Solarmaxx is offering me a 6.6kw fully installed system (14 x Astro energy panels, 5kwh Growatt inverter) for only $3500. What could go wrong? They actually have excellent reviews and the sales rep claims that they use their own CEC accredited installers in NSW, not sub-contractors. Price is more than $1000 cheaper than the lowest quote I got out of nearly a dozen, and almost half the price of the "big name companies". This also includes a 10 year workmanship warranty, inverter 10 yrs, panels 25 years. The company has been operating for 5 years so it is unlikely that they would fold overnight or suddenly close down.
My only criticism, which seems quite widespread in this industry, is the use of fake names. The sales reps and other staff are often from South Asian countries such as India, but represent themselves using fake names such as "John Smith" or "Tom Jones". I have questioned them about this and been told this is due to "privacy reasons" or because their birth names are "difficult to pronounce". It still seems dubious, if you ask me.
I'm sure we have all heard about cheap solar nightmare stories which reinforce the saying "you get what you pay for". In saying that, there are some very competitive companies out there who just want to grow their business and do a good install for the customer whilst operating on small profit margins.
I don't want to nickel and dime down to the cheapest of the cheapest products and installers but Solar is really only viable for me if the system is under $5000 due to payback period. My power consumption is quite low at 3kWh per day only.
Coal story.