Our oil furnace has a cracked heat exchanger and two technicians have recommended we replace it, so since we ran gas to the house for our pool and water heater we want to switch to gas. Got two quotes for two different furnaces and radically different prices.

Quote 1 is from a small independent contractor for a brand I've never heard of. Online searching leads me to believe it is owned by Goodman. It's a 95% AFUE EverRest and the total quote is $3999. It has a lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger and 10-year parts and replacement.

Quote 2 is for a Trane XV95 from a larger locally owned heating co in business for 70 years. They currently service our oil furnace. They are also 'certified' by our local gas co. The rep I met with today said he wouldn't touch the EverRest as he considers it of inferior quality and said it's a 'generic'. He pointed out that their brochure doesn't even have a company name, address or phone # on it, so he doesn't trust that they will stand behind their product. The quote for the Trane is $6811.

My dilemma is that we can afford to pay for the EverRest in full but the Trane furnace will put us in debt. We would have to utilize their 36-mos. payment plan. We have slowly managed to dig ourselves out of debt after our remodel and this would be another step backward.

I don't know who to trust here? The independent contractor did the HVAC on our remodel and seems like an honest guy. OTOH, the heating co. we've been using for two years is large and reputable and unlikely to suddenly go out of business and leave us hanging with a faulty furnace.