Coan Oil Inc

Coan Oil is a Natick fuel and heating company at 196 West Central Street. It delivers home heating oil, bioheat and diesel, and its service side installs and repairs oil tanks, furnaces, boilers, burners, central air conditioning, ductless mini splits and water heaters, including electric-to-oil conversions and heat pump water heaters. Local coverage in 2021 described it as still a thriving business in Natick, and a 2022 CBS story quoted Arthur Chaves of Coan Oil. The long-tenure customers are the strongest part of the record and they are unusually specific about it. One reviewer counted 46 years, another since 1974, another since 1970, another 38 years of oil and furnace maintenance without ever running out, another over 50 years across baseboard heat, a new heating system, central AC and a new tank. Those accounts describe technicians by name — Billy, Bill, Jim Tarchara the service manager, Dave and Alex on a tank installation — and the same people recurring over years. Emergency work is the other repeated strength. A 2025 reviewer came home to water in the basement and had a technician at the door within 45 minutes who methodically replaced two parts until the system worked. Another described a leaking water tank on a Friday morning resolved within five hours of the call. Others describe holiday and weekend call-outs and getting oil delivered immediately after an ice storm. The complaints are just as consistent and they cluster on scheduling and communication rather than on the trade work. A March 2026 reviewer said appointments get cancelled at the last minute every time. A 2023 reviewer said Coan cancelled three months-ahead appointments in five months. Another waited months for an appointment, was called at midday to say nobody was available, then waited past noon on a rescheduled first-of-the-day slot. Two reviewers in 2022 described a rude receptionist and a service manager who did not return calls, one of them eight months into an unresolved mini-split fault after an $18,000 installation. A 2024 reviewer objected to paying a $300-$400 annual service policy that yielded no service. Pricing draws criticism too — one reviewer called the oil overpriced, another said the coupon has to be posted and the free tune-up is unusable because there are no openings. There are two serious individual allegations to weigh: a 2025 reviewer said a friend's heating oil leak went unreported to her by the company, and a 2025 reviewer said the company twice let their tank run dry mid-winter. A 2024 two-star reviewer disputed the carbon-neutral claim made to them for biofuel. Several one-star reviews concern truck driving rather than service at all. Google shows 4.2 stars from 117 ratings and the Better Business Bureau grades the business A+ and lists it as accredited. The pattern to take away is a long-established company whose trade work and emergency response are widely praised and whose office and scheduling are the recurring sore point. Ask for a firm appointment window in writing, and check what an annual service plan actually entitles you to before signing.