Dealer troubles

Dealer service should be your #1 concern IMHO.

Only the selling dealer will service your stove under warranty... if you save a few $$$ but can't get the dealer to come out to your home you are screwed. The pellet season is still in full swing... don't expect much in the way of any kind of deal until spring. My local dealer is discounting $4000.00 stoves by $600.00.... not the kind of savings American consumers have become used to.

I was on the Harman website recently and saw something on there about a sale going on but I didn't pay too much attention as I was not buying. As for service, I will vouch for Rocky's Stove Shoppe in Augusta where I bought my stove. I'm on my 4th igniter under warranty and they've always been here the next business day when I call.

I have had nothing but good luck with them, but I'm not a very good gauge. I've been very good friends with Rocky's wife's cousin for 40 years and I've known Rocky casually for much of that time, but that doesn't mean he's going to treat me any different than anyone else. Ask a lot of questions when you go back. You can always bounce his comments off of people on here and get there input as well.

The only issue I've had is the igniter, but they're better now and I only run my stove in stove temp mode these days so the fire never goes out. If you buy a P61, don't get sucked into buying large amounts of super premium pellets at high $$$ amounts. You can burn mid grade pellets for a lot less money and you won't notice the difference. If you read Harmans sale's lit, it says right in it they're designed to be able to run lower grade pellets. You might use a little more pellets, but for $219/ton versus $275-300/ton you have a lot more pellets to burn! Rocky sells pretty much super premium pellets. It wouldn't hurt to start off burning some of them to get a feel for your stove and then start trying others.

Rockys is a top shelve place. My nephew works there. ( after I got my stove setup) He only has good things to say. I rarely shop there because they are a premium place with premium prices. But they don't charge to answer questions and they do that competently. That shop has been around for a long time. The owner worked hard to build a very solid business.
But there are other options. There is an enviro dealer nearby. Also a good company, but not as well established.

subsailor said:

I was on the Harman website recently and saw something on there about a sale going on but I didn't pay too much attention as I was not buying. As for service, I will vouch for Rocky's Stove Shoppe in Augusta where I bought my stove. I'm on my 4th igniter under warranty and they've always been here the next business day when I call.

Click to expand...

There is a $300 coupon on the Harman website good for use on a new stove purchase. The promotion runs through March 2nd.

http://www.harmanstoves.com/en/Resources/Current-Offers.aspx

I will vouch for Rocky. Bought a Firefox there in the late 90's, been getting parts ( and a new P43), there since!

I price-shopped pretty heavily last October, and found pretty big differences. Was in the market for 2 units, and the gap between cheapest and most expensive was almost $1,000. Most shops leaned to more expensive. One local "premium" dealer I shall not name wouldn't negotiate at all - when I asked for a multi-stove discount I got a very loud snicker over the phone (boy do I hate that) and was told the stoves were already discounted. Guess they don't need my business

Ended up with McVety's (Yarmouth store, but they're in Augusta too) because I a] got the best per-unit price, b] good multi-stove discount, c] got free delivery, and d] the folks spent quite a bit of time with me designing the venting setups even though I was doing a DIY install. YMMV on discounts and delivery, of course, but they seemed a lot more interested in working out a good deal. Service has also been great. Not sure if their brand selection fits you, but I can say nothing but good things about them.

krooser said:

Dealer service should be your #1 concern IMHO.

Only the selling dealer will service your stove under warranty...

Click to expand...

sad and true and against federal law.

I live in Augusta, ME and Rocky's has been good to us. We purchased our stove there, and felt they were fair on price and with the Harman we paid more for the Harman name...

Killie said:

Trouble is the dealers around here are so far apart or do not sell the same stoves so they do not compete with each other's prices. They pretty much keep to msrp how much playing room would i have for talking them down some on the price?? Thanks for any help

Click to expand...

You are wise in choosing a harman my friend, very wise. But when one becomes more concerned with his or her own "personal discount" rather than the actual retail price, then that can be a foolish maneuver. If you want a great discount, buy a Regency or a Whitfield. Those dealers will have plenty of wiggle room and you, in all of your savvy shrewdness, will get them to discount the stove for you like a champ. Go for it!

and we used the Harman coupon too, which was great. Additionally, we did a lot of research and also used a very thorough friend's research and decided the Harman and Rocky's were the best. Harman for the reputation and quality and Rocky's for their reputation. It is a chunk of change, but these things pay for themselves fairly quickly and I think in the long run, you save on parts, etc.

I would check out Enviro stoves.

Killie said:

Pelleting In NJ said:

I would check out Enviro stoves.

Click to expand...

I didnt see any prices on the web page for the stoves, thats one of my big pet peeves, maybe I missed it but if they cant bother showing a msrp then I need not bother with them.

Click to expand...

I liked what Harman did, Listing an MSRP on their web site is a good thing. Most people can go there and print the stove with the listed price and hopefully keep the dealers honest. I also hope this catches on with the other manufactorures.

And on the other side, Not all dealers are crooks. If you check around in your travels, Make a few calls you usually can sort out the good guys pretty easy. I like the face to face meetings to also get a feel for who they really are. This goes for most of the stove brands. Plus you have us here. If we knew where you are located? We might be able to steer you to a good stove shop.

I'll also plug Enviro. Heck of a stove if you can find the right shop to score it from. The multifuel units are pretty popular here.

Also we are close to seasons end. If you can stick it out a bit longer, Some stove shops run specials later in the season thru the summer months. Buying out of season usually puts some power in your hands as stoves aren't what is selling. Deals are during the none sales time frame and puts the ball in your court. Plus you might get fast intallation as the techs will also be slower during the off months.

Just some thoughts, Keep us posted!

Killie said:

Well I just stopped by mvety's and the two women behind the counter didnt even come out to chat with me about the products and such so I left. Though from what I could see btu wise and price the gap was to close to the p61A that it did not seem financially worth while in the end. I went back to rock's and talked to the daughter and she gave me all the details on the price for everything, so it looks likes thats were I am getting my stove thank you all for the help and information, and appreciate more when it comes.

Click to expand...

Don't forget the $300 coupon. Every little bit helps!

j-takeman said:

I liked what Harman did, Listing an MSRP on their web site is a good thing.

Click to expand...

It is a good thing, but it's also a bold leap into 1995. When I was shopping for my XXV this past summer, I was shocked at how hard it was to find basic price points.

Now if only we could get a native digital thermostat ...