Replacing a Water Heater Cost - Buyer Experiences and Price Information

TO ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO BUY THE SERVIVE CONTRACTS. YOUR WARRANTY IS WHAT IT IS WHEN ITS DONE YOU NEED A NEW ONE PERIOD. YOU MUST PAY FOR A NEW W.H. NO MATTER WHAT. THEY ONLY LAST SO LONG HOW LONG DO YOU KEEP A CAR DOES IT LAST 8 YEARS AND GIVE YOU A SHOWER A DAY FOR 2920 DAYS? DIVIDE THAT NUMBER BY THE $1000.00 IT COST TO GET INSTALLED THATS $2.92 A DAY FOR YOUR FAMILY TO SHOWER? 8 YEARS x 365 DAYS DIVIDED BY THE $1000.00 INSTALL DOLLARS EQUALLS $2.92 A DAY WHAT DOES FOOD AND UTILITIES COST A DAY PLUS PROPERTY TAX? DON' BE AN ASS!

Our old water heater was leaking at the bottom of the taank. I figured it was time to replace it since it was over 13 years old. I called Blackburn out and they gave me a quick diagnostic and price. I felt it was very fair and they threw in a new water heater pan, stainless flex lines, cutoff, aluminum stand. Service was prompt, and they hauled away the old heater at no charge. Will definitely use them again

We replaced our 50 Gallons Craftmaster water heater with 40 Gallons GE water heater (12 years warrenty). The heater cost $617 ($680 after tax). However, the older heater and the new heater uses different hoses so we had to buy new hoses too. End up spent total about $750.
My relative did the installation for us, so $0 labor cost.

My original Sears 52 gallon electric hot water heater finally gave out after 30 plus years of service, not bad at all. I called a local plumber and within twelve hours it was replaced with a new RUUD PE2-52-2 heater. The whole job with one guy was less than an hour. The old unit was removed and the work area was cleaned. Total cost: $625.00. I�m happy! My advice, say clear of the big companies, call your local guy!

I called this local company to have my water heater checked because it was leaking. I had water heater for 14 years. the plumber told me he could replace it for $ 1,200.00 including labor. $600 water heater and $600 labor. I feel like he overcharged me. Do you think he overcharged me?

To the guy who wants to buy his own H.D heater & get a guy from Craigs List I say go ahead & do it..Good luck & sleep well at night hoping your home is safe from the slacker installer that save du 50.00..

This price covers their own 8 year parts + labor warranty and one year check-up and maintenance on water heater and whole house. If I continue to pay $140/year, they will service our house (repair minor items) and water heater (drain, check anode rods) each year. This contractor has the best Better Business comments I've ever seen. After reading about Bradford White's (and others) poor (weasel-like) warranty support, and the typical 1 year labor warranty, I like the idea of my plumber assuming all responsibility and covering 8 years labor. What do you think? Worth it?

dont waste your money paying somebody else.do it yourself.easy,just buy one exactly what you have now,and one wrench tool ,thas all you need.i just did it my self.

I went to Yelp.com, and found two things I was looking for:
1) A plumber who has 5-star reviews, and in return;
2) Found a Low price of $695 to replace my 40 gallon water heater.

I called Hermans Plumbing to come out and replace my 40-gal gas hot water heater today. Cost me $575, incl. a $20-$30 permit.
Took the two of them (younger kids) no more than 3 hours, incl. the trip to the store for the new heater
Seemed a bit high, but they did good work.

My gas hot water heater has a leak and I have a home warranty so they sent out a company to look at it. After the company came out they told us that the warranty co.. would cover the cost of the new water heater but the building codes have changed and to bring ours up to code by replacing the vent and several other things, they want to charge us $1000.00. The old water heater was put installed in 2002. I feel like we are being taken advantage of. Could a professional plumber comment??? (We are located in Oklahoma City)

Sounds like we paid too much as well, but our old water heater was dumping water all over our laundry room on a Saturday morning. I wasn't keen on only having cold water until Monday night or Tuesday morning, so we paid the price.

I should have done what I'm doing now: come to this site and read, before making a decision. But I didn't. And there is price for that. So the bottom line is that a builder's brand (called State), 15 years old, 30 gallons gas water heater was replaced with a 50 gallons Brandford White heater. Did I pay too much - probably. But at least the service was quick and 4 women in my house do not nag me anymore. And there is a price for that.

