Quote Number Six Won't Save You Money — It'll Cost You the Fitter You Wanted

There's a moment in every window project when shopping around stops being diligence and turns into something closer to a hobby. For most people it lands around quote four. By then you've got a folder of PDFs, three different glass specs and a nagging feeling that the cheapest one is cheap for a reason. So you ask for one more. Then one more.

That instinct isn't stupid. Windows are a four-figure purchase at the low end and a five-figure one on a bay-fronted Victorian semi. The sales tactics have a reputation, and every consumer article since the dawn of the internet says 'get three quotes'. Fine. But nobody tells you what happens after three — when the quotes start repeating themselves, the specs start drifting, and the whole exercise quietly turns into a way of not deciding.

When a quote stops telling you anything new

The first quote sets the ballpark. The second tells you whether the first was taking liberties. The third shows you what normal looks like in your area, for your house type, with your spec. After that, the information return falls off a cliff.

Quote four rarely reveals a hidden bargain. More often it confirms what the other three said, in a slightly different font. If it's dramatically cheaper, that's usually a spec difference rather than a miracle — a thinner frame, a lesser glass unit, no scaffolding, making good excluded. If it's dramatically dearer, it's often the same job with a bigger marketing budget.

The trap is that each new quote feels like progress. It isn't. It's motion.

Moving goalposts, and why your quotes stopped being comparable

Here's a pattern that plays out constantly. Quote one includes a 28mm double-glazed unit with a warm-edge spacer. By quote three, you've been upsold to triple glazing in the front room. By quote five, you've changed the door, added a window to the extension and asked for a different colour. Now you're comparing five prices for five different jobs and wondering why the numbers don't line up.

That's not shopping around. That's building a new specification every fortnight and asking the market to price it.

Before you collect another quote, freeze the spec. Write down the frame material, the glass, the hardware, the ventilation, the making good and the warranty terms. Then price that — the same thing — three times. If you want to test an upgrade, price it as an upgrade against the frozen spec, not as a whole new quote.

The good fitter who got booked up while you dithered

This is the bit nobody warns you about, and it's the one that actually costs money.

Good installers — the ones with a two-month diary, a proper FENSA registration and a foreman who turns up when he says he will — don't wait around. If you spend six weeks collecting quotes, the fitter you liked in week one has filled your slot. What's left is whoever has gaps in their calendar, which is not the same as whoever is best.

There's a quieter cost, too. The longer a project drags, the more likely the price moves — glass and profile prices do change, and quotes carry validity periods for a reason. A quote from March isn't a quote in September.

A rule that actually works

Three quotes. That's the useful number for most UK window jobs. One national or large regional firm, one established local installer, one wildcard — a specialist, a recommended trader, someone your neighbour used.

Then add a fourth only if a specific trigger fires:

• One quote is an outlier by more than roughly 20% in either direction.
• A quote is missing something material — ventilation, making good, certification.
• You've changed the spec in a way that genuinely needs re-pricing.
• You can't get a straight answer on warranty or deposit protection from any of the three.

'It felt a bit rushed' is not a trigger. 'I want to see if someone will do it for less' isn't one either — that's how you end up with the cheapest quote and the worst week of your year.

Compare the lines, not the bottom number

The total is the least informative part of a quote. Put your three side by side and compare:

• Frame profile and material — and whether it's a known system with a published U-value.
• Glass — U-value, g-value, spacer type, and whether argon or krypton is actually specified or just implied.
• Hardware and locking — espagnolette locking, hinge brand, and whether it meets PAS 24 if security matters to you.
• Trickle vents — specified, correctly sized, and included in the price? Part F has opinions.
• Cills, sill extensions and reveals — in the price, or an extra?
• Scaffolding and access — who's paying, and for how long?
• Making good — plaster, paint, sealant. Those three words mean wildly different things to different firms.
• Waste removal — skip included or a surprise?
• Certification — FENSA or Certass notification in the price?
• Guarantee — how long, what's covered, and is it insurance-backed?
• Lead time and deposit — and is your deposit protected?

A quote that's £800 cheaper because it excludes scaffolding and making good isn't cheaper. It's a different job wearing a similar hat.

The honest answer

Shopping around is a good habit that turns bad when it becomes a substitute for a decision. Three properly comparable quotes, a frozen spec and a short deadline will get you a better window than seven vague ones ever will — and you'll still have the fitter you wanted when the scaffold goes up.