One AC gas refilling call often costs close to a full AMC plan — which raises the obvious question: is the annual contract actually worth it, or are you paying twice for the same protection? Here’s how to work it out properly instead of guessing.
What an AMC Actually Covers
Not all AMC plans are the same, and the fine print matters more than the headline price. Broadly, plans fall into two types: a comprehensive AMC, which bundles scheduled servicing, gas top-ups, and spare parts within a capped limit, and a non-comprehensive AMC, which covers routine servicing and labour but bills parts and refrigerant separately. Read the contract for exactly which of these you’re signing up for — the price difference between the two is usually significant.
Running the Numbers
To work out whether an AMC pays for itself, compare it against what you’d otherwise spend on standalone visits across a year:
- A typical household calls for one AC gas refilling or repair visit every one to two years per unit.
- Each standalone visit carries its own call-out charge on top of parts and labour, which a bundled AMC visit avoids.
- Commercial AC AMC contracts also include priority response — which matters more for a shop or office than a home, where a few hours without cooling is an inconvenience rather than lost business.
If you own more than one split or window unit, the maths tips further in favour of an AMC, since the per-unit service cost usually drops as more units are added to the same contract.
When AMC Makes Sense
An AMC is worth it if your AC is more than two years old, if you run it heavily through the Delhi summer, if you’d rather have a fixed annual cost than an unpredictable one, or if you’re managing multiple units across a home or office.
When It Might Not
If your unit is brand new and still under the manufacturer’s warranty, or if you use it only occasionally, a one-off service visit when needed can work out cheaper than a full annual plan.