We have been using the same plumber for 8 years. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and water was all over the basement. I call him and he came over right away. I believe the price was too high, but after reading some comments I feel his price was fair. I did not want to take the chance of being with out water over the Thanksgiving holidays. So if I paid a too much it was worth it. Hope this one last longer than 8 years. We had well water and now we have city. I think if you have well water you water heater does not last as long as it should. I am happy with the job he did.

Old heater (at least 10 years old) was leaking. Two guys came out and did a very good job of putting in the new one and taking away the old one with an excellent 'antitip-strapping'. After hearing/reading about others' experiences, I feel like I did ok. This company has treated me fairly before and has earned my respect for honesty and non-"gouge" professionalism.

I have been a licensed plumber for 8 years. Some people want to say a plumbers license is a license to steal.
What people don't understand is that plumbing is one of the only trades where you will bill someone out then spend days, weeks, months or longer chasing money. You have to get paid for your time. A three hour job is rarely a three hour job when supplies have to be picked and brought to a call.
What is wrong with $60 for a expansion tank? They are $35 plus tax anyway. Plus trim to install.
I think people moaning about $900 for a water heater install are out of there minds.
A push and pull that takes 45 min may make that over the top. But rarely do jobs go by with no speed bumps.
$50.00 an hour for a licensed tradesman is a bargain. Do it yourself if you want to complain.

This company installed my furnace/air conditioner a couple of years ago. Very good company, on-call uniformed technitions, etc. $660.00 for New 40 gal nat. gas water heater, installed and hauled old one away.

had it (40 gallon natural gas with power vent) installed today (October 20, 2010). Installer did a good professional job. I replaced a Rheem that I have had for 17 years (wow 17 years and just started leaking..got my money's worth out of that one) and only had to replace the ignitor twice by myself. (I would recommend the Rheem if you can afford it). I went with the Powerflex cause I had over $400 of Lowes gift cards. I also did purchase the extended warranty for the Powerflex just incase. Good luck.

I think...correction I know I got played. But, my flood happened at about 2am on Sunday morning...went with the first person who actually called me back and told me that they will come and fix at 8:30 in the morning. He claimed the water heater was originally $1400 but if we paid for a $100+ service plan he would drop the price to $1100...then claimed we needed to pay 300+ to get everything to code...so final price came to $1660+. He left and went to get the waterheater...promptly came back and installed it. He was in my home from about 10:00am to 2:30 pm. He appeared to do a good job. But attempted to find more work that needed to be done after he did his inspection of the house...approx 1200+ worth to replace various tubes, pipes, toilet parts etc. Told him no thank you....we have spent enough.

Hello, I am a licensed, insured, and bonded plumber with 35 years of hands on experience in the field. I am based in Los Angeles / San Fernando Valley area.
Honestly said, I am very unhappy over what other "big shot" plumbing companies get away with on every day bases. So here is my advice to you, the Customer:
As of today, 10/2010, you should expect to pay for complete installation of new hot water heater as follows:
1. 30 and 40 gln, 6 year warranty heater: $770.00
2. 50 gln / 6 year warranty: $ 850.00
3. Tankless: get 3 bids. Prices vary widely. Make sure you ask the attending plumber about GAS for your tankless. Most of the new tankless water heater need new dedicated gas line which may double the cost of labor.
4. 75gln and 100gln hot water heaters: Call around. Shop for heater. Buy it yourself and have the plumber to pick it up for you. Prices vary. 100gln heater may cost you $1,000.00 in BigBox store while High Recovery 100gln heater for commercial use may easily run you $3,500.00 + tax. That's cost of the heater only.
Advice: Be aware of plumbers that wear white uniforms. Plumbing is very dirty job. Unless your project is his 1st stop of the day, plumber should look like a working man. Best is to hire a small, independent, local, contractor. Somebody who lives in your neighborhood. These guys work very hard to make living and stay loyal to their customers.
Good luck !

I called this plumber about two leaks in my front yard, and when they were here, told them I needed to replace my hot water heater which was living on borrowed time. I also had a toilet that needed a valve replaced.
Because the front yard work was extensive, they shaved $800 off the price of the new hot water heater and fixed my toilet for free.
They said that the old hot water heater was installed in 1989 and it was a miracle I had never had a leak.
They were prompt, thorough and totally professional and even though I thought they were a bit pricey, I will use them again for other plumbing work I want done. Quality costs but pays for itself in the long run.
I now have a first class hot water heater and am about to take a really HOT bath for the first time in six years.

