Alternatives to Reliance for Water Heaters

[plam]

Buy-out costs for these units are often not based in any kind of reality. I believe the companies' thinking is that a phone call is easy, so if the buy-out cost is at all reasonable many people may opt for that, but fewer will be willing to do the leg work of having it deinstalled, replaced, and sent back. Therefore the buy-out costs are not reasonable at all.

I inherited a Reliance tank when I bought a property a few years ago. It was a 9-year-old unit when I bought the house, and the buy-out cost was $880 with HST. Reliance claimed this high price was due to the fact that their units are somehow superior, which wasn't corroborated by anyone else's opinion. Cancelling the contract would have cost about $200 in cancellation/disconnection/removal fees- they would not let me (or a qualified installer) remove the unit and deliver it to them myself.

At ten years old, however (after over three thousand dollars in rental fees were paid mostly by the previous owner and some by me), the cancellation fee no longer applied, and I was permitted to remove the unit myself. They picked it up for a fifty dollar charge, but I would have been allowed to drop it off. So I went with that option. They never explained to me why this "scrap" unit (I was permitted to take it out and drag it to the yard myself because they're not using it again) would have continued to cost me $27/month in rent (plus increases). If the new unit lasts twelve years, and rental rate increases would have been similar to what they were previously, I figured the ROI of the new unit's price was 25%, not including the improved efficiency of the unit I chose, and assuming only modest servicing. This isn't taking into account my time, either: when I have replaced water heaters in the past, it was a one-day thing. Dealing with Reliance was a pain. But now I don't have that bill to pay, or that company to deal with.

I inherited another rented water heater more recently, and was going to insist it be replaced because I hated my last experience so much. It was not that old, though, so I accepted it in the end. It is from Kitchener Utilities, and when I called them after the close to get the info they were much easier to deal with, and their buy-out price didn't make me shake my head. In fact, I found it pretty reasonable. I'll likely buy it out towards the end of the year.

Sorry for the length of the post, but thought you might find it helpful to hear from someone who cut ties with Reliance. They will waste your time trying to pressure you and scare you, and waste your time with nonsense about their "rules." In the end, though, you'll be rid of them.

Yep. I've always bought out water heaters as soon as possible as well. It's a nice way for companies to make money off us for not really providing service apparently.