First Choice Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning

Robert U.

I've been their customer for about 5 years now (including annual maintenance), and the service is always outstanding. Last week our central air conditioning stopped cooling. Got on their schedule at a convenient time and Alex arrived, as scheduled. He made a quick (it was easy) assessment that the outside unit had died. He explained the relative cost of repairing the old (9 years) unit ($2200) versus installing a new unit ($3800). I elected to go new, and they were able to re-arrange their schedule to put it in the next morning.

Alex arrived right on time and went to work. He had estimated about 3 hours for the install and made good on that. Ah---cool air.

They also seem to be very conscientious in their work--getting all the little details right. like making sure the refrigerant is captured, etc. and their equipment and vans are modern.

As someone else mentioned, you do get what you pay for. Highly recommended

John B.

Had my AC and furnace replaced through First Choice. I was quoted for three different tiered systems based on price and features. Everything was clearly explained without overselling. I found the entire process easy from start to finish.

The final installation was professionally done. They even corrected a condensate drain issue I had previously with the new install. At the end they took the time to explain overall maintenance to increase the lifespan on the new unit.

They do really great work.

Steve O.

They do great work, but they offer brands that no reputable contractor would install (Evcon, Guardian, etc.), they also employ a number of people who took deposits and never did the work at Sheerkahn Services in Hamilton NJ. Typicality companies who install such low end products don't plan to be around to honor the warranty, whether that be by selling or going out of business. Be careful who you trust.

Dorothy R.

They did a decent installation; but the guy who installed the thermostat at the end was abrupt and did not explain it well or program it for me. A guy Zach came this week to de program what the other guy had done when installed and explained the thermostat versus switching to a dial as I was going to do. Zach was pleasant and explained how he took out the program where the thermostat went to 62 degrees; and he took out the need to a temporary or permanent hold and also the need to use e heat feature. He was friendly and had patience versus the install guy for the thermostat.
I found Joe who was the first point of contact who saw the job involved and set me up with the loan was helpful with a good personality. I was determined to use this company as the rest of several companies met before to decide which I was going to use, were wanting money upfront which cannot do as have other expenses. I gave the plus and minus of this company to you. You may comment if you wish.
Dorothy Rose Forgione
Licensed Mental Health, Addiction and Couples Therapist, Hypnotherapist
Beacon of Hope Dorothy Rose Psychotherapy and Therapy
Bayonne, NJ

A M.

Our builder-supplied Fedders AC gave up on us recently after 12 years of service. I got three estimates to replace it, including one from First Choice.

They proposed a Bosch Heat Pump that is used as AC in the summer and can be used as a heater in above-freezing outside temperatures in the winter, for more cost effective heating than the gas furnace. Gas furnace still remains available to be used when outside temperatures dip below freezing.

The unit is more energy efficient at 18 SEER and quieter with noise as low as 56 dB compared to other proposals. What's more, their cost was the second lowest but the quality of the lowest cost proposal was not much to write home about. To top it all, they offered a 5-year labor warranty along with the manufacturer's 10-year parts warranty. Others had offered only 2 to 3-year labor warranty. Needless to say, I happily accepted their proposal.

Everything went very well on the day of the installation. Two of their techs arrived on time. They were courteous and professional throughout. They answered all my questions and they left the place as clean as it was when they arrived.

During installation, we found that the electric cable between the furnace and AC (outside) had only two wires whereas the heat pump required a 4-wire cable. Similarly, the electric cable between the furnace and the thermostat had only 4 wires whereas the heat pump required a 6-wire cable. The installed thermostat itself was not suitable for a heat pump either. They replaced all the wiring and installed a brand new WIFI based thermostat. They also replaced all the copper pipes between the AC and the furnace and also replaced the condensate pump. All replacements were covered in their contracted price.

I was very happy with their product and quality of their work that four years back when they replaced another AC. This time, I am absolutely delighted with them. I will recommend First Choice Heating & Cooling to anyone needing HVAC product installation without hesitation.

Jane D.

