Field notes
Written after the call, not before it.
Diagnostic notes on Sub-Zero refrigeration. If one of these gets a cabinet holding temperature again without a visit, that is a good result.
Next step
Describe what it is doing. We will tell you what that usually means.
A call costs nothing. A visit is a flat $95, and that comes off the bill the moment you approve the repair.
Money, plainly
What the number is made of.
One figure is fixed: the $95 service call, which covers the visit and the diagnosis and comes off the bill when you approve the repair. The rest depends on which circuit failed.
Nobody quotes a repair down the phone here. A written estimate follows the readings, as one number for parts and labour together, and you can decline any line on it.
- Which circuit failed. A condenser fan motor and an evaporator that has lost its charge are not the same job, and they are not close. Most of the spread in a refrigeration bill sits here.
- Whether the cabinet has to come out. A full-height column in a tight back hall may need the door and the panel off before anything can be reached. Access is labour, and it is quoted as labour.
- Part availability. Control boards and compressors for older platforms are ordered rather than carried. A part on the van and a part on order produce different visits and different totals.
- What else the readings show. A defrost fault found alongside a failed door heater gets quoted as two items, both visible on the estimate, so you can decline either one.
Typical range, parts and labour
- Door gasket or seal replacement $270 – $760
- Evaporator or condenser fan motor $280 – $590
- Defrost heater, thermostat or sensor $290 – $680
- Ice maker, water valve or supply line $290 – $690
- Electronic control board $470 – $940
- Compressor or sealed-system repair $1,000 – $2,080
For scale, a comparable replacement cabinet runs $7,990 – $21,170 for the appliance alone, before delivery, installation or panel work. That is the comparison worth making before a large sealed-system repair.