Tough to say where the window should fall in terms of pricing, but the windows in comparison would be the flagship of each manufacturer.

The E-Series is a beautiful window, but I just tend to think the Marvin is a bit prettier.

If this were me, I would be going with the Ultimates.

Thanks for the comments. Do you have any experience bidding these windows? I really thought the E-Series would be at least 20% less. These are basically exactly the same windows and options.

I agree. My experience has been that E series is less but you seemed to have isolated the difference. Maybe someone can explain why the e roundtop is so much more. Without seeing the quote, Marvin may be a direct set and the e series an in sash, that is the only thing I can figure?

Totally depends on who you get the bid from and the unit in question. We have had similar operators and type come in around the same number so the idea of a hard and fast rule with regards to the price delta is a fallacy in my opinion.

Thanks for the input. It seems most would recommend Marvin Ultimates over Andersen E-Series, assuming similar pricing. However, if I can get the E-Series for a bit less, is there a point at which it becomes a better value? 10% less than Ultimates, 20% less?

I would take a look at windows in person, I think the Marvin has a nicer look and would be worth a little more based on that. I also do not care for the interior wood glazing bead on E -series for appearance and it is prone to deteriorate over time if there is condensation though it is easily replaceable. 10 to 20 percent is a lot of money on $70000 job.

Is the contractor the same for both windows and all the install details the same? Something like this can play a big factor in deciding.

Yes, contractor will be installing, so installation costs are the same regardless. I agree, I like the Marvin window better. However, I also like the E-Series. One reason I liked the Marvin window was the 2605 paint finish, which we will be upgrading on the E-Series if we do that. The other nice thing on Marvin was the ability to access the outside of window for cleaning.

Lastly, a bonus with Marvin is that we can mix and match Integrity, and my understanding is that exterior finish is the same color as Marvin Ultimate. We have several windows in the master bath (including in the shower), so I may look at doing all-ultrex in there. Only option for this with Andersen would be the 100 series which I worry will look terrible next to an E-Series.

I may actually look at doing Ultimates on the front of home, and Integrity on the rear (south facing), mainly upstairs bedrooms.

That might push the cost low enough to justify it.

From looking at some Andersen picture it looks like the E series now uses an e terror glazing bead.

What does that mean Todd?

Uses an exterior glazing bead is what I meant.

I don't know what a glazing bead is. Is that good or bad?

Well the Andersen rep has made some adjustments to his quote and Andersen E-Series is now $58k vs $68k on Marvin Ultimates. These are exact same windows, finish, etc. I've detailed everything out very well.

I certainly like the savings, but is it close enough to see if the Marvin dealer can compete? The $68k was his initial bid only.

I don't want to do too much back and forth and piss people off. I like both windows, but slightly favor the exterior appearance and hardware options of Marvin.

Also -- one reason I liked the Marvin exterior more is the paint looked a bit more "glossy", rather than a dull metal look (we are doing black paint). I assumed maybe that was 2605 vs 2604 finish? My hope is that upgrading to 2605 on Andersen will achieve the same look. We included that in our bid on Andersen. I've just never seen a 2604 next to a 2605 finish so I wasn't sure if that what was making it look better or if Marvin just has a completely different process.

I would give the Marvin bidder 2 more try’s and the Andersen one more since they had one more shot at it already. This is a pretty big sale, don’t be afraid to hurt some dealings, it’s part of the game.

Jamesla30, I'm curious to know more about your decision and your bidding process. I am well and truly confused by the window situation. I was set to go with Andersen 400s then took a closer look and really did not like them. Dealer suggested the E series as about 10% more expensive, but much nicer - I agreed. Then I went to a Marvin and Andersen dealer who told me the Marvin Ultimate would be a better deal than the E series. May I ask what size windows you are getting and how many? Thanks in advance.

We have a lot of windows, and many large custom shaped ones. It is a very high end home. Our window budget is about $60-70k.

Andersen 400 are vinyl on outside and wood clad inside -- they should absolutely be the cheapest of the 3 options. The E-Series and Ultimates are wood windows clad with aluminum on the outside.