My HVAC system decided to die in early April. I made appointments with various companies in the area, including recommendations from family and friends. FCCC was actually recommended to me by my parents, as they used the Johnny Ice Company (which merged with FCCC) to install their Central Air about 18 years ago. However, they were the 5th company to come in and quote the HVAC replacement due to scheduling. I am so happy that I had the other vendors come in first, as I at least had a baseline to compare FCCC's products and services, as well as having a bit of a baseline knowledge about what to inquire with the sales reps. Not only did I find the 2 sales reps incredibly knowledgeable, Joe was the only one out of the five to notice that in addition to my HVAC system needing to be upgraded, my hot water heater was literally past its expiration date to be changed out. Joe was able to price out an HVAC system, hot water heater, service plan, and air humidifier system *total* for less than what some of the other competitors were quoting for just the HVAC alone. The service technicians that came to actual install came right on time, were super friendly and knowledgeable, respectful, and detail oriented. I would definitely recommend.

Atul U.

Great service on my Trane system. The technician knew what he was doing. He was able to diagnose the issue in 15 munities and fix it right away. Yes, they are on the high end, but in comparison an equally priced competition was about to change me 1K more.

Trishikh B.

Extremely expensive !! I was charged $1300 for. $350 part.
It includes labor which was 45 mins + fuel to get the part and according to the manager technical knowledge + time to find the parts !!!

I addition to all of this the company charges $110 for just the visit which I can live with and agree with.
I never heard anyone charging customer to find the part. $600 was a fair price for the part cost $350. But charging $1000 premium is just absurd and a rip off. Please get a quote from multiple companies before committing to 1.

Anna T.

This company is fantastic! James arrived promptly and did maintenance on the furnace and air conditioning unit. He was polite and courteous and friendly. He was knowledgeable and answered all our questions. It was nice to receive service from someone who was honest and not in a hurry to get to the next job. Great company, service and techs. We are very happy and the heat works great! A+

Chuck T.

Terrible Service and Outrageously High Prices from First Choice

Based on my complaint to First Choice Heating and Cooling in Metuchen, NJ... on August 4, 2021 the General Manager Ryan of First Choice agreed to provide a refund of the $99 service call fee charged to me on August 2, 2021. On August 5, 2021 Ryan called me back to renege on his offer to refund me.

My complaint was as follows:

I called First Choice on Monday August 02, 2021 for an AC repair. They came and charged $99 for the service call. But they said they could not return for 3 to 4 days to do the repair or 1 to 2 weeks to do a replacement. The repair would be to replace the fan motor and the fan blade. Three to four days is too long for a simple AC repair. If they were so backed up with work that they couldn't come back for 3 to 4 days they never should have come in the first place.

They later claimed the reason for the delay was it would take a few days to get the parts, but based on my past experience parts are easily available for my units, often same day or next day. When you have a broken AC or furnace it is a reasonable expectation that the service company would get the parts and be able do the repair right away.

First Choice said on their Monday August 2 visit they would email an estimate, but 48 hours passed and I received nothing. I called them and then they sent an estimate for $970 to replace a fan blade and fan motor... but they said they would need to return to the house to get more information required to give an estimate for replacement. But I had clearly told them on August 2 that I wanted an estimate for both a repair and an estimate to replace the AC so I could decide which would make the most sense. But they only sent an estimate to repair.

Later on August 4, after I asked why they didn't get information they needed on August 2, they went ahead and sent the estimate for replacement anyway, which was over double the price of competitors. Keep in mind that this is a two-family house and just 3 months earlier I replaced the same AC in the other apartment and the price was less than half of the First Choice cost. I received pricing from 2 different HVAC companies just a few months earlier and both gave prices that were less than half what First Choice was asking. This confirms that the First Choice price was unreasonable being over double what other companies were charging.

So, based on my experience with First Choice their service is terrible, their prices are extremely high (confirmed by their estimates vs. the actual price for the same job just 3 months earlier) and they reneged on their agreement on August 4th to refund the $99 fee.