I think the concept of hiring a " local guy" is midguided and flawed. If someone is shady, incompetent, or unreliable, it doesnt matter how close he is to you. In my experience, its the so called local guy recommended by a friend that is usually the source of angst in our industry.

same with a good company; whether they are 15 minutes away or an hour away, they will do the same consistently good work. If a problem does arise, they almost always address it and believe me, location has nothing to do with it.

Focus on the quaity of both the product and company, not the location.

whenever someone says they want to help the community by using a local business the first thing i always ask is why do they have so many boxes from Amazon piled up in a corner. The response is always the same - complete silence.

Ok. I looked at the dealer's website and found 2 Soft-lite dealers within 80 miles. Neither of them have any reviews on Angie's list or the BBB. I'll call them tomorrow and see if they serve my area. One of them has only been in business since 2014. I'm happy to have them quote (if they'll travel), but I'm quite leery of companies that I can't verify in any way other than the references they provide.

I've found a Soft-Lite dealer who services this area and he's coming out to quote the week after Christmas. Hopefully he'll be competitive. We also had the Simonton dealers requote with all sliders in the 9800 line so we can compare apples to apples.

In the meantime, I'm researching the doors that the different installers are quoting. Simonton #2 is quoting me a Neuma door. Based on reviews on this forum and others, I've asked him for other options.

Why aren't you looking at PGT windows or CWS windows which seem to be the standard for vinyl windows here in FL?

Marvin windows are good and they stand behind their products.

4thumbs while I will certainly agree that Marvin is a good product everything posted by the op leads me to believe they are looking at vinyl windows, which Marvin does not offer.............................

They used to but it was a few years back when we were looking. Still favor a heavier window over vinyl. But we live in a colder climate where the difference would be more of a factor.

When did they offer vinyl? I don't seem to recall that.

Again with the weight, lol. I have some steel framed units that will be right up your alley.

I don't recall Marvin offering vinyl either. Definitely not a few years back.

Not sure if weight would make a difference in a colder climate. That is where U value and air leakage ratings would be valuable tools, as would design pressure with regard to the strength of the assembled unit. Marvin does make a nice product, but it is typical chosen for other reasons besides energy efficiency. A quality vinyl window makes a pretty compelling case in that regard... Never heard of a vinyl Marvin.

I checked back and discovered our fiberglass Marvins were installed in 2005! My guess is that the showroom was carrying several brands of windows, as a search on the web indicates Marvin never made vinyls.

About the only advice I could give is forget wood or anything you might have to paint. I've had my share of glazing and painting windows and it's the pits.

Time flies and I must say, however, the Marvins have held up beautifully.

We ended up getting a quote for the PGT 5400 Energy Vue line as well. It really comes down to the Simonton 9800 w/ laminated glass and the PGT. Slight nod to the PGT for the installation. The price difference is 6.84% more for the Simonton. Simonton's warranty is better by far, mainly because the installer matches the manufacturer for the labor warranty. Thus, if we go with the Simontons, we have a 25+ year parts AND labor warranty. PGT is only 1 year labor but a good parts warranty. Simonton also comes with a lifetime glass breakage (due to the laminated glass). Simonton offers dual sliders (I think that's the term, where you can open the slider either way) while PGT's only open one way (the equivalent of single hung). Thus PGT's air infiltration numbers are substantially lower (.02 vs. .13). SHGC are virtually the same at .21 and .22.

The SoftLite's came in significantly more expensive (50%). We really liked the Alside installer, but aren't sure of the product, so we eliminated them.

When I was considering replacement windows years ago I researched, and the more I researched the more complicated it became.

Finally I read a story about how Marvin replaced faulty windows years ago even though the problem was not theirs, but due to a faulty glue used by another manufacturer.

Their willingness to stand behind their product even though the problem wasn't theirs was the one deciding factor in choosing this company.

So, regardless of which window you choose, I would place great emphasis on a company's record of standing behind their product.

I don't live in Florida but here is why I bought Simonton windows. I went to a contractor forum and they had good things to say about Simonton standing behind their windows if there was a problem. The Simonton energy efficiency numbers were good for the region of the country where I live and Simonton didn't have problems with BBB complaints in my region. They also had the best warranty of the windows for my area and the warranty is transferrable if the house is sold.

I would place great emphasis on the opinions of your contractors. It sounds like you've made a wise choice.