What You Should Know Before You Buy Replacement Windows from a San Diego Lowe’s Home Improvement Store

If you own a home in San Diego, you’ve probably been to a Lowe’s home improvement store at one time or another. Lowe’s and other “big box” home improvement stores like it, used to be places where DIYers went to buy the supplies they needed to complete projects on their own. But today, these stores offer all types of home services, from kitchen cabinet installation to garage door installation, and yes, replacement window installation.

Many San Diego homeowners start their search for replacement windows at places like Lowe’s simply because they are familiar with them. They’ve seen their attractive displays of windows, and may have been approached by a friendly window salesperson while shopping in their stores. It may seem easy and convenient to purchase replacement windows from a store like Lowe’s, but here are a few things to consider before you do, and why you may want to look into going with an independent replacement window dealer in San Diego instead.

Some Lowe’s Locations May Be Better than Others, But It’s Hard to Tell Which Ones

When you’re researching local businesses with only one or two locations, like San Diego replacement window companies, it’s relatively easy to determine what kind of service you can expect to receive. You can go to a company’s Facebook page and read the reviews they’ve received from past customers, or go to sites like Yelp or Home Advisor and see what people are saying about the company. With replacement window companies, you can usually read about the sales process, the installation, and the quality of the products sold by the company, and you pretty much know what you’re going to get if you hire that company.

When you’re dealing with a huge company like Lowe’s, however, it’s a little more difficult to anticipate what type of experience and outcome you’ll receive. You may get really lucky and deal with a highly informed salesperson and a top-notch installation crew. They could sell you great products that are perfectly tailored for your specific home. Or, you could get the complete opposite experience. And since it’s almost impossible to find reviews on the replacement window department in your specific Lowe’s store, you’re taking a pretty big leap of faith.

Even if you know of people who have personally purchased replacement windows from a specific San Diego Lowe’s location, you could still have a completely different experience depending on the salesperson you deal with and the installation crew that Lowe’s contracts with on your project.

Speaking of Lowe’s Window Installation Crews…

When you purchase replacement windows and doors from a San Diego Lowe’s store, the team installing them will not be made up of employees from Lowe’s. The window installers used by Lowe’s are companies or independent contractors that they contract with for installation services. They may or may not be experts at replacement window installation.

If you ever have any problems with your windows related to poor installation, you won’t be able to contact the installers directly—you’ll have to deal with Lowe’s. And if you’ve ever dealt with a large corporation on an issue with their products or services, you know it can be difficult.

In contrast, when you work with a local San Diego replacement window company like BM Windows, you are working with our own team from start to finish. Our installation crews are highly trained and are very knowledgeable about the products they are installing. They work to our company’s high standards, and if anything ever goes wrong down the road, you can call our San Diego office and we’ll take care of you in a timely manner. All of our installation work comes with a lifetime warranty.

But Aren’t Replacement Windows at Lowe’s Going to Be Cheaper?

This is a familiar assumption: buying from a large company is less expensive than purchasing from a local small business. This may be the case with other products, but not necessarily with replacement windows. As mentioned above, stores like Lowe’s contract out the installation of the windows they sell. This means they are essentially acting as a middle man. They don’t manufacture or install the windows—they just sell them. Whenever you have a middle man scenario, prices tend to go up, not down, because an additional party needs to get their cut.

If you do get low pricing from Lowe’s, it may be because they are selling you cheaply made products. There are several replacement window brands sold at Lowe’s that we would never recommend to our customers. They just don’t hold up over time and aren’t even worth the low price for which they are being sold.

At BM Windows, we do our best to keep prices down for our San Diego replacement window customers. We work with select window manufacturers that offer great value—quality replacement windows at affordable prices. We don’t do things like dramatically mark up the prices on our products and then run big “sales.” We prefer to just offer great prices year round. When our manufacturers run specials, we pass the savings on to our customers.

Contact BM Windows for Replacement Windows and Doors in San Diego

If you are thinking about replacing the windows in your San Diego home, we encourage you to get several quotes. Contact Lowe’s, or any other company selling replacement windows in San Diego, and then contact us at BM Windows. We will give you an honest quote and can even help you compare it with the quotes you receive from other companies. We hope to hear from you soon!