Forget Consumer Reports, they are not a good judge of windows period. Search Pella on this site and you will find very unflattering things about them in general and I would steer clear of anything with their name on it. Renewal by Andersen is very overrated and they use high pressure sales tactics which many including myself cannot stand.Although I believe fiberglass windows are good and durable depending on the brand. Yes a quality vinyl window will definitely last 15 years without any issues as long as they are a quality window and if not more importantly the installation is proper and correct!!!

15 years is where the bidding starts for good vinyl. I have no doubt that very good vinyl windows will last every bit of 25-30 years.

Fiberglass is also a very good option.

thank you very much for your replies.

Does anyone have experience with harvey vinyl?

Also, any opinions on sliding (also called rolling or gliding) windows? We are considering replacing the casements with the sliding windows due to the lower price. We rarely open the windows, so don't really care what the opening mechanism is, although the sliding windows I looked at opened so much easier than the casement. The sliding windows do meet the requirment for the tax credit, although i have read that the sliding windows are less energy efficient than the casements.

Sliders have higher air infiltration rates than casements. In fact, casements have the lowest air infiltration ratings of any operable window.