BlsdMama Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 So we need new garage doors installed. Normally we were pretty handy, but I’m not so much these days and DH is still having back issues after surgery in the fall. So we’re opting to hire someone. We have a friend who is a contractor and he’s great but he subcontracts this out to the biggest name in the area. I called that fella and he’s willing to give me an accurate quote but I don’t want to waste his time if I go with someone else. Ballpark was $2700-$3000 to include two doors, openers, and installation. It was higher than than I expected. I’m really uncomfortable with two companies coming out here, wasting their time (we live out of city proper by 20-25 minutes) just to give business to one. It feels awful. What’s proper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute. That type of business knows they won’t get every job they quote. And you might really click better with one company over another. Or like their product, warranty, timeline better. I used to make wedding cakes and spent a lot of time with prospective brides. It was just part of the job and no hard feelings when someone chose to book with another baker. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, Annie G said: I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute. That type of business knows they won’t get every job they quote. And you might really click better with one company over another. Or like their product, warranty, timeline better. I used to make wedding cakes and spent a lot of time with prospective brides. It was just part of the job and no hard feelings when someone chose to book with another baker. Yep. This. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Definitely not a waste of time. That seems pretty high. We live in a pretty big metro area but when we did doors it cost only a few hundred dollars more than we could buy the materials for at Menards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 We just replaced ours. We only had one 17 foot door installed with new rails and seals and a new quiet opener. The total cost was around $2700 which is roughly what it would be for two smaller doors so that quote, for my area, doesn’t seem out of line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 don't feel bad about having multiple companies come out to bid. it's part of their business expenses. they know that up front. to get an accurate bid - you really need multiple people to know you're not paying well over what the "average" would be. and that you're getting someone who will do a good job. dd just replaced her roof. it was a hassle for her to be there for them to give her a bid - to the point she nearly just went with the first guy. they'd have done a good job/etc. - but she'd pay for it. we strongly encouraged her to talk with another, who would do all the same things (warranty/material/gutters/etc.) - for quite a bit less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 also - when they do a bid, find out EXACTLY what they'll be doing for the doors, size/etc. of opener. there are insulated doors, and not insulated doors. rubber gasket on the bottom and not. and different sizes of motors. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I will say that I DO NOT like the new quiet opener. That may sound strange but it's so quiet that I cannot hear my DH when he comes in! It's totally disconcerting. Also, the sensor on my model isn't especially robust compared to my last one so opening the thing with my car is more difficult than I'd like. Ours was only installed 2 weeks ago but I've already called the company (lifetime warranty) to discuss alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 It's totally normal to have a couple people out for a bid and contractors and subs expect you to do that. I would not hesitate to do that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Businesses expect people to get at least two or three quotes before deciding who to go with. Totally normal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 We had our garage door replaced a couple years ago. One company didn't even send someone out. Just asked about 15 questions & sent us a quote over email. Actually, I'm not sure either company came out in person. (We live in a rural area far from the big cities.) The installers were pretty miffed when they showed up because our setup was kinda weird. We chose not to replace the opener because we didn't want a wireless keypad. The installer tried to tell us that our keypad was already wireless & was flabbergasted when he was proven wrong. All that to say, call the companies & get several quotes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 It's completely proper to get quotes and then decide. It's so standard there's an acronym for it, RFQ (request for quote). If a company or salesperson thinks that it's not worth their while to do it for a chance at your business, they can politely decline your RFQ. My dh is in sales, and I promise you, he is very happy to fulfill RFQs! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 4 hours ago, Sneezyone said: I will say that I DO NOT like the new quiet opener. That may sound strange but it's so quiet that I cannot hear my DH when he comes in! It's totally disconcerting. Also, the sensor on my model isn't especially robust compared to my last one so opening the thing with my car is more difficult than I'd like. Ours was only installed 2 weeks ago but I've already called the company (lifetime warranty) to discuss alternatives. Ours has an app that sends a notification to our phones when the door opens or closes. I thought that was dumb until we started using it...now I love it!!! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, Annie G said: Ours has an app that sends a notification to our phones when the door opens or closes. I thought that was dumb until we started using it...now I love it!!! Maybe I need an upgrade and not a downgrade?! They'll be here tomorrow. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 I can't remember what we paid for our garage door several years ago. I just remember that we booked it, the man who came out (family business) died 4 days later. His sons did the install but it felt so strange to make a payment to a man who had just died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Annie G said: Ours has an app that sends a notification to our phones when the door opens or closes. I thought that was dumb until we started using it...now I love it!!! My husband gets an alert also if the door is open more than 5 minutes and he can lose it remotely. Super cool! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 1 hour ago, FuzzyCatz said: My husband gets an alert also if the door is open more than 5 minutes and he can lose it remotely. Super cool! I love being able to open and close it remotely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 So we called another place for a quote and they sent two guys out this morning. The guy led the meeting quite well and I ended up upgrading both my doors and my openers from what I thought I wants and it still ended up less. All told approximately $2550 including two doors, two openers, labor, and tax. They also have a warranty on work and materials of course and they pull off my old surround and put that on again so it will look nice. Thanks Hive! Ya’all saved me $$ and I got better stuff. That said... I still wonder if I would have said no if it was such a great presentation and costs were higher, lol. If I connect with a person, I have a hard time stepping back from that! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 We’ve often chosen to proceed with a vendor who did not come in with the lowest quote. I can’t bring myself to go with the lowest quote when I don’t get a good feeling talking to the person, or I don’t feel that they’re listening to what I want done. Glad you feel good about your choice! Last year we had our wood floors refinished before moving into a new to us house. We didn;t know anyone and went with online reviews. The guy who came out seemed too slick but the company was touted as THE one to use in the area. Dh was a thousand miles away and we talked and went with them even though I wasn’t sure. Disaster. They had to do the floors THREE times. They were rude, sent workers who didn;t speak English (which made it impossible to communicate so I knew what was going on), and turned what should have been a fun project into a headache. Learned my lesson!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 We had 4 different people come out to quote us for replacing our windows. We went with the middle priced company because we meshed well with the sales guy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 8 hours ago, Annie G said: We’ve often chosen to proceed with a vendor who did not come in with the lowest quote. Ditto. When we get multiple quotes for a job we're not just shopping for the lowest price. We had a new roof put on a few years ago, got three estimates and chose the highest one because we felt the best about the company and the roofing shingles they used. We recently had our septic tank drain field and lines redone and again--we didn't choose the lowest bid, but the company that came very highly recommended from someone we trust. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) What a timely post. We need a new garage door before we can sell our house because ours is out of compliance due to code changes. It has a crack in it anyway so it would have needed replacing even if we weren't selling. It's normal to have more than one quote for most jobs like that. We got two and both had to drive more than 20 miles to get here. We might have chosen to get one more but we're in a hurry so we picked one of the two we already got. That price is amazing. Our quotes for one two-car door (16 ft.) and hardware were 1700 and 1488. Those were for the most basic door without the opener (ours is fine). The cost includes door, hardware, permit, and hauling away the old door. We're required to have hurricane certified and large missile impact rated doors. The permit alone is over $200, which is robbery imo. Edited February 27, 2020 by Lady Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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