Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

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cheese302
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Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#1 Post by cheese302 »

I just purchased a home in Landing NJ, i am looking to have the windows updated in a sun/florida rom that is built into the house, the job will be to replace 8 jalosy (not sure if thats correct) windows with double hung. I so far have had six contractors come in and give me estimates.

1. Pella Vinyl windows. around $6k they are out, and just know the name, so figured hae them stop in.

next few i found on angies list with decent reviews.
2. Superior windows and siding. $3100 using an alside window, the salesman (owner of the business) was very nice and had a great speech/demoand was not pushy not bad, but then i did some research on alside and am not impressed. offered a first inspection discount of %15 which would have been $2600, but sorry, no initial signing for me.

3. Statewide windows selling american jewel. ofered to stop into their factory and showroom no demo window. easy going salesman, my girlfriends father knows the owner (also the person who came to estimate) but not impressed with online research into the company. gave me a price of about $3200

4. NewJersey Windows and siding. Using soft lite elements or bainbridge windows. quoted for $7100 with triple pain elements came down to a "first home inspection price" of 4995 with free triple pane in the bainbridge window. the sales guy was kind of pushy and started getting pissed at me when i said "i have to take a couple days" i refuse to make the deal that day. and honestly if i went with this company i would discuss with management about my displeasure with the salesman. however i do believe they are out of the running anyway. did well with the demo and i really like the product. showed me a bainbridge window.

I talked to two more contractors after this, one by reccomendation of angieslist/my mother. i live in the home by muself and just like to have some extra opinions.

1. Window World. This was the mother/angies list. it seems as though there was a lot of trashing of WW back in the day, but that it seems to have gotten better, though i am still not SOLD, they quoted me on the 4000 series with "value comfortworld" package, includes screen, extreior trim, low e glas, argon fill, and a few other features. The local franchise is also including a special with 3M sunclean coating for the winter. the window world waranty seems decent. salesman did not show me samples, but the showroom was close enough to take a look, why not. I didnt hate the product, thought they looked good. i preferred the sales staff because they werent pushy at all, they wanted the "product to speak for itself" also, they werent upselling the "189" window. they talked to me about my expectations and went straight to the 4000. their quote $3200

2. WIndow & Door Clinic. i found this company by the soft-lite website, the other contractor in northern nj listed on their website. These guys are based in parsippany, sell the sft lite imperial ls. i was familiar with soft-lite so did not ask to see a sample window. the VP of sales came to give me a quote. i really liked the guy, but am not positive about the install. they quoted $3400 for the install, i like the product. i liked the salesman, wondering if this is the way to go.

currently between WW, and Window & Door Clinic. has anyone had experience here, any other suggestions. planning to pull the trigger quickly. i wonder if i got too many quotes.

thanks

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HomeSealed
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#2 Post by HomeSealed »

Since you disqualified the first alside guy, I'm not sure why you would consider WW at an even higher price. The WW 4000 is an Alside Excalibur.
Many of the "bargain price" business model companies pay their installers far less than the going rate, so that is a concern on the quality side of things.

It sounds like the Softlite LS company is a pretty good option. The only other product that you have seen in the same ballpark in quality woudl be the other Softlite dealer, but you have identified some very questionable sales tactics there.

A couple other products that compare well with the Softlite would be Okna/Himark, and Sunrise. It may be worth while to get one or two more quotes that are "apples to apples" in terms of product quality.

I don't know the geography of NJ, but I believe one of two resident experts here should probably serve your area. Masterext and Anthony each cover different areas in NJ, and both of them are excellent resources. Highly recommended. :D

cheese302
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Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:59 am

Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#3 Post by cheese302 »

i have been trying to find masterext on the forum, i have only found this site today and have been having a hard time with the search function.

thanks for the recomendation. the funniest part is when i stopped at the showroom, one of the guys was wearing an alside t-shirt. its hilarious to find some of these things.

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Randy
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#4 Post by Randy »

Masterext is your best bet in New Jersey - great products and professionalism.

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HomeSealed
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#5 Post by HomeSealed »

I assume that means that you hit his "get a quote button" because their are no pm's on this site... but if not, you can find him as the last post on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5168
I'd ask him about the Okna 800. Very comparable to the Elements (performance ratings as good to slightly better) and it has a little bit more glass along with some other nice details. :D ... For my money, those are the top 2 vinyl double hung windows out there.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#6 Post by Windows on Washington »

cheese302 wrote:I just purchased a home in Landing NJ, i am looking to have the windows updated in a sun/florida rom that is built into the house, the job will be to replace 8 jalosy (not sure if thats correct) windows with double hung. I so far have had six contractors come in and give me estimates.

Jalousie is the correct spelling but everybody knew what you were referring to. They are a strange window and I used to have them in my home in Florida. Not exactly what you would ever refer to as "airtight". :lol:

1. Pella Vinyl windows. around $6k they are out, and just know the name, so figured hae them stop in.

Any ideas as to what window they quoted. They have a couple of different lines in Vinyl and one is decent and one is should be avoided at all costs.

next few i found on angies list with decent reviews.
2. Superior windows and siding. $3100 using an alside window, the salesman (owner of the business) was very nice and had a great speech/demoand was not pushy not bad, but then i did some research on alside and am not impressed. offered a first inspection discount of %15 which would have been $2600, but sorry, no initial signing for me.

I think you are on the right track with the research on Alside. While I am not personally a fan of the price drop approach, it is pretty industry standard and not at all uncommon.

3. Statewide windows selling american jewel. ofered to stop into their factory and showroom no demo window. easy going salesman, my girlfriends father knows the owner (also the person who came to estimate) but not impressed with online research into the company. gave me a price of about $3200

Same thing here as it pertains to your research. Pretty sure you are on the right track.

