Risks of Buying a Pre-Owned Garage Door

Yellow house with 'for sale' sign on beige garage door

The garage door is the single largest moving thing on your Loveland house and can weigh hundreds of pounds. With that in mind, and considering that you and those you care about pass under and through the garage door all the time, it's of paramount importance that you engage in regular maintenance and timely garage door repair when necessary to ensure it's always functioning properly.

Even so, in time every door performs its last up and down cycle. When your door's time is up you may be tempted to try and save a few bucks by purchasing a second-hand garage door. We urge you to resist this temptation and below, we'll tell you why.

Why You Should Always Opt for a New Garage Door Installation

These days with inflation out of control everyone is looking for ways to save money. That includes homeowners who need to replace old garage doors. In a somewhat surprising twist, a lot of companies have entered the used garage door business, marketing second-hand doors either through their brick-and-mortar shops or via an online portal.

While it might seem to make financial sense to buy a used or refurbished garage door it's actually a really bad idea, and here's why:

Hidden damage

A second-hand garage door may look great in photos but photos don't show hidden damage like dry rot, termite damage, and warped wood panels. As soon as your used door is installed you may be calling for garage door repair.

Springs of questionable integrity

It's not the garage door opener that opens the door, it's the springs. The “opener” just gets things started. The life of garage door springs is not infinite. When you buy a used garage door you have no real idea how close to failure the springs are.

Safety

When worn-out garage door springs snap they make an unholy noise and take the door out of service. In addition, people have lost their lives working around garage door springs when they've snapped. When you get old springs on an old door safety is a major concern.

Worn out insulation

The insulation in a garage door is going to degrade over time and it's almost impossible to tell from photos the state of insulation on a used door. If the insulation is shot your door will become a heat sieve and you'll pay higher energy bills.

Worn out rollers

The garage door does not magically float into position in the garage ceiling; it gets there by being pulled up a pair of tracks on a couple of dozen rollers. Rollers, however, don't last forever and it's a fair bet that the rollers you'll get with a used door are well-worn.

Installation

As in “Who is going to install your used garage door?” You can try and do it yourself but installing a garage door is not a DIY project. One mistake can lead to serious injury or worse. Also, some garage door companies will not install a second-hand door.

Warranty problems

New garage doors come with a warranty that covers all the important components. But the typical warranty clearly states that it is not transferable. Meaning that if you buy a second-hand garage door you'll be responsible for all garage door repair costs.

For New Garage Door Installation in Loveland Call C & M

We understand the temptation to purchase a secondhand garage door to save some money. But the truth is, it's not worth the risk. A used door is a potential safety hazard and may end up failing shortly after being installed. Don't take the chance. Contact our team instead for affordable new garage door installation today.

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