Appliance Guy is kidding you, right?

What I would 'tell' Appliance Guy: "I can not accept delivery of the appliances at this point in time and because I don't want to inconvenience you, I've decided that Maytag appliances will work just fine and I can buy those right off the floor at Home Depot."

Seriously, it sounds to me like the appliance store may be having some cash flow problems so I'd be wary about how I made any deposits on the goods.

And, I wouldn't accept early delivery. First, there's the problem of having to give up living space to store them, esp with having kids, kids indoors because it's winter, being in a presumably cramped temporary abode already stuffed to the gills with stuff plus other new house stuff plus Christmas Tree & new toys stuff....

Second, there's the obvious problem of moving them--gathering, paying the manpower (48'' range) plus the added risk of damaging them with another move.

Then, there's the warranty thing if it starts when the appliances are delivered vs the date of install.

And probably a number of other issues that I haven't thought of but I betcha' you have!

I'd say find a different appliance guy. Does not sound very professional, from what I have experienced in 13yrs as a remodeling contractor.

I agree with Ci_lantro. Also, I want to emphasize that with most appliances, the clock starts ticking on the warranty the minute they are delivered. The high pressure from the salesperson to offload the appliances to you asap is worrisome. Which appliances are you talking about? I know I saw a thread somewhere which stated which appliance brands had upcoming increases and which don't.

Tell the salesman that the storage issue has caused him to lose the sale to you entirely. You can easily buy the expensive 48" range, DW, etc. elsewhere, or even over the internet. Let him tell THAT to his sales manager, manufacturer's rep, and store owner. Now THAT should be interesting....

I would check on the warranty thing. I have purchased a Wolf range and a Subzero fridge, to be installed by the same dealer; they are also storing the appliances for a few months. they specified that the warranty would not start until installation. Is that not something they are able to control?

We haven't even selected our GC yet ... bought the Wolf due to a killer deal, and the refrigerator to avoid the price increase, which was be 8 to 10%. So that was enough savings to encourage me to pull the trigger.

I guess the distributor was not going to honor the old price once they ran out of stock; ie, even if we ordered a refrigerator at the 2008 price, while the 2008 price was valid, if they ran out of stock before we paid for ours, we would have to pay the 2009 price. So we bought the 2008 refrigerator, and they ensured us that they would store it for a few months. We'll probably still have to put it in the garage for few weeks .. .I don't really know.

Anyway, we made sure that the warranty would not begin until installation ... so it can be done.

With so many companies going out of business these days, I'd be hesitant to pay ANYONE a deposit under those circumstances. Your situation is screaming with red flags, save yourself the grieve, and find another company to work with.

the warranty was the first thing i thought of. they would come back to move and install. the temporary house is 4700 sq. feet and we could use the guest room to store... dh also says he'd rather take possession of the appliances than risk having them go out of business with our money and the merchandise.

so, while i didn't think this was a great idea initially, now i'm thinking it's fine. we would not purchase/take possession unless they agreed in writing to extend the warranty and have it take effect at install.

how are all of you buying appliances without a deposit? there are yearly price increases (even in this economy) and without a deposit or order you'll end up paying that. with a whole house appliance order of over $35K we don't want to deal with any increases.

Yes, the price increases are coming, and unless you order now, you will pay more money. And for those who say that someone will give them the old price, you're wrong. They'd be voiding their agreement with the manufacturer's policies to do so and have them pull them from their store.

Other firms's policies are different, but our firm's policies are to only accept full payment up front to order appliances. No deposits. We will "hold" the delivery up to 90 days, and that's that. If the customer needs a longer delivery lead time, then they need to buy it at a later time that is within that 90 day window. To keep customers from waiting 80 days and then deciding to "return and repurchase" and hold it another 90 days, we charge a 15% restocking fee on all special ordered items. All items not store stocked are special order, and that's pretty much everything. Unfortunatley, these policies were developed because of the costs associated with storing merchandise and the extra hassle some customers created by trying to be "creative" and abusing our prior more lenient policies. Yes, it's poorer "customer service", but customer service costs a firm money, and no one is really willing to pay for that any more. They'd rather get quotes from a dozen retailers and play them off against each other until there's no margin left for profit to pay for customer service and no company left to give customer service either.

live wire oak: do you think the appliance store might extend our warranty if we took possession w/out install? thanks very much.

I'm not live wire oak but we recently bought a floor model sz so we had to take delivery when the new models came in. I asked to start the warranty at install and this store just extended the warranty one year on the sales receipt as a line item. Salesperson says he does it regularly IF a customer asks. Since I'll install before the year it worked for me. HTH

Warranties are between a customer and a manufacturer not a dealer. The exception would be if a dealer has their own extended warranty program which they sell or give away as a service. Note: those are not really warranties but insurance policies as the manufacturers don't administer them.

The dealer does have its own extended warranty (insurance) program and it has a good reputation. Of course, they have to be around to honor it. I'm willing to take the risk b/c I have only had appliances fail after MANY years, beyond the point where I would think of service.

I am surprised that the retailer will order the appliances for you without having been paid 100% of the purchase price. From my perspective this indicates good faith on the part of the seller.

In the current economic climate, my suggestion would be that you not leave anything that you have paid for - either partially or completely - in the custody of anyone. If the business were to become insolvent while your goods are sitting in their premises, you are going to have significant difficulty getting them out.

I guess I'm a wimp, but I thought it was nice he informed you of the price change and gave you the chance to buy at the current price, even if there was a compromise.

I have to chuckle a little, Kate...Our temporary housing was 900 sq ft for the 10 of us (and our finished house is only 2700), so I really think I could find room for appliances in 4700 sq ft somewhere in order to save the 8-10%. ;-)

"I am surprised that the retailer will order the appliances for you without having been paid 100% of the purchase price." I'd be surprised at anyone paying 100% without having the appliances in hand. We paid 50%, then the rest when they were ready to be delivered.

But like Sailormann and others have said, at this point, and with other sad stories posted here, it seems very prudent to take possession of anything you've paid for at all, just to make sure you get it.

I didn't think that the appliance guy was being nice; I thought he was trying to push a sale. If the warehouse is full, then he's not moving merchandise and is needing to ring the cash register.

So far as the coming price increases, it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out in reality. As a consumer, I'm sitting here and see that the metals market has tanked, that energy prices are less than half of what they were six months ago, the losses sustained in the stock market, the paltry yields on cash investments, decreasing property values and an increasing unemployment rate... And some appliance manufacturers are angling for price increases? While nearly every other sector is cutting prices? Great for them IF it works.

yes, the warranty is between buyer and manufacturer so it will begin at install. i spoke with the owner of the store today and they will order and deliver all miele products: washer, dryer and two dishwashers; turbo chef oven and capital range. all will be uncrated, unpacked and inspected. they will pack up again and everything will rest on pallets in our garage. there is also plenty of room in the basement (dry) but the garage has easier access.

he told me today he could make some room in the warehouse if need be, but he's expecting deliveries for customer's orders that are due in late february. i believe he is dealing in good faith. there were people placing orders the day i went in two months ago and my cabinet maker recommends him to his clients. he did also mention the bbq grill we ordered was sold to make room so they are upgrading ours to the '09 model at no add'l cost. he is also aware we will be adding a pool house after the shock of the build has worn off so he can see future sales down the road.

dh is satisfied and if he's ok with it all is right in the world. he's a hard a$$ attorney with absolutely no faith in anyone. ok, maybe he's not so hard a$$ed but his faith in people has definitely diminished. thanks for all the advice. it makes the process so much easier knowing there is someplace to go for unbiased comment.