even get me the estimate.

5/30/2013

This review is about communication only.

I have called Airmakers four times over the last three weeks, each at a different time of day. I have not reached a real person, nor I have not received one call back.

The first two times I chalked it up to the mini heat wave we had in early May. I figured such a highly rated business on Yelp would get a lot of attention during a time like that. However, four phone calls not returned is extremely negligent customer service and I am very disappointed to have to go somewhere else for this reason alone.

5/23/2014

I learned during the heat wave last week that my AC was not working. I called Airmakers based on their 5 Star reviews, and they lived up to the hype. Gary came out the next day, quickly identified the problem and fixed it within a short time and for a reasonable price. He is also very personable and in felt respectful of my home. Airmakers is going in my call back list for any future problems. I only wish they did plumbing!

5/8/2014

Van was great. The paperwork-side was a little slow, but overall, Van and his crew did A LOT of work (removed "miles" of ductwork and a huge 1970 HVAC system from the attic, put in a whole new system with new ductwork, etc.) in a very short amount of time (2 days). His pricing was very reasonable, quality was good,  and he walked me through everything he did.

This is a local, small business I am very happy to support! It's hard to trust people trying to sell you stuff, but Van earned my trust.

12/13/2011

We had a furnace problem overnight, and this morning the temperature in the house was 59 degrees. Yes, this is San Diego. And maybe 59 doesn't sound too cold. But having lived in it I can tell you it's pretty uncomfortable, and the temperature was still dropping.

I've never had to call for HVAC repair before, so I called several other places recommended on Yelp (including Bill Howe, a company I've recommended for plumbing issues). I was surprised to find the first available appointment was in three days. One place couldn't get here until next week! I tried to explain this really couldn't wait, but to no avail.

The dispatcher from Airmakers seemed to understand why this was a bit of a crisis for us. The repair guy ("Van") arrived within 2 hours of our call. He clearly knew what he was doing. It turned out to be a relatively simple fix, but not something a lay-person like me would likely figure out. Van was done in no time, and just charged us for the call. VERY reasonable price, and no run-around about the significance of the repair or upcharges for the short visit. The furnace is also located in a really small and uncomfortable space, but absolutely no complaints from Van.

Happy to add another positive review. We will definitely keep Airmakers in the rolodex. Great price, great customer service, and it's great to have the furnace heating again!

5/14/2013

Van knows his stuff.

He was our 2nd opinion for our faulty HVAC system...and immediately noted a safety issue that the first diagnostic company failed to mention.  He is determined to get things done right as well as making the price affordable.

Thank you, Van, for your exceptional and honest work.

2/5/2011

I found Airmakers through Yelp. They had only a few reviews, but all very positive. I looked at their website and then searched for additional reviews online and everything I read about them was excellent. You never know if you can trust customer reviews online, but after having Van and his team work on our system, I would highly recommend Airmakers.

Van was easy to get a hold of and extremely flexible when setting up the appointment for an estimate. Initially he offered to come out and look at our home on a Saturday, but we weren't available. He ended up working around our schedule, giving us the proposal in the evening on a weekday, after normal business hours. He was very professional when looking over our existing system. We already knew we wanted to replace the furnace and maybe install an A/C unit. He described all the steps he would take to install the new system. He sat down with us and laid out information for the equipment he was proposing. He calmly answered all of our questions and was willing to explain details we didn't understand.

The price for our new system was the best we could find around town and with very good quality equipment. Van made sure to work around our budget and give us a thorough estimate.

We just had the system installed, so we haven't had it for very long.  However, so far, we are very happy with the price, quality of equipment, and how quickly all the work was completed.

7/23/2012

Excellent work and very responsive. I'd definitely recommend this company. I plan on using them for our annual maintenance too now...

This company is an HVAC specialist.. Nothing else. We were able to get service quickly on our  twin setup.

Van is the owner and was able diagnose within a few minutes and correct the issue (capacitor on a Carrier 3 ton unit) within about 20 minutes we were back in service.

7/20/2012

Cannot compliment Airmakers and owner Van enough.  This is our first time trying to run our AC this year and no cold air was coming out.  I Yelped "HVAC" for La Jolla and Airmakers was number 3 on the list.  First one couldn't come out for 7 days later, second one I couldn't understand (bad cell on their end) and then I called Airmakers.  Van answered and I explained the problem.  Short end of it is: he was here in 30 min, fixed our problem in 20 min and charged us $80.  Professional, courteous and reasonably priced.  

Highly, highly recommend Airmakers.

7/27/2012

Called Van @ Airmakers for a VERY small job, hose insulation replacement, quick job for him (he didn't think it was too small a job to take) within 1 hour from my call the job was done, excellent work, response and professionalism.

Thanks Van!!

6/5/2013

Van came out ASAP to look at my faulty AC unit and after finding it may be a problem with the installation, he advised I contact the installer and try to get it fixed by them to avoid extra costs. He insisted I not pay for his visit and assessment and offered to come back out if the installer wasn't cooperative. Nice to deal with an honest licensed worker. Would recommend them highly!