4. NewJersey Windows and siding. Using soft lite elements or bainbridge windows. quoted for $7100 with triple pain elements came down to a "first home inspection price" of 4995 with free triple pane in the bainbridge window. the sales guy was kind of pushy and started getting pissed at me when i said "i have to take a couple days" i refuse to make the deal that day. and honestly if i went with this company i would discuss with management about my displeasure with the salesman. however i do believe they are out of the running anyway. did well with the demo and i really like the product. showed me a bainbridge window.

Bainbridge is a solid window but the sales process sounds nightmarish. I don't think you would get much reaction out of the main office about your displeasure. A structured drop and close is exactly what has been created by the main office and indicative of what they were going for.

I talked to two more contractors after this, one by reccomendation of angieslist/my mother. i live in the home by muself and just like to have some extra opinions.

1. Window World. This was the mother/angies list. it seems as though there was a lot of trashing of WW back in the day, but that it seems to have gotten better, though i am still not SOLD, they quoted me on the 4000 series with "value comfortworld" package, includes screen, extreior trim, low e glas, argon fill, and a few other features. The local franchise is also including a special with 3M sunclean coating for the winter. the window world waranty seems decent. salesman did not show me samples, but the showroom was close enough to take a look, why not. I didnt hate the product, thought they looked good. i preferred the sales staff because they werent pushy at all, they wanted the "product to speak for itself" also, they werent upselling the "189" window. they talked to me about my expectations and went straight to the 4000. their quote $3200

Same thing HomeSealed said. Its an Alside window so if you didn't care for the research, you are dealing with the same product here.

2. WIndow & Door Clinic. i found this company by the soft-lite website, the other contractor in northern nj listed on their website. These guys are based in parsippany, sell the sft lite imperial ls. i was familiar with soft-lite so did not ask to see a sample window. the VP of sales came to give me a quote. i really liked the guy, but am not positive about the install. they quoted $3400 for the install, i like the product. i liked the salesman, wondering if this is the way to go.

This sounds like the best quote of the group so far but I think you should definitely give masterext a ring or anthony.

currently between WW, and Window & Door Clinic. has anyone had experience here, any other suggestions. planning to pull the trigger quickly. i wonder if i got too many quotes.

Window and Door Clinic is the clear winner in this comparison.

thanks
Masterext is here in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5168

cheese302
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#7 Post by cheese302 »

Exactly guys, hit get a quote. Already talked to masterext. Good to go. Actually received a nice phone call from New Jersey windows and siding this afternoon. Spoke with the owner of the company, great to talk to. We shall see, I am being led down a great path now. Thanks!!

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HomeSealed
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#8 Post by HomeSealed »

Great to hear. Feel free to post back with questions after your apps. :)

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#9 Post by Windows on Washington »

What was his response to your frustration with their sales process (i.e. start really high and create a false sense of "deal" by a made up price drop)?

cheese302
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#10 Post by cheese302 »

Windows on Washington wrote:What was his response to your frustration with their sales process (i.e. start really high and create a false sense of "deal" by a made up price drop)?
the response was to ask what my true concerns were, and offered me on the phone an element upgrade for the price quoted at my home. they are still $1600 higher for a soft lite element window, than the imperial ls window quoted from a different contractor. the sales pitch was that the company is local and that they are looking to mak a customer for life. understandable, but i still have to redo a shower and dig a trench to run power to my detached garage. i am scheduling masterext to come in tomorrow or wednesday, we'll see at that point,

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HomeSealed
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#11 Post by HomeSealed »

So after thousands and thousands of discounts, the price is still $1600 higher than another reputable company for a window that is virtually the same (add a few bells and whistles from LS to Elements)? ... Not how to build a customer for life IMO. In situations such as this, I look at it not as a "huge discount" for you, but a huge rip-off for those folks that were not savvy enough to negotiate the price down from the initial number.
Let me add, that I have no knowledge of the business(es) in question, but my comments are directed more at the type of tactics that you are describing on a general level. This type of sales process (that you describe) is precisely what gives our industry a bad name... I guess it is up to you to discern which companies that you have spoken to are most trustworthy, and have your best interest at heart. Certainly, some good companies get a bad-apple for a sales person now and then.
I do know that Paul (masterext) is a straight shooter right from the start, so that should be refreshing when you meet with him. :wink:

Delaware Mike
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#12 Post by Delaware Mike »

I agree completely with HomeSealed. Paul is the man to talk to up in North Jersey. First class all the way.

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Windows on Washington
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#13 Post by Windows on Washington »

Seems a bit disingenuous to me but that is ultimately for you to make a decision on.

The Imperial LS is functionally the same window as the Elements so keep that in mind.

cheese302
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#14 Post by cheese302 »

i preciate all of the replies. The expensive contractor also apparently foudn this thread on the site as well, he mentioned it on the phone with me. also mentiond something to the tune of them being the only ones certified to install elements windows.

i feel like the 1600 could be greatly used elsewhere in my home like redoing the shower that leaks into my basement. hmm. i am meeting with Paul on thursday. then decision time. i will update the board with whichever decision i make and with pictures of the job.

thanks

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HomeSealed
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Re: Morri County WIndow Reaplcement

#15 Post by HomeSealed »

Sounds like a great plan. :D
On the $1600, I would definitely not say that the difference in product alone is worth the premium, but certainly when installation and customer service come into play, a difference like that could be justified. Whether it is or is not in this case is a question that only you can answer... That said, it probably isn't worth too much thought until you have the Okna quote from masterext in hand so that you can weigh all options accordingly. :)

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