Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Worst Budget Gas Furnace Brands?

I'm replacing a gas furnace on a bit of a budget (<$4000)
I understand that everyone has preferences and every brand has some problems, but...

Are there any notoriously bad brands to steer away from? Like, something WalMart would sell if they got into the HVAC business?

I was quoted a price on a Payne and am worried after seeing some bad reviews.

Thanks!

I think most of the furnace pro's will tell you that while everybody has their favorites as to brands, the most important thing to consider is the installation. Even a cheaper brand will perform fine if installed by a competent installer. On the other hand, even the most top-of-the line furnace will perform unsatisfactorily if installed incorrectly.

As to the Payne brand, they are a "value priced" division of the Carrier Corporation. Most of the major corporations build furnaces under a multitude of brand names, in addition to good/better/best lines available in each brand.

In summary, there is no BAD brand out there that pros will tell you absolutely to avoid. Shop around for a good installer. Many installers represent more than one brand, and can steer you to a brand that better meets your objectives.

Beach pretty much hit it on the head..

Ask around friends/family,or co-workers of who they have delt with on HVAC equipement.

As Beachboy said, there is no bad equipment. Installation is the key. Size the equipment to the heat loss of the house & size the ducts to the equipment. If your existing furnace is typical, it is GROSSLY oversized for the house. There is an excellent program available online from http://hvaccomputer.com for calculating the heat loss of your house. The cost for a homeowner is about $50 & will be the best $50 you can spend on this project. More than likely you will recover more than $50 by buying smaller equipment than you think you need. Once you determine what size equipment you need, then start getting bids for the job. A good installer will do the same type of calculation & suggest a similarly sized furnace. Those who simply quote based on what you already have, should be shown the door.

Trane, Rheem, and Goodman are all good. Probably rated in that order.

Within any brand, they will have a "good-better-best" arrangement, with increasing price. Within your budget range, you can certainly get a "basic" model, which today will be an 80% efficient with single speed blower. For not too great an upcharge, you could go to a ~90% efficient with 2 speed blower. Then you get up to even higher efficiencies, 2 stage burners, etc.

The price can go quite high, and MOST IMPORTANT with the higher end units is a very qualified installer, because they are more complicated. You also want a very dependable contractor in all cases, because the more complicated the furnace is, the more "techy" things there are to act up and need service.