8/27/2013

Thank you for fast and honest service.

6/30/2012

Very, very, very professional. I can't say enough good things about these guys. My Bryant AC was on the fritz and Van came by and gave me a very good estimate for a replacement. I wanted to get an additional estimate from another AC company who ended up "fixing" our old AC. Well, the fix lasted about a week. I called Van to see if the estimate was still good and as a courtesy, he even lowered his already excellent price a bit to compensate for our failed repair with the other company (the owner was also a super nice guy too btw).

Airmakers didn't waste any time and was at our house at 9am the very next day and installed a new system in under 5 hours. The crew was very clean and courteous. They covered the carpeting on our stairs, covered our washer and dryer, didn't ding the doors or the walls when transporting the heavy equipment to our attic, and politely asked if it was okay to use our bathroom. They installed a brand new Rheem system (a Consumer Reports top 5) and we couldn't be happier. With the brunt of the summer fast approaching, if you need a new AC, do yourself and your wallet a huge favor and call AirMakers. We're definitely glad we did.

7/23/2012

Very prompt and professional. Highly recommended.

In our case, the fan in our A/C wasn't turning and although the capacitor looked ok, Airmakers swapped it out with a new one, which fixed the problem. The alternative would have been a new fan, which would have been much more expensive.

5/15/2013

It's a shame Airmakers doesn't do more than heating and AC, since I'm so happy with their services.

I called Airmakers last week, looking for an AC installation estimate. Van (the owner) asked my timeline - I told him it was ideally within the next month, but certainly no rush. He arrived that very afternoon, having driven from across town.  

I did my homework last summer and received a few estimates that weren't bad.  Van beat them all.  Even better? He didn't BS me for 2 hours talking about AC and his career highlights (cough cough, Sears). He's a lowkey, likable guy who conveys honesty.

Is Airmakers the very best in town? I haven't met with them all, so I can't say. But if you're looking for installation or repair, he'd be a great call.

8/19/2010

Hired by my family to fix our system in the dead of summer. Read: BAD SITUATION. They quickly came over and identified the problem, and were in and out before we knew it. Great service and more importantly, THE PRICE WAS RIGHT. We've had no problem since, but will definitely be calling them again if we ever do!

7/26/2011

Our AC was out and I called Airmakers at 7:45 am and they were out at my home in the morning of the same day.  Van, the owner, is very honest and straightforward.  He replaced the damaged motor the same day since I had to leave town the next day.  He also checked our freon level and went to attic to loosen the dampers since our upstairs never seem to cool down.  I like the fast service, honesty, and the price wasn't bad.  i would definitely recommend Airmakers to anyone who needs their AC serviced.  In addition, Airmakers is a family operated business so the service comes with good old fashioned customer service.

3/6/2014

Van got the new furnace installed for me in record time. All I can say is that I am highly satisfied with the work and effort put in. Highly recommend.

2/28/2014

I had my furnace and a/c replaced a few years back but cheaped out when it came to replacing the ductwork. Armed with my 2013 tax refund I decided to have someone come out to give me a bid on replacing my ducts. My neighbor highly recommended Van, and now I know why. He dissuaded me from replacing all the ducting in my house because it wasn't necessary, but did recommend I do the upstairs. I was ready to pay twice what the bid was to avoid spending even an hour rolling around in fiberglass insulation myself. 4 short hours later my entire home's respiratory system was functioning perfectly. His employee Victor was courteous, fast, and quiet. It's also worth noting with a two week old infant in the house cleanliness was essential to win a good review. Thank you Air Makers (Van)! From now on you are getting all my HVAC business!

7/11/2012

I found Airmakers on Yelp after my A/C went out in the middle of summer. I called a few minutes before closing and they answered and agreed to come out in the morning. It was amazing that they were willing to squeeze me in on such short notice and that he was able to give me a more specific time than the 5 hour window I am used to. Van checked out the unit, explained what needed to be fixed, why, and demonstrated to me as he did so. It was great, I may not know how to fix my A/C, but at least I understand now what was causing the problems. I am glad to have a go to heating & air company in the neighborhood for any future issues.

12/14/2012

My husband called them because we were having heating issues, and Van was very responsive.  He came out and replaced the thermostat for a fair price.  Excellent work and to the point.  Highly recommend!

3/9/2011

I looked for three estimates and Van at Airmakers was the most reasonable one. This was only part of the reason why I chose Airmakers for my heating and air .They were the most informative of the three. The other two are the big guys in the area and both were in a rush to give me a bid and not that great on prices.
Van at Airmakers completed the job on time. The workmanship of my new central heating and air is great. I have an older Craftsman home and the vents blend in great with the ceiling. Before, during and after the job I had no problem getting a hold of the owner- Van with any questions and the system works great!
I have recommend Airmakers to all my friends and I am extremely happy with this company.

12/20/2011

Very impressed with their service. Jerry was able to figure out the issue that two other companies could not. We have not had heat for 45 days because of the other companies and the home warranty disputes. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  I'm so glad I decided to hire outside of the home warranty company.

