$390.00 or $90.00--What price would you pick to fix your water heater?

When we returned from Island Park, we found our water heater to be nonfunctional.  Because Dave was a little worried about a possible gas leak, we called Intermountain Gas.  They told us that the malfunction was probably due to a broken part on the water heater.  This morning we began our quest to correct the problem.  Dave did a bit of research on the internet to learn about the problem and the procedure to fix it.

He learned that the part was worth $12.00 and that there was a test that could be done to determine if the broken part was really the problem.

The first serviceman who came to our house quoted us $390.00 to fix it.  When Dave asked him to check and make sure that was really the problem, he said that they normally don't follow that procedure but they just replace the part that they assume to be malfunctioning.  If the problem is not solved, then they try something else.  Of course, Dave was a little concerned at that point because he knew there was a way to check and be sure that the part was broken.  He asked the serviceman to do the check.  He finally agreed to do so, but then discovered he didn't have the equipment to check it.  At that point, Dave told him he would pay for the service call but that would be all we needed him for.

Dave then called a second serviceman who told him he did have the equipment to confirm what was broken and that if it needed to be replaced it would be $90.00.  Obviously, we chose him to come to our home.

We are really in awe at the amount of money we saved by getting a second opinion.  It ended up being $260.00.