Mini splits are very cool in concept, but somewhat problematic in practice. Many are built very substandard, and within a few years getting parts or repairs is often impossible.
Relatedly, we had one of ours break in a thunderstorm in Austin. We had a contract w/ a local place for maintenance and quick repairs. They quoted us 2.5k to fix it, then 4.8k to replace it. We shopped around and had a brand new unit purchased and installed from a different company for 2k flat, 3 days later. I share this often because I am still shocked at how disparate the quotes were, esp. from a "reputable" company we had an existing relationship with, and feel many people are taken advantage of in these situations when all you really need to do is call around. I also suspect as their popularity increases (I assume) the repairs and parts will perhaps become cheaper and more available.
(Our overall experience with them has been very positive).
This has been my experience with nearly every utility-related service I have ever needed - same with people in my social circle . Plumbing, electric, chimney, appliances, etc. all do this. Even with the rise of DIY, the demand for these services are still high. I live in a suburban neighborhood flooded with work vans for electricians and such, so you'd think the high competition would keep prices low. You'd think, but that definitely wasn't the case when I called around for estimates, and they were all booked out days to weeks. Crazy
I think the work is spiky so the quotes are inversely related to how busy the contractor is at that moment (for small shops). Also, there is the supply/demand of the people doing the actual work who are often not employees and may be available or not for that project in that neighborhood.
And then there's the availability of the part/unit which drives price.
There's also a weird consolidation going on in what are traditionally mom-and-pop style "trade" industries. E.g., a significant portion of the individual contractor Co. vans you see driving around could be owned (or at least partially owned) by the same private equity outfit. Thus, prices and supply can be "managed" to the detriment of the consumer. I think it will be a few years or possibly a decade before state/local/federal governments catch on to what is happening here.
I think of them as throwaway. Get a good install, run them until a mechanical part fails, then replace with new.
It’s not how it “should be”, but that’s how the economics have shaken out. Paying a tech windshield time and working time (probably twice) and finding/waiting on the proprietary parts is a losing game. If it works 30 days, it’s probably going to work 8-12 years.
(Our overall experience with them has been very positive).