Home Warranty replaced hot water heater. Charged $100 for permit, 50.00 for code upgrade and $75 for disposal to replace a 13 yr 30 gallon electric Rudd. I questioned the "non-covered costs" in the contract. Home warranty customers and clients beware! Like insurance what you think you are getting with home warranties isn't always clear. So far in this one property under home warranty, the HVAC compressor, evaporator coil was replaced with significant upcharges and now the hot water tank needs replacing (13 years) with $60 service call plus $225 non-covered upcharges. So, is it cheaper than what you guys are paying? Yes, but did all those things need replacing? Who knows? Are we at the mercy of plumbers, HVAC technicians, etc. etc. Hucksters? It puts me in mind of when husband quit working for a battery and tire company because people were charged for things they didn't need or didn't come in to buy. Many of us are walking targets for unscrupulous hustlers out to make a dollar. Now all you honest plumbers don't need to hassle me. You know who you are but the others know their game too.

Wow I was not prepared to pay so high of a price. I had 2 estimates just under $1200 and 1 at $899 so this seemed like the best deal even though it may not be the best brand. My old water heater tank cracked, but all valves, venting, etc were up to code so this price included water heater, installation and removal of old one, straightforward in and out in less than an hour and a half. Also if you go through Centerpoint (gas co. here) the bill is added to your existing gas bill and can be spread out in 3 payments.

Water heater replacement has turned into a big profit center for plumbing companies. What once was a $300 1.5 hour swap out is now $900-$1200. It's become abusive. Codes have changed but do I really need to spend $100-$200 for a building permit, pay $200-$300 for a $60-$70 expansion tank when the tank install takes all of 15 minutes when replacing the WH? Or $50 for a pair of new flex lines that cost $15 at the hardware store, it's nuts.
If you are a plumber and you give me a quote is it too much to ask that you know what the model number is on the unit you are selling me or it's recovery rate?
My advice is to buy a Bradford White unit from your local wholesale plumbing supply house, pay cash & pick it up yourself. Then find a reasonable plumber(craigslist)who will do the install for under $200.
But know this if you don't put on an expansion tank then the manufacturer will void your warranty so there is no point in springing for the extended warranty unless you do.

Purchased hot water heater (nat gas, 40 gal) from Home Depot and they sent out their "licensed, approved installer" on a Saturday. Heater itself was $538, the rest of the cost (880) was parts and labor. RIPOFF!!! Will never do business with Home Depot or their "licensed, approved installer(s)" again. Next time, we go with a private plumbing company. This guy took 5 hours (11am - 4pm) (with water completely off the whole time), and made 2 trips back to Home Depot (~ 8 miles one-way) for parts.

Purchased hot water heater (nat gas, 40 gal) from Home Depot and they sent out their "licensed, approved installer" on a Saturday. Heater itself was $538, the rest of the cost (880) was parts and labor. RIPOFF!!! Will never do business with Home Depot or their "licensed, approved installer(s)" again. Next time, we go with a private plumbing company. This guy took 5 hours (11am - 4pm) (with water completely off the whole time), and made 2 trips back to Home Depot (~ 8 miles one-way) for parts.

Seemed like a good deal- the first quote I got was 1,600. It was just installed a few hours ago and the water was cold after 15 minutes. Is it because it was just hooked up? That never happened with my old hot water heater. The plumber said that he had to set the temperature lower because of the inspection and said that he could come back and set it higher. I hope it stays hot-I am quite concerned.

Price included service call, removal, installation and new water heater. The guys did a very thorough job by replacing the cold water valve and correctly replaced the overflow piping too.

CHECK ALL THE MAJORITY OF POSTS. THEY ALL ARE MOSTLY UPWARDS OF 1000 DOLLARS. TELLS YOU THAT IT MIGHT WELL BE THE GOING AVERAGE PRICE. IF WE MAKE A PROFIT WE ARE CROOKS. IF WE DO THE BACK BREAKING WORK REALLY CHEAP WERE HONEST PLUMBERS. COME ON!!! REMEMBER WERE IN THIS BUSINESS TO MAKE AT LEAST A 15% PROFIT LIKE ANY OTHER BUSINESS. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT.