Quick answer
A water heater rental buyout price is calculated by the rental company from the tank's type, size and age on a declining schedule: the older the tank, the lower the figure. Reliance's published terms define it as the heater's depreciated fair market value on a straight-line basis, plus anything owing on the account. The only real number is the written quote for your account.
A water heater rental buyout price is calculated from a schedule the rental company keeps, not from a price list you can look up. The schedule starts at the installed value of the heater and steps down as it ages. Knowing the inputs lets you judge whether the figure you are quoted makes sense, even though only the company can produce it.
The inputs the rental company uses
- Tank type: a conventional chimney-vented tank starts lowest, a power-vent tank higher, and a tankless unit highest, because that is the order of their installed cost.
- Size: a 60-gallon tank starts above a 40-gallon one of the same type.
- Age from the install date: the schedule runs from the day that heater went in, which the company has on file. If the company replaced a failed tank three years ago, the schedule is running on that newer heater, however long you have been a customer.
- Anything owing: unpaid rental charges and fees are added to the buyout figure.
One detail in Reliance's terms explains why buyouts on young tanks look high. The heater is valued on an installed basis, meaning the starting value includes the installation and not just what the tank would cost on a store shelf.
What a declining, straight-line schedule means for your number
Straight-line depreciation takes the starting value and reduces it by the same amount each year over a set life. A heater halfway through that life is worth about half its starting value, and one near the end is worth little. The company determines both the starting value and the life, and neither is printed in the rental terms.
That is why two things are true at once. Waiting lowers the buyout every year, and the monthly fee you pay while waiting can outrun the drop. Divide the quoted buyout by your monthly rental charge and you have the number of months until the purchase has paid for itself.
How to get the real buyout figure
- 1. Have the account number from a bill, and be the person named on the account.
- 2. Call the rental company and ask for the buyout price for the water heater at your address.
- 3. Ask for it in writing, with the date the figure is good until and a list of anything else owing.
- 4. Ask how notice has to be given. Reliance's terms call for written notice at least 30 days before the date you want to buy.
- 5. Keep the confirmation that the tank is yours after you pay; it settles the question when you sell the house.
We do not print a buyout price on this page because the figure belongs to your contract: it depends on the heater and the date, and a number from anyone other than the company holding the agreement is a guess. Treat any figure you read online the same way.
What a buyout includes and what it leaves out
- Included: ownership of the tank exactly as it stands in your basement, and the end of the rental charges.
- Not included: a warranty. The tank is sold as is, so a leak the following month is your cost.
- Not included: future service. The free repair visits that came with the rental stop when the agreement does.
- Not charged: removal and account-closure fees. Those apply when you end the rental by returning the tank; with a buyout the heater stays put.
How to tell whether the quote is a fair deal
Set the buyout beside the two alternatives. A new owned tank costs $1,200–$2,500 installed and comes with a full lifespan and a manufacturer's warranty. Staying in the rental costs $25–$45 a month with no end date. A buyout that is a small fraction of a new tank's price on a heater with years left is a good deal; one that approaches the new price on an old heater is not.
The decision itself is worked through in buy out or replace a rental water heater, and the company-specific steps are in the guides to leaving a Reliance rental and leaving an Enercare rental. When you have the written figure, ZK Mechanical will price an owned replacement next to it so you can compare; see the water heater rental buyout service or send us the quote.