Tri-Valley & South Bay · Not a licensed contractor · Repairs under $1,000
It hits 110 inlandYour AC picks that week to quit
Diagnostics, tune-ups, and the repairs that actually take a system down: capacitors, contactors, clogged drains, iced coils. Every job under $1,000, no permit. $89 to find out what's wrong, waived if you approve the fix on the spot. Every price is on this page, and you approve it before a wrench moves.
We don't sell systemsSo we'll never tell you that you need one
Most HVAC companies make their money on replacements, and a $49 tune-up is how a technician gets into your attic to find a reason you need one. We're a service-only shop, not a licensed contractor, so we can't sell you a system even if we wanted to. If yours really is done, you'll hear it straight, pay the $89, and get the names of two licensed C-20 contractors. No referral fee, no kickback, no follow-up call from a "comfort advisor."
- Who shows up
- Sean. Every call.This number rings my phone, not a call center. The person you talk to is the person who opens the panel.
- Pricing
- Flat rate, quoted firstYou approve the number before a wrench moves. No hourly meter running.
- The cap
- Under $1,000, every jobThat's the California limit for unlicensed service work, and it means no visit from us can turn into a five-figure replacement pitch.
What it costs
A $49 tune-up isn't a price, it's a door. Ours is what the work actually costs: 60 to 90 minutes with gauges on the system, a written report with the actual numbers, and nobody at the end trying to sell you a $15,000 system. Every price below is the complete job, parts, labor and tax, and every job we take is under $1,000 with no permit required.
Diagnostic visit
$89We find out what's actually wrong. Waived if you approve the repair the same visit.
45–60 minAC tune-up
$129Refrigerant charge measured against superheat and subcooling, not eyeballed. Condenser coil washed, capacitor tested under load, amp draw logged, drain cleared. You get the numbers in writing, so next year you can see if anything moved.
60–90 minFurnace tune-up
$129Burner and flame sensor cleaned, heat exchanger inspected, gas pressure and temperature rise verified, safeties tested.
60–90 minBoth systems, one visit Saves $59
$199AC and furnace together. Most homes here run both off the same air handler, so this is the sensible one.
2 hrsRun capacitor swap
$185The single most common reason a condenser hums but won't spin. Part and labor.
30 minContactor swap
$195Pitted or welded contacts stop the outdoor unit from starting, or stop it from shutting off.
30–45 minSmart thermostat hookup
$165Labor only, your thermostat, on existing wiring. Includes C-wire check and full system-staging setup.
45–60 minEvaporator coil cleaning
$225A dirty indoor coil kills airflow and freezes the line set. Usually why a system ices up in July.
90 minCondensate drain cleared
$115Cleared, flushed, and the safety float switch tested so it shuts down before it floods a ceiling.
30–45 minRefrigerant recharge
$180–$600Quoted by refrigerant type and weight before we add an ounce, leak location included. A low system is a leaking system. If the leak repair plus the charge would reach $1,000, we stop, tell you, and refer you to a licensed C-20 contractor.
60 minSomething not on this list
quoted firstFan motors, relays, boards, thermostat wiring. Tell us what it's doing and you get a flat number before we start. If it's beyond what we do, the $89 is all you pay and you leave with a straight answer.
alwaysMaintenance agreement
Two visits a year, before each season
- Diagnostic fee waived on any call in between
- Spring AC service and fall furnace service, scheduled for you
- Priority scheduling during heat waves and cold snaps
- Filters swapped both visits, MERV 8 or 11, included
- Written system report each visit so you can see it drift
$220 is the whole agreement: two seasonal visits and the filters. Any repair you approve during the year is a separate job with its own quote and its own invoice, and each one stays under $1,000. We don't bundle repairs into the plan or split a repair across visits. No auto-renewal; we ask before year two.
What we can't sell you
The second list is the reason you can trust the first one.
Our lane: under $1,000, no permit
- Diagnostics on any residential system
- Seasonal tune-ups and maintenance
- Capacitors, contactors, relays
- Condenser and blower fan motors when the whole job quotes under $1,000. Some variable-speed motors don't, and we say so and refer you out.
- Thermostats and low-voltage controls
- Coil cleaning and airflow problems
- Condensate drains and float switches
- Refrigerant charge checks, top-offs, and leak location
- Filter changes and filter sizing. We don't sell or install air-quality equipment.
Not us. Call a licensed C-20.
- System replacements and new installs
- Ductwork replacement or new runs
- Gas line alterations
- Anything requiring a building permit
- Any job where the total, labor, parts, everything, across every invoice for it, would reach $1,000. We don't split it into smaller tickets to get under the line.
Convoy Heating & Air is not a licensed contractor. Under California law (Business and Professions Code §§7027.2 and 7048) we take only service and repair work where the whole job, labor, parts, and every invoice for it, comes to less than $1,000 and no building permit is required. That cap works in your favor: no visit from us can turn into a five-figure replacement pitch, because we are not allowed to sell one. If your system needs replacement, permitted work, or a repair that would reach $1,000, we tell you straight and point you to a licensed C-20 contractor. We do not take a referral fee for that.
Where we go
Based in Livermore, working both sides of the Sunol grade. If you're near the 680 or the 880, we're close.
- Livermore
- Pleasanton
- Dublin
- San Ramon
- Danville
- Fremont
- Milpitas
- San Jose
- Santa Clara
- Sunnyvale
- Tracy
Get it looked at
Call. You'll get me, and I'll tell you what's wrong.
(925) 290-7403If I'm under a house, leave a voicemail or text. I call back between jobs, usually within the hour, always the same day.
Text a video of what it's doing. Often I can tell you which line on the price sheet you're looking at before I drive out.- Hours
- Mon–Sat, 7am–7pm
Sunday by arrangement during heat waves - Based in
- Livermore, California. Owner-operated. Service-area business, we come to you.
- Payment
- Card, Zelle, cash, after the work, not before. Invoice emailed every time, itemized, with photos of what was replaced.