The warranty is another clue to how weather resistant a product is. Few building products come with the long warranties offered by vinyl manufacturers. Fifty years is standard. Some products even come with a lifetime warranty that can be transferred to the next owner of your home. Make sure you read the fine print.
Some manufacturers only promise to recoat rather than merely replace damaged siding.
And most warranties just pay for the product - not the labor for installation. If you were to throw the names of the top 10 vinyl siding companies in a hat and pick one, you would probably end up with quality siding. Do the same with 10 local contractors, and the installation quality would be far less certain. A contractor's expertise and experience are crucial to a good siding job. A SLOT at the top of each vinyl siding panel help hold the siding in place.