I love to tell stories like the one I am about to tell.
First a little backstory. We had a heating element go out on our six burner dual range oven over a year ago. This was covered under the home warranty provided by the seller when we purchased our home. The heating element part was backordered so far out that the warranty company had no choice but to replace our range instead. Unfortunately warranty companies don't pay the full cost to replace the actual item. We had a range that would at minimum cost $2700 to replace. The equivalent brand was closer to $5,000! The offer from the warranty company initially was $250. After providing the make and model of the unit covered their best offer was $669...and not in cash but on a Lowe's gift card. These were not fun conversations to have when we were without an oven for over a month! We had no choice to accept the only offer they would give. $669 on a Lowe's gift card.
We did find a gently used heating element on eBay for about $90 and installed it ourselves a week later. Ironically, this summer the backordered heating element finally arrived on our doorstep. We now have a back up part!
Now the best part.
We have a ten, maybe close to 12, year old Bosch dishwasher in this home that still runs very well. Unfortunately, the racks that hold the dishes are starting to rust. Tines that hold dishes in place are falling off and very rarely the dishes seem to have a residue.
This appliance has been on our radar to replace. I have been watching prices and had an awareness that November at Lowe's is a really great time for appliance sales. Last week, I went looking around and noticed that Lowe's is offering a rebate on installation (my husband refused to install himself, and I guess I do too!) worth $169. Bosch is offering up to $100 rebate on select appliances. The model I was interested in was now $749, marked down from $989.
We headed to Lowe's to make the purchase.
In the store, the next model 'up' was on sale for $799. Online this same model shows on sale at $989, with a retail price of $1,099. The differences between the two models was minimal. The outside look was different. The upper rack for silverware had more movement. A handle inside had a metal plate. There was an extra rack that folded down. And it's sound level was better; lower decibels.
I decided to go with the next model up.
We paid for installation. We paid for haul away. We applied for a Lowe's credit card which offered 20% off first purchase. We were approved. This saved us $80.
After our $669 Lowe's gift card from the warranty company we paid out of pocket $327.58!
There is a Lowe's installation rebate of $169.
There is a $50 Visa gift card rebate from Bosch for this model.
After rebates we will pay $108.58.
I noticed that we weren't charged sales tax on this purchase either! Very odd.
The price, if we had paid retail for this dishwasher with no gift card from the warranty company, rebates, sales and included installation (and sales tax), would have been $1,416.85!!
Now I know that's not a story many of us can tell everyday. But it sure is a fun one! A bad oven experience turned into a brand new high end dishwasher.
