The flat $200 dispatch fee, explained clearly
Most local HVAC shops will dance around the dispatch question. We won't. Here's exactly how it works.
When you call, you pay a flat $200 dispatch fee to lock in a confirmed window. That $200 covers three real things:
- The technician's drive to your home. Fuel, vehicle wear, the cost of having a local Palm Beach County technician available to you on demand.
- On-site time. The tech walks the system, opens the air handler, checks the outdoor unit, reads pressures, tests components.
- A complete diagnosis with a written quote. You get an actual answer for what's wrong and a flat, upfront price to fix it.
Then — and this is the important part — if you approve the repair, that full $200 is credited toward the repair price. So if the diagnosis comes back as a $400 capacitor replacement, your total out-of-pocket is $400, not $600. The $200 doesn't double-count.
If you decide not to do the repair (price too high, you want a second opinion, you'd rather replace the whole system), the $200 still covers what you got — a real licensed-tech diagnosis and a written quote you can take to another shop. Nothing free, nothing hidden. The fee is the same whether you call at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday or 3 a.m. on a holiday. No after-hours surcharge.
What common AC repairs typically cost in Palm Beach County
Below are real price ranges for the repairs that come up most. These totals include the $200 dispatch fee being credited. So the number you see is what you actually pay, not a sticker price plus a hidden visit charge.
None of these are estimates we'll wave around to the customer. They're a planning range. The on-site quote is always flat and upfront, and you approve the exact number before any work happens.
What affects where you land in the range
Brand
Premium brands — Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Mitsubishi, and high-end Bryant — often use proprietary parts that cost more than the equivalent component for a Goodman, Rheem, or American Standard. A capacitor on a Carrier might run $40–60 more in parts than the same job on a Goodman. The labor is the same; the part cost shifts you toward the top of the range.
System age
Systems over 10 years old often have adjacent components that should be replaced at the same time. Replacing a capacitor on a 15-year-old condenser when the contactor is visibly pitted is false economy — you'll be calling back in three months. The tech will tell you exactly what's optional vs. recommended, and you decide. Older systems also more frequently need a part-plus-cleanup combination, which can push the total up by $50–150.
Accessibility
Rooftop units in commercial-adjacent residential setups, condensers crammed against a wall with no clearance, air handlers buried in a Wellington attic crawl space, equipment closets that require furniture to be moved — these all add time. We don't gouge for it, but a 40-minute capacitor job that turns into a 90-minute capacitor job because the unit is on a steep tile roof in Manalapan is going to land toward the top of the range.
Time of year
Peak summer (July–September) in Palm Beach County is high-demand for parts and labor across all HVAC supply houses in South Florida. Parts pricing from suppliers fluctuates by 5–15% in peak months. We don't surcharge customers for the season, but if the part cost from the supplier is higher in August than in February, that's reflected in the upper end of the range.
When does it make more sense to replace than repair?
The honest rule we use on-site:
"If the repair cost approaches half the replacement cost and the system is over 10 years old, replacement usually wins long-term. If either of those isn't true, repair almost always makes more sense."
The classic "replace, don't repair" scenario is a compressor failure on a 12-year-old single-stage system. A $2,400 compressor repair on a system that's worth $4,500 at trade-in — and that's another two years from a control board, another four from a coil leak — is rarely the right call. A $7,500 replacement with a 10-year parts warranty is a better long-term math problem.
The classic "repair, don't replace" scenario is a capacitor or contactor on a 5-year-old system. That's a $300 fix on a system that has another 10+ good years in it. Anyone trying to sell you a $7,000 replacement for a $300 problem is selling, not advising. We don't.
What's not included in these ranges
- Permits and inspections for full system replacements — Palm Beach County permit fees vary by municipality and are passed through at cost.
- Electrical work outside the AC system itself — if the issue is in your home's panel or wiring, that's an electrician's job.
- Duct repair or replacement — quoted separately. Often diagnosed on the same visit but priced as a standalone job.
- Insulation, drywall repair, or paint touch-up from any opening required to access the system.
- Major refrigerant repairs on R-22 systems — R-22 is phased out, prices are high, and replacement is usually the smarter answer for any meaningful R-22 leak.
Strong CTA: book a real diagnosis, get a real number
The only way to know what your repair actually costs is to have a licensed tech look at the system. The ranges on this page get you in the ballpark — the on-site quote gets you the actual price, flat and upfront before any work happens. Call or text 561-340-9057 and a real dispatcher will confirm a window today. Most calls get same-day service.