Generator Selection?

[grsthegreat]

Can't put my finger on it, but that generator site kind of gets the hairs on the back of my neck up. Don't believe I'd order from there.

I saw a 14 there with a 'New' icon, but no 15. Also it only shows a 5 year warranty. What happened to the 10 year?

there a very respected site. i have many customers that have ordered from them. Generac scrapped the 10 year promotional warranty when generators became hard to find. the 10 year thing is a sales promotion. when everyone and their brother wants a generator, who needs sales promotions. generators now only come with standard 5 year warranty (and thats limited years 1&2 parts,labor,travel time; years 3,4 &5 parts only, no labor). they have been offering 5 year extended warranty (parts,labor,travel for 5 years) if you sign up for Mobil Link monitoring plan. but they offer optional paid 5,7 and 10 year extended warranties.

i can tell you i know many people that have saved a small fortune on the 10 year plans. and some people never have any issues. whos to say. warranties do not cover things like batteries,oil changes, basic maint.

 

[Popgadget]

I’ll second that electricgeneratorsdirect is very respectable. I had a Hyper Engineering SureStart fail, they replaced it immediately with no questions.
I know of others with similar customer service experiences there.

GRS- agreed about switches & generators. It does seem that once you are out of the air cooled homeowner range that there is far more standardization and interchangeability.

I hear you about the charging circuit on the Generac. I didn’t have enough wires underground to the generator shed, (the new Generac is behind the shed now), so I had to use a 120v line and step up transformer for the sense circuit so I could provide a 120v charging circuit that would switch to standby power when the generator was running. It was a little bit of a head scratcher, but it sure beat pulling all the wires out of the conduit and repulling them with additional ones as it was too close to full to add one or two.t

 

[Diggin It]

Blue Box Store has them listed now:

14KW: $3,397.00
18KW: $3,997.00


Is there any advantage to changing my order from the 16 to the 14? or 18?

 

[grsthegreat]

Blue Box Store has them listed now:

14KW: $3,397.00
18KW: $3,997.00


Is there any advantage to changing my order from the 16 to the 14? or 18?

no idea what so ever. it would probably put you to the end of the list though. right now generac is showing almost 5-6 months to receive a generator. thats insane.

if i still installed generators i would be out of business.

last year if i placed an order i would have the generator on my doorstep in about 7 days.

 

[Diggin It]

Also, I found they're doing a 7 year full warranty, but there are hoops to jump through. You have to call their 800 number to schedule an onsite visit/estimate, then buy from a servicing dealer not a retail or ecommerce seller. I wouldn't mind that if they'd match the box store discount and did the same 24 month no interest payments plan, but I don't see that happening.

 

[grsthegreat]

Also, I found they're doing a 7 year full warranty, but there are hoops to jump through. You have to call their 800 number to schedule an onsite visit/estimate, then buy from a servicing dealer not a retail or ecommerce seller. I wouldn't mind that if they'd match the box store discount and did the same 24 month no interest payments plan, but I don't see that happening.

well, when i used to sell and install i would offer 18 months no interest (thru a participating bank and generac). My prices were my actual cost thru generac plus sales tax and shipping charge (just cause h depot says free shipping, dont believe it. generac charges a shipping fee and its just added to gen cost). my costs for gen were within $20 of home depot or lowes UNLESS those stores were offering military discounts. i could not match those prices so i told those customers to buy their own and have it sitting on the slab when i arrived, uncrated, sitting inplace. i dont make one dime in supplying the generator. i made my money with the install and the service contracts. you cant mark up the price of the equipment because online sales prices are too low to bother. i did make money thru Generac from promotions like buy 6 generators get 1 free, things like that in the good old days. now days the sale of gens is so high, there are no incentives offered.

i used to be able to offer 7 and 10 year free warranties offered thru generac IF owners contacted generac to set up appointments, but you never know what installers will show up. some guys want 3 times the cost of unit to install. i have no idea what programs are out there right now as i am no longer selling and installing generators (except for a few friends or past clients). i am now only servicing generac air cooled units.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

There's no free lunches...

Every time I hear about 0% I can always buy the same product, cheaper with cash!

SR

 

[grsthegreat]

There's no free lunches...

Every time I hear about 0% I can always buy the same product, cheaper with cash!

SR

well...sometimes

back in 2003 i got a chevy work van on 0% GMAC financing. i asked for a cash deal and worked up a price on new rig with free ladder rack and full interior work rack package. after deal was done, the salesman offered me the same deal, 60 months 0%. in 5 years the total was the same amount of money as it would have been if i paid cash. the only difference was i had to depreciate it over 5 years instead of the 1 year option. but using gm money for 5 years for free was a good deal. no wonder they went broke.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My brother bought a Kubota at 0%, he's kinda proud of that, as he got such a great deal.

I paid cash for mine, and it was $700.00 cheaper...

I bought a new 4WD PU last year, it had a window sticker of $38,000.00 and It was what I wanted. They tried to get me to finance it with some super duper 0%, but I penciled it out first, and then walked in, and got the REAL deal with $29,000.00 in my hand...