10/28/2011

Van called before coming over since he was 15 min. early. He quickly assessed that our 20+ year old furnace was working just fine and installed a new Honeywell thermostat for a couple hundred bucks. The new thermostat is great since it has a fan control for circulating air without heat on. He recommended that if our current furnace breaks for good to replace it with one that would cost about $1500 with a warranty of 10 years. Whenever that happens you can bet we'll be calling him back to install it. He is personable, prompt, and frank. He answered all the questions I had and double-checked the thermostat before he left to make sure it was working right. I highly recommend him!

2/19/2012

I felt obligated to write a few words on this company. We got three quotes on replacing a furnace. Two smaller companies and one big name company. It turns out that both of the two smaller companies, including Airmakers, were more eager to get our business by making their initial bid competitive. The owner of airmarkers (Van) even came out to do a visual inspection and quote for free (while the big company charged us $90 just to do that). The big name company gave an initial quote that was about 30% higher than the other two quotes (they were willing to go lower later). The owner of Airmakers is knowledgeable, sincere and appears to care very much about customers and his company reputation. I do not think you can go wrong with Airmakers.

2/9/2013

Found this company through Yelp.    Good reviews made me contact Van and I was not disappointed.  He came out first thing in the AM to diagnose  the heater and had it working in no time.  Reasonable pricing too!

7/2/2013

I called Van for an estimate and he came to my house the next day two weeks ago. His estimate was pretty spot on my budget. He did not up sale me and he was very honest with me as I was with him. I told him that I had an estimate from Lowe's a few days ago and I was also going to get my third estimate. But, I gave up on the third one due to "phone-tag" issue. I went ahead and called Van last friday to let him know that he won the bid. He called me back and left a message to tell me that they could come Monday to do the job! His staff, Jerry showed up at 10am on Monday and I asked him about my furnace which was 20 years old. Jerry was honest and said that typical life span of my heater was 25 years. I asked him to call Van and price me for a new furnace, and reminded him that if he could give me a good deal, I would have him replace my furnace also! Lo and behold, he did for another $1100! Poor Jerry, had to stop altogether to pick up my new furnace. He returned with a helper to assist him with installation. The process was smooth, they cleaned up their mess and they were professional. Van showed up later in the day to check their work and of course, his check, right? ;-) He asked me why I changed my mind about my furnace when he didnt up sale me in our initial contact. Well, he provided me a price that I could not resist! I paid him before the job could get done and I was a little paranoid about it. But, Jerry and his assistant, finished the job at 8pm and I could not have been more satisfied with their work and professionalism. Today, Van came back to install the registers. And as is with his crew, he put them up and cleaned up as well.

In closing, I would highly recommend Van and his crew for any heating and/or air issues you may have!

Ps. my coworker's friend got a quote from Home Depot for the same job-new air and furnace installation, $8000! I was shocked as it's for a 2-ton unit! I got a 3-ton unit for much less than that!  I told her to call Van.

4/11/2012

Airmakers sold us a new furnace and were very knowledgeable. A while later the fan became so powerful that it woke us up and there was too much dust created. Van sent Jerry over to investigate. He fixed the errant insulation and adjusted the fan. It's nice to know that Airmakers is not only there to sell new equipment but stand by their word and product with courtesy and efficiency. I've deleted all the other HVAC contacts from my list and from now on will only use this company.

7/25/2012

I called Airmakers on Sunday 7/22 due to their great reveiws here on yelp.  We had tried to run our AC on Saturday and the AC unit was not running and there was a loud buzzing sound coming from the unit.  Within a few minutes Van called asked some questions and then said he would be there in an hour.  He showed up right on time quickly (and I mean quick enough that you feel you missed something) figured out that the workmen that removed my oven days before had turned off the breaker for the AC.  While he was checking things out though he noted that the AC breaker box was old (no fuses) and the coil for the AC unit was very worn (this was what was making the buzzing sound).  He suggested that I repair these since even though the unit is old it is still working and pushing out cold air.  He didn't have the parts but said he could be back on Tuesday to do the work.

His rate was very reasonable and he showed up on Tuesday and completed the work.  In the end he got the unit running on Sunday and set it up so I would be fine to run the unit until his return.  I couldn't be happier!

7/21/2012

Our A/C unit wasn't working so I searched Yelp and found Airmakers. All the reviews were great and it sounded like everyone was very pleased with their service. I called and within an hour Van was here to check out our A/C unit. He was fast, knowledgable, inexpensive and very professional. Turns out we had the same problem as the last Yelper...our thermostat needed new batteries. Now we are enjoying the cool air. I would definitely recommend Airmakers and if we ever need assistance with heating/cooling, they'll be the first business we call! Five stars!!!

7/23/2012

Prompt and professional Service!

"Van J." Fixed our central AC unit, refilled the gas, hooked up electrical and had it working in two hours flat! They responded to our service call the same day too.

Would recommend to others without hesitation. Great service.

6/13/2013

Van came to our house today and did maintenance work on our heater and air conditioner, which hadn't seen a repair person in at least ten years. He was quick, professional, affordable and didn't try to sell us stuff we didn't need.  I would definetly use him again.