Most on here would argue that Marvin (Full-Line, Ultimate, whatever you want to call their top of the line window) are one of the best windows out there. It will probably be the most expensive. The Andersen E-Series is a nice window as well.

I was expecting the Andersen to be about 20% lower than the Marvin. When it only ended up being about 10% lower, we decided to pay extra and go with Marvin.

If you are getting the same price quotes for E-Series and Marvin, definitely go with Marvin. If you like the E-Series as well, I would say go for it, if you can get 10-20% lower than Marvin.

Another note -- Integrity is another window line made by Marvin. They are fiberglass (instead of vinyl). The ones with wood on inside are called are called wood-ultrex. You can also get them fiberglass on exterior and interior, called all-ultrex.

If you were looking at a budget closer to the Andersen 400, I would give the Integrity Wood-Ultrex a look. They are highly regarded as well. This may be the window your dealer thought was cheaper than E-Series anyways.

Go back to your Marvin dealer. I have previously detailed our new build saga. We priced out Marvin Ultimates, Integrity, E-series and 400 Series with 2 dealers. Marvin Ultimates originally came in at 60K we went through several rounds of bidding for all 4 and almost walked from the Ultimates due to cost. Then out of nowhere, Marvin dealer who really wanted our business dropped pricing on Ultimates 25% to 44K.

We are down about 15% from our original quote. I am confident we are at his lowest pricing. How did your final pricing for Marvin end up compared to the other windows? I assume they were still the highest price?

They were still the highest but not by much.

Same here. E-Series was next expensive by only about 9%.

I know this is an old post but I stumbled on it while making the same comparison. Any thoughts re: Marvin's Coastal Solutions in Ultimate vs Elevate product lines vs Andersen E-series (low e-smart sun impact resistant)? Many thanks

The Ultimates and E-series are the premium product from each brand and are pretty comparable. You should be able to get similar glass/glazing for each, so don't use that as a comparison. The Elevate (Integrity) is a great product too and a wonderful value. If that line is available in all the sizes and styles you need, then I might recommend it. Most people go to ultimate or e-series because they have sizes (or style preferences) that aren't available in the integrity line.

Jamesla30 - which did you end up choosing?

We actually ended up ordering Marvin "Contemporary" Casements. These were a slimmer profile that we just liked the look of more. I don't think they offer these anymore, but they would be similar to the new Marvin "Modern" line. We have generally been happy with them. We had them painted black (interior) and these offered the slimmest profile. The others would have ended up looking quite chunky on the inside when fully painted black. If you are painting black, I would pay up for the Marvin Modern, if you don't need that slim profile look on the inside, then the E-Series or Ultimate would be a great option and I don't think you can really go wrong with either.

We are replacing 11 double hung, 2 fixed, and 3 half circle windows in our townhome. Looking for long term quality, we bid out for both Andersen E-series and Marvin Ultimate (Signature). We received installed prices with frame of $31,509 for the Andersen E-series, and $46,464 for the Marvin Ultimate. The Andersen E-series was a savings of $14,955 or 32%! The Marvin's look a little bit better from the inside however going with the Andersen E-series made it easier to replace all our windows at one time. For 2 comparable windows, we were surprised at the wide difference in price. Our choice was the Andersen E-series.

Jamesla30- we are looking to install Marvin Ultimate Casement Windows in our remodel and just saw them on a new home build nearby… the vinyl drip cap caught our eye, which wasn’t shown in any of the showrooms. Have you had any issue with the drip cap yellowing over time or anything that changed the aesthetic exterior appearance? Thank you!

Don't quote me on this, but drip caps may be different sizes/styles depending on your installer. We have drip caps on ours and I hardly ever notice them. They are small, translucent, and I haven't noticed any yellowing. Our home is about 5 years old. I am fairly OCD about design details, and the drip cap is not something that has ever been a concern. Hope that helps.

Thank you Jamesla30! Appreciate the response, this is very helpful!