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Four answers put you inside a published range before anyone quotes you: the unit type you want, the fuel it will run on, the capacity in gallons, and the age of the one being replaced. Add two more if you can. Where the unit sits, and how it vents today. Those six between them explain most of the spread between one quote and another.
A total with no breakdown cannot be checked against anything. A quote worth comparing separates the unit price from the labour, and lists the extras individually: permit and inspection, removal and disposal of the old unit, and any venting, gas line or electrical work the new unit needs that the old one did not. Those extras are where two quotes for the same appliance diverge.
Published national ranges are on the cost page, broken down by unit type, fuel and capacity, each with the publisher and the month attached. A quote sitting inside the range for its type is unremarkable. One well outside it is not necessarily wrong, but it is worth asking which line item accounts for the difference, because scope rather than the appliance usually explains it.
RV owners comparing a shop quote can check it against the RV water heater replacement cost example.
A quote that does not mention a permit, when most jurisdictions require one for a replacement. A single figure with no itemisation. A tankless conversion priced without any mention of venting or gas line work. None of these mean the installer is wrong. They mean the quote has not told you enough yet to compare it with another one.
Independent Research
Published ranges for tank and tankless replacement, the failures that justify a repair, and the ones that do not. Sourced, dated, and free to read.
