Marvin would be my choice. No question the better window and better service reputation.

Ahhh I love a good window discussion! No one but us "window geeks" can get this charged up over something that the rest of the world doesn't give a second thought to until they break, rot, or they want to build a new house. My background comes in Clad wood windows so I can say I was fed the Kool-Aid regarding wood products. I have been converted to see the benefits of vinyl and I must say there is good product out there very able to withstand whatever weather is thrown at it. Lzerarc's name is on his projects at the end of the day and he must ultimately be comfortable with what he is recommending to his customers. Skydawggy and I share the belief that the current vinyl products on the market are built both to perform and look good and we are comfortable recommending them to our clients as well. Will a vinyl window ever beat a wood window for the classic look, custom attributes, and warmth that wood provides? Not likely. Will they stand up to the elements, provide similar performance ratings, and energy efficiency? Sure. Ultimately the homeowner must decide the best fit for their needs based on the information professionals provide. Tank you for the discussion guys. Here is a link that might be useful: San Antonio Windows and Doors

What? I can't edit/improve my original post? Dude.... OK, well, here are those details I was going to add Installer is high-volume, been around a long time, reputable Pricing is for a vinyl retrofit. As usual, they never give the homeowner too many details, but what I gleaned from badgering them is that they want to see the existing steel frames, still waterproofed, etc, and nail to those, but, again, like usual they keep the customer in the dark about most of the details until you ask.* Again, there is some nuance to what I'm asking, and I fear that nuance is too much for the interwebs. I'm not asking "is this a good price" or "is this worth it". For those, as WoW pointed out, the details are important. I'm saying "what have other paid, is this a sane quote". If I'm in the middle of the spread, I'm happy. If everyone else is paying more for these windows, I'm really happy. If several people say they got these installed by "Chuck in a truck" for $700 a window, and I'm at ~$800, then I would probably accept this pricing. But if several people say they got these installed for $500-600, regardless of installer, I'm not happy and need to have a chat with my installer. Does this make sense? * (But I don't know what to ask! If I knew what to ask, I wouldn't need to ask!!!)

Saw a funny old circa 1960 promo video on TCM for Hollywood. Leads me to believe it is that area's man-made flora if you will that is most intriguing, at least to the novice, which I most decidedly am when it comes to the plantlife of SoCal. All the big crazy yuccas and whatnot, numerous succulent genera, the liberal use of groundcovers, the palms of course, the mostly non-indigenous conifers, all led to what was-in this video of some decades back-a most beautiful and interesting effect. It may be that just as the Great plains prairie (where it still exists) almost could be said to take practice to learn to appreciate, so too with the native scrub of the S. Cal. region. That can surely happen. But for instant gratification, this unintentionally humorous old bit of film was chock-full of horticultural eye candy.