Sam Goh, Most dealers would be happy to sell to you even if they are hours away. But how much are you saving for that hassle? The local dealer is less likely to help you out with any problems if you left the area to make your purchase. That one small change you want to make after the fact might be $200 from your local dealer, but $800 if the other dealer has to make the drive to you. Same with Home Depot-do you think HD is going to help you at all if you need help later? If it's an appliance that will wear out in 5 yr anyway, that's one thing. When it's a part of your house that will be there for decades, I'd be glad to pay even a few thousand more from a reputable dealer that will be there for the minor problems. If you have ~60 windows, just keep in mind that it will be exponentially more expensive for you if you have to change them all out in 5-10 yr because they're junk... Just my $0.02, hope you can find a good solution that works well for you.

Dealing with a similar sutuation. New build with same windows. I was a little surprised when i noticed the exterior mitre joints, as mine are identical. One thing i know for sure is that “damage” you think is from the factory is 100% from the installer. Mine were installed with way more damage. Aside from the major damage, I did have those scuff/scratch type marks all over several of mine as well, the good news is - they literally wipe off with a decent amount of elbow grease. I was happy when I realized it wasnt permanent.

I did mix them all throughout the house (my window style is a cottage 4-over-1 grid with both interior and exterior grids), and after all my fretting, no one would ever be able to tell from the inside or outside! (I even have to look and try to remember whether some of the casements are 100s or 400s.) If it weren't for needing some very specific sizes (and wood grids to stain in our den), I would do all 100's because I cannot tell the difference in terms of operation/quality on the casements and you can barely discern the difference in terms of looks. And even in rooms where I chose the 400 series because I wanted to have double-hung windows, I wouldn't do it again....as appealing as the notion of being able to open the upper or lower sash was, what I've found in day-to-day living is that I only ever open the bottom sash, so I would've been just fine with simply doing single-hungs! Overall I'm satisfied with my Anderson windows, but I like my friend's Marvin Integrity windows better than mine--hers operate better and just have more of a "quality" look (mine still look fine.....I was actually going to do Integrity originally, but they did a price-hike during construction, and I just couldn't justify the extra $15-20K). I will say, however, that my Anderson 100 sliding windows that I did in the basement are ATROCIOUS in every way. Incredibly difficult to lock (you have to slam the window shut in order for the locking mechanism to "catch"--I far prefer the manual latches I had on my previous sliders), don't slide open very smoothly, let dirt in (we live in a very windy climate but still I've never seen so much fine dirt piled up on a window ceil!), super cheap--the lock plates have snapped or broken off over half of them in just the first year (and we almost never even use them). Needless to say, the inexpensive vinyl sliders we had in the basement of our last house were far superior.

I have been in the market for windows for the last year or so looking over my options and pretty much narrowed it down to the Marvin Integrity All-Ultrex and the Andersen 100series. I currently have aluminum clad wood casement windows which are original from 1986, and are replacing with casements. I have total of 12 windows (5 of which are mulled, and 7 singles) as well as a sliding patio door. All of our current windows have rotting wood, some sashes under the aluminum clad totally or partially gone, paint faded off the aluminum, gaskets between aluminum and glass are shot and a lot of hardware failure, mainly do to rotted wood. We live in Southwest Pennsylvania so we see cold winters, hot summers and your typical day/night temperature swings. We are looking for a casement window that's easy to clean, low maintenance, must have a white interior and a contemporary look. We have pretty much narrowed it down to the Andersen 100 series and the Marvin All-ultrex, both of these fit what we are looking for. We are trying to steer away from clad wood for those reasons stated from before and the fact we want a white interior and we don't like the look of the pure vinyl. I was pretty much sold on the Integrity All-Ultrex, however with the lack of a custom sized sliding patio door started to make me look else where, and I was not completely fond of the somewhat flimsy widow stops, but it could be over looked. So I happened to come across the Andersen 100 series Fibrex which look very similar and in some respects look better as well and looking at the architectural details look sturdy and well built, only questionable is the piece that holds the glass on the exterior side, where as it's a one piece on the Marvin. 100 series Ultrex Performance number are pretty close to the same for both as well. The glass package to my knowledge is the same Cardinal glass and in both cases looking at the Low E 272. In either case we would be finishing off the interior trim in a composite material as well. I guess I am just looking for some feedback on these two windows, if anyone has considered the two, also in terms of durability, performance, longevity, overall fit and finish and how happy you are with the windows. As well as what made you decide on the window. Lastly if any installers have feedback on these as I will be installing these myself with a nailing fin as I am replacing my siding at the same time. Thank you!