Countywide Mechanical Systems reviews
• last updated FEB 26, 2026Loading map...
The Verdict
Countywide Mechanical poses serious financial and service risks. We analyzed nearly a hundred reviews and found a pattern of abandoned solar customers, billing disputes, and unresponsive management. One homeowner had their solar monitoring fail two years ago, called repeatedly for warranty support, and eventually discovered the company had quietly exited the solar business without notifying customers. Another was charged $830 for what they documented as 90 minutes of on-site work. The plumbing division earned some praise for friendly techs and quick appointments, but 23 reviews describe post-sale support failures ranging from ignored emails to techs who left an entire condo building without air conditioning during a heat wave. Workmanship scores landed just above average, yet value and support scores both sat near the bottom of our scale. Even the solar installations that initially went well in 2015 and 2016 became liabilities when the company stopped servicing that line of work, leaving customers with ten-year warranties they can no longer enforce.
If you need emergency plumbing and accept the risk of a billing surprise, Countywide may show up quickly. But if you value transparent pricing, reliable follow-up, or any work that requires a long-term warranty, the pattern of abandoned customers and disputed invoices makes this company too risky to hire.
Reviews That Shaped Our Verdict
Chuck noticed his earlier review vanished and felt silenced. He had picked Countywide Mechanical Systems (CMS) because the company’s long history felt like a safe choice for a rooftop solar system in San Diego County, but he ended up feeling abandoned when CMS quietly stopped installing solar there. Without a letter, call, or visit, he discovered while seeking service that the company was no longer in the solar business. His solar output metering stopped working about two years ago; repeated phone calls produced no fix and no outreach from CMS to address the problem. The contract promised a ten-year parts and installation warranty, yet no one has stepped up to honor it. The image that sticks is a nonfunctioning meter, warranty language on paper, and no company to contact — a cautionary detail for buyers who value ongoing service as much as the installation itself.
Bobby J. arranged for Countywide to replace the hot and cold valves on his apartment’s washing machine on 6/6/2022, a job he expected to take about an hour. The technician ran into complications tied to the building (not Bobby’s fault) and had to return for a second visit on 6/15/2022; the first trip was just under an hour and the second under half an hour, and he stayed with the tech both times. Before the visit the company emailed terms: $365 for the first two hours of labor and $130 per hour thereafter, but the final invoice itemized $74 for parts and $830 for labor — an amount Countywide arrived at by treating his 1.5 hours on site as six hours. Countywide required a credit card up front and then processed that charge after the fact, leaving him little practical recourse when the billed hours ballooned; he found similar complaints on Yelp and won’t use them again. The detail that will stick with him: 1.5 hours of work morphed into a six-hour bill and was charged to the card he had to provide in advance.
Peter F. hired the company last year to install a rooftop chiller on the Bellefontaine, a large condo building across from Balboa Park, paying almost $80,000 for the system. He expected a job of that size to come with decent follow-up service. When any maintenance has been needed, he discovered the crew to be repeatedly forgetful and inept. Today technicians shut the chiller off to work on piping for a single condo and apparently left without turning it back on. The result: his unit has no air conditioning at the start of a heat wave and the apartment is getting noticeably hotter. The building put in an official call hours ago and the company still hasn’t fixed the problem, so he feels they’re treating residents as if they can wait until the crew “feels like” returning. He paid for competence — including anticipating and preventing simple issues — and this basic misstep blew that expectation. The concrete takeaway for prospective buyers: a roughly $80,000 rooftop chiller installed last year became unusable during a heat wave because technicians failed to restart it, and the company did not respond promptly after being notified.
Platforms Monitored
Performance by Work Type
How We Got To Trust Score 54
Clean Record
Unauthorized Activities
Passed screening
Misleading Claims
Passed screening
Background Check
Serving customers for 15 years
Among the longest-standing installers in the market.
BBB Rating: A+
Excellent BBB standing. Strong complaint resolution.
Natural Review Patterns
Reviews were posted naturally over time.
Licensed Contractor
A valid contractor license is on record.
What You Can Expect
Kenneth B. waited years to write this but still wanted to make one thing clear: he would give Countywide 10 stars if he could. He hired them to install a residential solar system on his tile roof after other contractors refused because his electric bill wasn’t high enough — Countywide agreed to design a system tailored to his needs. Kevin Z., the sales manager, stood out from the start; he handled the sale with ease and kept the project on track. During installation a few roof tiles broke, and Kevin immediately made everything right without argument or long explanations. Over the following four years a couple of minor problems cropped up, mainly with the data-bridges that send system information to the online portal, but one phone call to Kevin sent a technician out who fixed the issue. What lingered for him was the responsiveness: professionals on-site, fast corrections to damage, and techs dispatched after a single call. He hopes Countywide will start installing residential solar hot water so he can hire them again — that desire to use them for another system is the detail that sticks.
Greg chose Countywide Solar to install a system on his home in March 2013. He and his wife handed the project to Kevin and Steve, who managed the bid, pulled permits, completed the installation, and coordinated the final SDG&E activation — all moving quickly and efficiently. The panels have paid off: he considers the system one of their best financial investments, and since the switch was flipped he hasn’t had an electric bill for almost three years. The detail that sticks with him is how seamlessly Countywide handled the paperwork and the utility hookup, delivering reliable, bill-free power.
Sergio called the company to have a shower issue fixed and expected a straightforward valve repair at his home. The plumber determined the fault was actually the cartridge inside the valve, spent about ten minutes at the sink but didn’t replace the cartridge, and the invoice nevertheless billed three hours — roughly a $500 charge. He then tried repeatedly to get answers by email and received no response, leaving him with the same unresolved problem and a feeling of having been overcharged. The detail that lingers: ten minutes of work, a three-hour bill and no follow-up, leaving him out about $500 with the issue still not fixed.