Seems there's always some one around with the product you want, with a deal, if you have cash in your hand...

SR

 

[grsthegreat]

im not saying cash isnt the way to go, i got my kioti on an amazing cash deal. cash is always king. its just sometimes there are deals to be made financing. that said i have zero financed things presently. everything including house and property is paid in full. dont want no financing deals.

 

[Industrial Toys]

They say never announce you are going to pay cash (like some kind of big spender) until after you get a price. Kind of like, not announcing you have a trade in. Too many ways for them to manipulate numbers.

 

[Diggin It]

The blue box store card runs promos from time to time. Any single purchase over X dollars gets so many months without incurring finance charges as long as you make payments every month and pay off the full balance before the end of the term. Doesn't matter if it's a lawn mower, refrig/freezer, generator or whatever. No extras or hitches.

My order for the 16KW qualifies for 24 months since it's over $2K

 

[grsthegreat]

They say never announce you are going to pay cash (like some kind of big spender) until after you get a price. Kind of like, not announcing you have a trade in. Too many ways for them to manipulate numbers.

thats the way i do it ... usually. sometimes they simply say, cash or credit same price and wont deal.

on the tractor we hagled out a good price then i offered up cash and he gave me an even better price. but on my 2017 Tundra they wouldnt dicker on price. the truck was a 1 off advertised vehicle and if i didnt want it they could sell it in 10 minutes to someone else. it was still a great deal, but i haggled until they threw in a free bug guard and side steps for wife...i had to get something for free. its the American way. this was the first time,for me, someone didnt want cash... said feds made it too hard on them to deal in cash. i didnt have a company check with me, but had a good chunk of cash. instead of taking cash, they sold it to me on credit..zero down, drive off lot, paid it off when i received first bill. i paid NO interest, but dealer paid all financing costs. they lost money by not taking my cash. i still cant see how this was beneficial to them. i would have went home and got a check, but it was 7 pm and i didnt feel like driving 45 min each way.

the wife and i had went to a movie and dinner and just dropped by to look at a used truck for her. i was interested in a 2015 low milage tundra and test drove it. it was a very clean truck. then the sales lady mentioned that they have a brand new 2017 that has just been offloaded. i told her i diodnt want a new rig, but we went and looked at it anyways. it was still all plastic wrapped inside and out. it was $1,200 more than used truck. it was brought in for an advertised special. i told her...lets go make a deal. didnt even test drive it (it was brand new...why bother). they threw in bug shield and steps...deal done. better warranty, 2 years of free oil changes and car washes, oh...and brand new for only a bit more $$. was a no brainer for me. it has turned out to be a great truck. amazing power, quiet, no issues at all. a pleasure to drive.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Dad would say, for the little difference why would you want a vehicle that someone else spilled their milk shake in?

I find when you buy new, you can have it for ten years but you still think of it as new.

 

[grsthegreat]

i have a friend thats working on his dads tractor. its a gas tractor that id having non start issues. when i asked him how old it was he said its a newer tractor. his dad bought it brand new. i went out to have a look....its a 1970's era Hydro 70 tractor.


NEW?


to him since they bought it new, its still new.

by the way...still not working.

 

[Popgadget]

Generac keeps sending me mail trying to get me to buy an extended warranty on my generator. I presently have a 5 year warranty, they want $1,000 to extend it to 10 years. I figure that if they are anxious to sell it to me, the odds are in my favor to not get it.
So my question is- Am I thinking correctly?

 

[Wakey]

Generac keeps sending me mail trying to get me to buy an extended warranty on my generator. I presently have a 5 year warranty, they want $1,000 to extend it to 10 years. I figure that if they are anxious to sell it to me, the odds are in my favor to not get it.
So my question is- Am I thinking correctly?

They just market aggressively, I got them also.

 

[grsthegreat]

Its automatic. I get them on my generator, and im a certified generac tech so i am not even eligible to get extended coverage. Its like any warranty, not needed till its needed.

The standard warranty is 5 years, but only the first 2 cover parts, labor and travel. The other 3 are parts only. Doesnt cover basic maint like oil change, valves and battery.

They have an extended 5,7,and 10 year that cover parts,labor and warranty. I have customers that have extended warranties and never used them. I have customers that dont, and get a bill for a new controller, travel time and labor. Its a crap shoot.

For a while generac was offering free 5 year and sometimes 10 year warranties if you schedule an appointment thru Generac. Those days are gone. They cant even keep up with demand. Why give free warranties.

I am not sure if the free 5 year extended warranty if you sign up for MobileLink monitoring is still going on or not.

On the positive side, the 22 KW i ordered for a friend last Sept arrived today. Im installing it monday.

 

[ponytug]

Congratulations on getting your generator! I hope it is a sign of better times coming.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Gem99ultra]

Are you sure? The Blue Box store charged my card as soon as we ordered even though shipment was 3 months out. It was a chest freezer not a generator so maybe different policy?

That's what I found to be true as well. "Shipment" means they entered the order which generates their shipping label. That's the point they call shipment in process, i.e. your credit card or debit card is charged.