Wood stove advice (first time buyer)

I've been trying to buy a wood stove and get it installed since October last year. The whole process very annoying because there are not that many dealers around here and everyone is painfully slow about even calling me back.

I'm looking at the Napoleon S25 since that's the one I like most and has a relatively large firebox. There's only one dealership around here that actually has this stove in stock. The other dealership is 100+ kms away and said they expect the S25 in stock this fall (!). If I don't want to wait that long it means I would have to go with the Enerzone 3.5 (I don't really like the looks of it) or the Napoleon S20. Weirdly enough the S20 would be $150 more expensive there than the S25 I can get here in town. The Enerzone is even $625 more expensive for exactly the same stove.

After reading into wood stoves a lot, since I'm a first time buyer, I finally made up my mind and would like to get the S25 here in town. My only concern left is that this is a "showroom" model, although it's brand new and just set up since last week. The dealership only got one stove from the factory, they ordered it back in October and only got it in last week. They said there are big delays due to covid, etc.

The other dealership would get me a brand new stove (Enerzone or S20) in a crate, they would not set it up in their showroom.

Today I went to the dealership in town and noticed two scratches/rubs (no chips or cuts) on the stove, see attached pictures. A small one and a bigger one which is about 2 inches long. They said that almost all of these scratches already happen in the factory or the crates they get delivered in. They never had a stove from the factory that was 100% perfect.

They told me that after installing the stove in my house they would touch it up with paint and the scratches will be unnoticeable. I'm kinda picky with everything I spend money on and especially now since it's almost $8000 (Canadian) for the stove, installation and tax.

Can anyone confirm that this is common and should I be okay with this? I guess even if I get a stove that's still in a crate, there's still a chance it's not 100% damage free.

Please advice, thanks!

Those do look more like shipping/handling damage than customer milling around damage. Never having dealt with a woodstove dealer, I can't speak to common occurrences, but a heavy steel object being moved a lot certainly seems reasonable to get a ding or two. If the paint they have for touchups is a match to the original, and the original isn't some kind of special heat-treated finish like fired enamel, and you are otherwise comfortable with the people there, I would go for it. Maybe ask them to demonstrate the touchup paint on a bit of one of the dings... If they are confident in it, for a purchase this big I would expect them to be accommodating.

Daniel Benjamins wrote:They told me that after installing the stove in my house they would touch it up with paint and the scratches will be unnoticeable. I'm kinda picky with everything I spend money on and especially now since it's almost $8000 (Canadian) for the stove, installation and tax.

Can anyone confirm that this is common and should I be okay with this? I guess even if I get a stove that's still in a crate, there's still a chance it's not 100% damage free.

Phew, $8000 CAD seems pretty high. But it's a long time since I bought high-end wood stove stuff. Is there something special or complex about this installation?

To answer your question, I believe high-heat stove paint would cover the scuff okay. Once the paint on everything cures, it ends up being a matte black with a hint of grey anyway.

Based on the quotes so far one of the biggest chunks is the chimney. They would need 24' of material to go from the basement, through the first and second floor, through the roof and 2 foot above the highest point of the roof.

Extra pipe and supports, and extra labour. I guess that adds up. Too bad they can't go outside. FWIW, in the long run you won't regret having it done properly.

In my opinion, those scratches are pure cosmetic and they would be invisible after touch-up.

I used to work for a woodstove dealer, and the invoices for stove plus install would be anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000, depending on many factors, height of chimney and the stove itself being only a couple.

Those two are both good brands, and they make quality product.

I am partial to Enerzone because I’ve been using one as an exclusive source of heat for 7+ years.

I agree, cosmetic only easily fixed.
With only one in town I would go buy it before someone else does!

Thanks all for the feedback and I'm glad to hear the scratches can be fixed quite easily.

I asked them to get back to me tomorrow at the latest, regarding a final and detailed quote. If not, I will call them and tell them to mark the stove as sold, I'm getting pretty nervous indeed

Bought the Napoleon S25 and got it delivered to my house. Now we're waiting for the snow to melt so they can install the chimney.

They painted (or cleaned) the big scratch and it's unnoticeable. They forgot the smaller one on the front (sigh) but I guess that can be fixed too.