We just signed an agreement to have 11 windows replaced for about $7,000, and I am trying to figure out if we should cancel while we can.
The product is the Simington 6500 series, which I understand is very well rated.
Ten of the Windows measure 36 x 52 and 1 is 25 x 55.
Existing metal framed windows need to be removed from brick clad openings.
We would really appreciate some advice.
Thank you,
Bill Sammon
bsammon@optonline.net
Yes, you're being taken to the cleaners.
The windows themself would run about $200-$225 apiece or so IF you got every bell and whistle option to go with it ( LowE glass, colonial grid, full screens, etc )
The installation costs will run, I'll say $75/window ( probably less, but I haven't seen your old ones, so I'll guess a little higher than I'd do it for)
That puts whoever laid this deal on you at maybe $3300 in out of pocket costs.....throw in a couple hundred for overhead IF they have an office/run ads, and there is STILL $3500 worth of profit in there.....a tidy sum for a sales pitch.
Did the guy look a lot like Danny Devito, drive a flashy car and wear a lot of gold pinky rings ?
The blanket statement you are getting taken to the cleaners is IMHO inaccurate...prices vary from region to region, I bet a 2000sf house in TN doesn't cost $330,000 as it does where I live, material, labor etc are variable. Get several quotes, compare the windows and make a choice, that's what I did and I am getting Simonton 6500's for the about the same price as a no name brand from some local company, and cheaper than Pella's...
LOTS of variables go into a house....it's a MUCH bigger project...the cost of land alone can vary a lot, even here...you can pay $2,000 for an acre or $50,000 for a 1/2 acre in a ritz subdivision.
I'll bet I could go anywhere in the country and buy Simonton windows ( just the window outright) for VERY little difference in price. The only materials needed are aluminum trim coil, some caulk, and some fiberglass insulation. Are you going to tell me the cost of them is THAT much higher in different pars to fhe country.....I don't think so......
So that leaves labor to install......it's $50/window pretty standard here.....I bumped that 50% in the case above.....
Overhead for the company.........shouldn't run over 10-15% of the total job cost or you're dang inefficient I don't care where you live....
and of course, profit.....which in this case I still think is well over 100%......leaving plenty of room to negotiate.
Bottom line.....he is paying too much. I know how these tinmen work.....seen it done for many years......they shoot for the moon and then start backing off if you won't buy it.....Watched one guy call his manager and appear to be talking to him negotiating price...then came back to the customer with a lower price. When he left, customer hit redial on the phone and got the time and temp number of the local bank .........they've got more tricks than Carter has liver pills
okay, maybe I picked a bad example...I understand your point, but I brought in 4 different companies and all were around the same neighborhood around 500/window (+/- 40), most of them no argon, no low e...and not too close to your estimate...I went with the Simonton 6500 because the rep and the price and everything that this series came with...The price was not as high as 636/window, but much higher than your estimate of 350...I thought I did everthing right on this one, but if your estimates are right I paid about 50% too much.
It may have been the best you could get there.....one variable I didn't mention is competition....if you don't have much, or they all know what the other guy is selling for, they'll naturally keep the price higher. Here, there are 25 places you can get windows and a lot of little guys like me installing them to boot.
I've told people here before, but it bears mentioning again:
The BEST way to get replacement vinyl windows is go find an outlet that sells mainly siding and windows to contractors....a specialty supply place is far better than the run of the mill lumberyard if you can find one. Price the windows....you can get fairly close on size by just asking them meaure....close enough for pricing....
Then ask for their recommendation of a small contractor like me to do the install. Pay him to come measure and pay him for the install + plus whatever materials he uses......I charge $50/window IF you buy the window. I furnish the trim coil, caulk, and insulation in that 50.
You'll average about $200-225 window doing it this way. Even if labor is twice what it is here, you're STILL way ahead of what most window outfits stick ya for.
Tags: window, higher than, much higher, Simonton 6500, taken cleaners, trim coil, where live, your estimate
