They were bought out by NearU in 2022 and are now private equity owned high price poor service…read morecompany.
Full review... I would not recommend Ideal, and I will never use them again. Based on my experience, their pricing is excessive, their explanations were not credible, and they did not stand behind their installation.
In November 2024, Ideal installed a Trane XR14 for about $5,500. It did not make it through more than one cooling season before developing a significant coil leak requiring replacement a few months out of Ideal's labor warranty.
There were red flags early. Within 72 hours, they had to come back multiple times. Ideal tied the new AC coil drain into the existing furnace drain line. After that, the original furnace drain trap connection leaked (photo). I told them I believed the old glued joint was disturbed during install as they moved it to tee in the new line. Since the joint was old, I offered to split the repair cost, even though the problem appeared immediately after their work.
Despite photos, Ideal required $150 to send a tech to diagnose and quote repair. They quoted about $750 to replace the drain trap, P-trap, and tee. Their own technician said parts were under $75. I looked up the parts: part 20171701 was about $16.72, and 3/4-inch pipe, P-trap, plus tee is under $20. That quote appeared to be hundreds in labor for a small PVC repair. A licensed plumber fixed it for $100 in under 30 minutes, including a new OEM drain trap.
To me, that is not standing behind your work. That is charging a lot for something that appeared to result from the installation.
The unit was serviced by Ideal in August 2025 before it went out of warranty and was seemingly fine. On May 3, 2026, when I turned the AC on, it was short cycling. Ideal found a "significant" coil leak. The Trane part was covered under warranty, but Ideal wanted about $3,200 in labor to replace the coil (photo). They claimed it would take two people a full day.
For comparison, I received competing quotes for the same work -- drain, swap coil, replace dryer, nitrogen test, vacuum, and recharge -- for $1,200 and $1,500. After I pushed back to service manager Mark, he reduced the quote to about $2,000. Ultimately, another licensed HVAC technician replaced the same warranted Trane coil, IN ADDITION TO my blower motor, for $1,200 total in 3 hours by himself. There are still good companies who charge by the hour vs inflated flat-rate prices.
During my call with Ideal, I also discussed my blower motor. Ideal previously said it had shaft play. When I said my regular HVAC technician could replace it for $429 including the part, Mark chuckled and called him a "hack." He said the motor alone was close to $1,000 and suggested I would get a non-OEM cheap Chinese motor with the wrong speed that would not work.
That did not hold up. The OEM Goodman motor part number is 0131F00041S. It is nowhere near $1,000. Ferguson HVAC Supply quoted me $88.97 for the OEM Goodman motor. The OEM motor pulled from the unit is made by Zhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor Co, in China. The motor Ideal claimed would be a cheap Chinese knockoff was replaced with a verified OEM Goodman motor, also made in China.
When my technician removed the old motor, he found zero shaft play. I still have the motor and a video.
Based on all this, Ideal's pricing and recommendations should be questioned carefully. In my opinion, their quotes were inflated compared with actual parts costs and other HVAC labor quotes. Customers should verify any major repair recommendation or part-price claim before agreeing to pay Ideal.
Lastly, the timing left me with serious questions. Ideal serviced the unit in August 2025, before the labor warranty expired. When I turned it back on May 3, 2026, it short cycled and Ideal diagnosed a significant coil leak. I cannot prove what Ideal knew in August, but if the leak was present or developing then, waiting until after the labor warranty expired would obviously benefit Ideal financially. That timing and everything above destroyed my trust in this company.
