December 8, 2014

Choosing the Best Garage Door Dealer in Five Steps

Garage dealer

There’s a lot more to buying a new garage door then simply picking one and getting it installed. It’s a major expense, and you want to make sure that you do your homework.

You want to work with a garage door dealer that has its house in order, one that has a great reputation in the community. It should be a dealer that’s so committed to its quality that it backs it up with a warranty.

But how do you find such a dealer? Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Read Reviews and Visit the Dealer

First, get online and start doing some research. If the dealer has been around for any length of time, there should be reviews of its work online. Read what these reviews say. Do people seem satisfied? What criticisms do they have? Once you find one or a few that have good reviews, pay them a visit. Keep your eyes on the salespeople. Do they seem to know what they’re doing? Are they friendly?

Step 2: Determine the Dealer’s Experience Level

This may be obvious, but it’s true: If the dealer has been in business for a long time, then its level of experience should be commensurate with that. But, there’s more to experience than this.

For one, you want to figure out if the dealer is comfortable with offering garage door solutions that are appropriate to the environment in your area. Your garage doors have to stand up to the elements, and the dealer needs to have ones that can. When you’re looking into this, pay attention to whether or not the dealer is responsive to your needs and budget.

Lastly, you’re going to want to look into the dealer’s certification. The more experienced the dealer, the more certifications it should have – pure and simple. Check to see if they’re accredited by the International Door Association. Also look into any certifications that they have from the manufacturers that they deal in. If the dealer is one that sells GARAGA garage doors, then they should have Garaga Expert certification.

Step 3: Make Sure They Follow Codes and Regulations

If you get your new garage doors installed and the dealer hasn’t followed local building codes, then you could be stuck with significant fines. So, make sure that they understand the local building codes! Also, be sure to look into their safety certifications.

You might also want to see what certifications are needed, so you can have a sense yourself of how garage doors are supposed to be safely installed.

Step 4: Ensure that They’re Insured

Like any contracting business, the garage door dealer that you choose needs to insure itself and its employees. If it doesn’t, that could mean trouble for you. So, ask to see their Certificate of Insurance before deciding to work with them. If they won’t produce it for you, or even act weird about showing it to you, then take that as a clear sign that your money would be better spent somewhere else.

Step 5: Find Out if They’re Going to Stick Around

Imagine that you’ve purchased your new garage doors. Now, it’s a year later and you have an issue with them that’s covered by your warranty. You call the business that installed the doors and discover that they’re no longer around. That means you’re going to have to pay to have someone repair the doors, which is what your warranty was supposed to prevent in the first place.

So, when you’re settling in on a dealer, ask some questions about their business. How has it been going? Where do they see their business going in the future? When you combine these answers with everything else that you’ve already learned about the dealer, you should have an excellent idea of whether or not the business will be around for the long haul.

Step 6: Follow These Steps!

It’s important that you follow these steps when choosing a garage door dealer, as it will save you a lot of time and money. So, be sure to do what we’ve advised, and happy garage door hunting!

For all your garage door needs contact us now. We serve Boston and surrounding areas (Natick, Newton, Framingham, etc)

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