Generally, I think it's better to shop for your appliances yourself and arrange delivery and installation with the appliance dealer after coordinating scheduling with your contractor. Especially if you know exactly what you want.

That way, if there's any problem with the appliances when the project is completed -- the appliance dealer can't blame the contractor for improper installation, and the contractor can't say it's a warranty issue with the manufacturer. You can simply deal directly with the appliance dealer to make things right. Besides, if your contractor buys them, he'll probably tack on some percentage of their cost to cover his profit and overhead.

Perhaps the only exceptions would be for the range hood and garbage disposals. Your contractor is better able to deal with installing HVAC systems and the plumber is better able to handle procurement and installation of a garbage disposal. You, however, should select and specify both appliances if you have preferences.

And the contractor will probably add his overhead to the prices. Or he will charge you for his time in buying the appliances. And will he really bother to shop for a good price in the first place?

Shop for yourself.

Depending on the brands you get, most GC's cannot get a discount that's any better than what you'll get retail. Most of the high end brands, for example like Wolf, Viking, and FP have prices that are set by the regional distributor. No sales (except scratch and dent) or discounts even for the retailer or GC. The best you can get is to shop around for better financing deals from the retailers...sometimes they will give you a 2 year no interest loan on high end appliances.

In fact, most GC's don't purchase appliances at all...they prefer you do that. If they do, they're apt to tack on their percentage for profit and transportation.

Arrange for the installation to be done by the appliance store, or you can hire an appliance installer yourself. Leave the GC out of the equation, and you'll save yourself a lot of potential headache down the road.

And when you shop for appliances, whether they be Maytag or Wolf, do shop around and don't be afraid to bargain. Get 3 or more stores bidding against each other, tell them what the other store is offering, see if you can get another 10% taken off.

Most stores (except maybe Sears) will offer to give you a discount if you can purchase all of your appliances from them as a package. If they don't, then ask for one.

Also, don't rush to buy all appliances from the same manufacturer. Take the time to research which brands you like better, or the ones that have the features and price you need. Most stainless steel and white/black finishes are identical on the different brands, so you can mix and match to get the best combination.

Thanks everyone for the advice so far, much appreciated. The consensus seems to be that I'd be better off buying the appliances myself and letting dealers handle installation.
Brad

Brad,

Let the GC handle pickup-delivery-install etc. You can pick them out if you like. Also, do not mis-match manufacturers. And, yes the GC will make money off of the appliances.

Now, if you are purchasing all the material, by-all-means handle the appliances as well.

I'm sorry, Brad, but I have to disagree iwth remodeler08...there is no reason to match all of your appliances from one company. No one makes all appliances of equal quality or value. Do your research, get the best of each (DW, range/stove, fridge, etc). For example, GE Monogram and Viking do not make all of their appliances, but rebrand. If you go high end, the Wolf ranges/rangetops outcook the Viking. You could get Monogram, but why not buy the original, DCS which is now owned by FP. Kenmore makes none of their appliances. Bosch DW's are now made in the US, but are suffering quality control. If you want the original German product, get the Siemens DW's from Best Buy. They used to make them for Bosch.

Take it from someone who renovated 3 houses, and fired 2 GC's on my last house and did it myself. Get the appliances yourself and have the store install them.

brunosonio -- I'm curious. I have a GE Monogram 42" side by side. It's six years old. Are you saying my appliance was made by DCS (stands for what?) and that Monogram is now owned by Fisher Paykel? Whatever! It's noisy, but built in and would be a pain to replace. Still functions well -- just noisy. I have the FP dishdrawers, which had to be replaced after a year where we had seven repair calls and no fixes.

I agree with having the appliance dealer's *approved* installers do the work. If the GC does it, the manufacturer can say the installer was not approved.

DCS has made some of the Monogram cooktops. Different appliances are subbed out to different manufacturers.

And if the installation is done properly, there should be no questions about the appliance being covered by warranty, regardless of who does it. Our local appliance store, for example, does not offer installation.

Chisue...DCS is Dynamic Cooking Systems, a high end manufacturer of stoves, cooktops, ovens, etc. Based in CA, they produce a great product, but have had a spotty record with customer service over the years. When I was shopping for the renovation about 3 years ago, I was steered away from it by the comments I was hearing in here and from the appliance stores. It was never a matter of the quality of the product, but rather the service and support that was lacking. I think they grew too large too quickly.

DCS did make some of the Monogram cooktops, and I heard last year that FP was in the process of buying out DCS. Just like for the longest time there were really only 2 American fridge manufacturers...Amana and Whirlpool and everyone else just rebranded those two.

Fairegold is right...the warranties should cover your units, no matter who installs them. I just think bypassing the GC on this matter is better in the long run, saves you a bit of money, and gets them in correctly. Most appliance stores, whether high end or low end do offer installation. They may not do it themselves, but contract it out to professional installers.

Or if you're GC'ing yourself, have the appropriate sub install each unit. For example, have your plumber do the DW, disposals, and any gas stoves/rangetops (they'll be doing the gas lines anyways). I had my carpenter prep the base cabinet unit for the rangetop, set it in place, then had the plumber follow up with the final install. The carpenter and electrician both installed the hood, and it took coordination between the two of them plus the roofing contractor (for the exhaust) to make sure the wiring and wall studs were placed in the correct position to accomodate the 42" Wolf hood (which took 3 guys to lift into position, it was that heavy).

Brad, this may be after the fact, but definitely DO IT YOURSELF! I would never rely on a contractor to make those decisions for me. It will leave a lot of room for regret later on.

We hired a kitchen cabinet contractor for custom cabinets. He subcontracted to plumbers, electricians. Huge mistake, and we learned from it. I'd hire all my own subcontractors, and never let them decide anything for you. They put flourescent undercabinet lighting in for us. I had them remove it within 24 hours because I don't want flourescent lights anywhere near or in my house!!