My husband and I are getting new windows put in our house this spring. We have received two different quotes for the job, but both are pretty expensive as we have 29 windows in our house. So, my question is can a negotiate a different price with them like you do a car or do we just pay what they are asking no questions asked? If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Due to the price we are discussing only doing half the windows this spring and then the other half next spring. We did pick windows that qualify for the tax rebate thing, but will have to wait until next year when we file our taxes to get that money back.
Mother of two wonderful step children, with one on the way that has an awesome husband.
It is pretty hard to negotiate with window installers... What I would suggest is that you get just one more bid. My husband has been a window installer & remodeler for more than 15 years! He is licensed and certified. He has his Class A Contractor's License in Kansas. Please see his review under local businesses here on mamapedia.
Try him out! Kevin Moxley: ###-###-####
My father-in-law has a glass shop. You should give them a call, they might be less expensive. They are located in Excelsior Springs, MO, but they do glass work in several different states. Their phone number is ###-###-####. I'm sure that they would give you a great quote.
I dont know about negotiating, but for the tax rebate you have to have an itemized invoice, which clearly shows what the windows cost vs labor. For some reason, it seems like it is like pulling teeth to get this information from some window places. (I work for a CPA firm that does alot of tax returns and this has been a problem for a few of our clients). It seems like they dont want you to know how much they're charging for labor, but the rebate is only for the windows, not the labor so you have to insist. I hope that helps.
I don't know where you live but I live in wichita and I used Joe's Siding and Windows. We did the front of our house last year and will probably do the back side this year. He was great and was half the cost of the "big name" advertisers. I love the windows and they are the kind that can open and slide down from the inside so that you can wash the outside glass.
I would think with a bad economy they might be willing to negotiate. It sure cannot hurt to ask. We have been doing 2-3 windows at a time due to the cost. We were able to find the original window manufacturer, and it was so much cheaper then the brand names.
We replaced the windows in our rental and had to pull permits. I didn't think it was necessary, but had to do so. Check with your county/city building or development services.
As for price, I am sure it is possible to negotiate price.
I replaced 27 windows and added 2 windows about 14 months ago. We shopped about a dozen different options. I work for a custom home builder so my first instinct was to believe I would get a decent discount from our supplier and from one of our laborers. That wasn't the case. A friend of a friend of my boss came in and gave us a quote that was lower than any we had received and he still negotiated a little. We paid $6,500 for all 29 windows (7 were normal size) and we paid $3,500 for the labor to install all of them, including the work to cut the holes for the 2 new ones. Our contractor also obtained a business license for the city and worked with the inspector because we have 16 windows that are within 12" of the floor and require tempered glass. Make sure you purchase windows with a manufacturer's warranty and replacement. We have had 2 windows crack (we have big dogs and rambunctious boys) and the company sends a replacement within a couple days - even on the odd sized windows. The price above that I paid included full screens and double hung. I like to open the top window down since they are so close to the floor - I don't want toys, dogs or especially kids going through the screens to fall out of the window.
We put in new windows last spring and did negotiate the price and saved $500 tell them you are going to keep shopping they will come down.
It is worth a try anyway
My husband has his own window company and he definitely would negotiate. Of course, he is not overly happy to do it as he does higher quality work with his experience that other places in some cases. But he would much rather do that than not get the job or get 1/2 the job. Depending on the company you may be able to offer cash to get a discount. Even if not, definitely this is an area where you can do some negotiations.
You usually can negotiate, especially (as another mama said) you pay cash and not finance through the company. Also, you might try a few more companies to get bids - we had two different companies come out and give estimates (after their talks about how wonderful their windows are compared to everyone else's), and we ended up going with a smaller "no-big-name" company and using Pella windows. Bigger companies may have super-great windows but they have matching prices as well (one gave us an estimate for $800 a window)!
After talking with one of my husband's friends, we found a local "handyman" who installed the last few of our windows for us (we could only afford to do a few at a time) and he only charged us $50/window (after we purchased them ourselves from Home Depot). The windows at Home Depot run between $150 and $300 per window depending on the size, so you can use that to compare with estimates you're receiving.
We also always receive fliers in the mail about $189 windows with installation - I'm not sure what type of windows they are and I'd bet that doesn't include things like removal of the old windows, etc, but you could use that as a starting point to barter with other companies.
