Renewal by Andersen Dallas "Free Financing" "40% off" "No Interest, No Payments" and other deceptive trade practices

How Much to Renewal by Andersen Windows Cost in Dallas?

If you've gotten a quote from Renewal by Andersen you may have gotten some serious sticker shock with it. Renewal by Andersen windows in 2024 cost $39 per united inch. (That's the height plus the width) for a normal up and down window.

Four grand a window. This picture shows a quote that Renewal did in late 2024 for a customer in Flower Mound and the contrasting quote I gave them for a very similar window. They dropped to $187,000 with "discounts" the day of the sales presentation. That $3700 window isn't even all that big.

The performance numbers are virtually identical on these two windows. The warranty is lifetime on both.

The biggest difference is that you found us on Google and they spend literally hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on advertising, overhead, profit margins, sales commisions and other things that just bring no quality of life to you or your home.

All that junk mail, the TV ads, the radio ads, and the full page newspaper ads are what have convinced you that they are "the best", but in reality, they just aren't that much better than a mid range window. Renewal spends more than $200 a year marketing to MY HOUSE!

Note that they don't even put the performance stats on their quote. THey have a DP rating but no Solar Heat Gain or U Value ratings.

The Fibrex window is essentially fiberglass and wood chips. It is similar to fiberglass but there is a reason that 95% of windows sold are vinyl. It's due to value. There are no windows that are worth $300 per square foot.

I have installed fiberglass windows hundreds of times. They are more ridgid than vinyl however, Fibrex is certainly not "twice as good" as vinyl. It's brittle and responds very poorly to movement of the home which is typical in Dallas and Fort Worth homes..

Renewal by Andersen Incentives, Discounts and Financing

How does a company offer 40% off on a window? The answer is by charging too much from the start. The same applies to two for one offers.

You can only do two for the price of one if you charge twice as much as you need to do the job. Clearly. These gimmicks are all part of an overpriced approach to window and door replacement

Many years ago the phrase "Same as Cash" was thrown around a lot in the replacement window industry. It has fallen out of use mostly because too many people became aware that it was a lie. Now a new phrase has come into use in home improvements.

Now the phrase is "NO INTEREST". It may be 12 months or 24 months. Perhaps even 60 months. How do they do that? Well the truth is that no window company really finances windows. They have banks do it. They get the signature on the contract and the bank that approved you gives them half of the money. They get the other half of the money when you sign the Completion Certificate which states that the job is finished.

Banks do not offer "free financing" nor do they offer zero percent financing. The bank always makes their money. The truth is, instead of interest, it's a fee. Usually a hidden fee that is paid for up front by the window dealer out of an overpriced product sale.

If I charge you $1000 too much for a window, I have the money to pay the bank $300 of it to carry your note for five years. That's just reality. Anytime you see these incentives, buyer beware. You are paying for it one way or another.

Zero Percent Interest, No interest, no payments, Same as cash, two for one, Half off sales and the like are all dishonest representations of the truth. You are paying for these things in the final price tag.

The Right Way to Finance Windows

Windows are expensive. There is no doubt there. Thirty windows end up costing as much as a car. Flexibility in paying for it is a great thing. Here's the right way to do it.

Your credit card company will often offer a true, no interest loan. Their motivation is that, if you don't pay it off in the 12 months alloted, they can then start charging you interest. They are certainly banking on you making minimum payments for 12 or 24 months and then having a large balance that they then can hit you for interest on it.

That's their bet. You can prove them wrong by actually paying for the product over the agreed time frame. Also with this approach, there is no lein on the property. Window company financing always includes a lien on the property which prevents you from selling the property without paying off the lein either first or at the time of closing.

Calling your credit card company to ask what incentives they have for a large purchase can also sometimes get a very favorable interest rate. If you pay the bank 8% but windows are going up 12% per year, this is actually the cheaper of the two alternatives.

A HELOC loan. This is a Home Equity Line of Credit. This is when they see that you have, let's say $200,000 in home equity in the house and they offer you $50,000 for home improvements. This is self directed and can be applied to windows, doors, painting and other items that your home may need to be well cared for, comforatable and to preserve or enhance the value of the home.

Calling the credit card company to inquire about incentives is a great first step to have very little paperwork and no lein. HELOCs are a great second choice to get a large amount to cover many needs at once. Know the right way to finance windows and you won't be victim to gimmicks or overpriced solutions to a leaky home that needs windows.

Renewal by Andersen Reviews

The reviews aren't that kind to Renewal. Because they are national, the reviews are from all corners of the country and often the reviews for the company as a whole aren't reflected locally. If you look deeply and as a whole, you find that they have lots of very unhappy customers with quality of workmanship, product and of course, the cost.

BBB in Dallas isn't too bad but the Yelp reviews are excoriating. The reviews on Angie's List seem to have "fallen off".

I recently had a lady call from Austin and her eight windows ran $28,000. She was unhappy that they were noisier than her old windows. As it turns out, they sold her large picture windows to keep down cost and the lack of structure, coupled with 1/8" glass, made her percieve that there was an increase in outside noise. They didn't present any noise blocking solutions as those drive up costs and when you start out very expensive, real usable upgrades aren't really on the menu.

Did you ever think about companies that pay the BBB for accreditation? That's a percentage of the gross sales every year. It grants companies a lot of latitude on complaints. In fact, you can have a good rating no matter how many complaints you receive if you simply respond and do what you can to passify an unhappy customer.

So how do they sell windows for three and four thousand dollars each? The window and door industry has long had an approach called the ten steps to a sale. They began with Dale Carnagie way back in the 70's.

Whenever you hear a company insist on having "both decision makers at home for the demonstration", this is probably where you're heading. The Mr. and the Mrs. at home make the "decide today for a big discount" thing happen. They can't do that if a homeowner can say "I'll have to talk to my husband or wife". It's the big why. These sales calls are often three or four hours long and end with a hard (high pressure) close. The goal is to make you a customer or make you mad. Either one closes the file.

There are pretty good reasons for all ten steps but they are a little manipulative and certainly rooted in human pschology.

Just so you know them... And I don't do this... here they are:

Entry - 10 minutes. Warm up 20 minutes Company presentation 30 minutes. Customer needs 20 minutes. Pre close- 15 minutes. Measure project - 20 minutes. Custom solutions - 30 minutes. Pricing the project - 20 minutes. Closing the deal - 20 minutes. Warm Down - 15 minutes. Total time in the home.... three hours and 20 minutes.

Sounds great, right? They change it up a bit but you can see the steps if you know about them. This made millions for Sears, Pacesetter, American Remodelers and many others over the last 50 years.

The Window Connection Difference

We don't lie to you about cost. We don't offer you free money that isn't there. We don't pretend that borrowed money is free. We sell great windows and great installations. Both for our reputation's sake and for you and your home's best interest. No games. No tricks.

We give you a price for windows and installation without crazy mark ups and discounts. Without deceptive claims about how long you can have free money. We don't require both decision makers are home so we can pull a high pressure close on you after a four hour presentation. We just deliver and install quality, high performing windows and installations to homes. I call it "good stewardship".

We are pretty excited to have the highest customer satisfaction ratings on Google Reviews in North Texas of any Replacement Window Contractor. We are different. Not too cheap, not too expensive. The right guys in the middle.

We are A + Rated on the Dallas BBB - without paying them for "accreditation".

We are the proud three time winner of the NT Window Energy Master Dealer of the Year.Award

Dozens of awards and fourty years of commitment to customer service and quality workmanship. We are the better choice. Call us today!