Allure Vinyl Planks- Still good buy if not on sale or DIY installation?

[Josh L.]

I've heard a lot about Allure being such a great product for rentals, usually with it being on sale for less than a dollar and/or installing it yourself so you don't have to pay for installation.

Before I spend $3.50 a square foot for Allure Ultra and then more more money for the installation, I'm hoping I can get some questions answered first:

1) If its not on sale and you have to pay for installation, is Allure still recommended and a good buy?

2) If you don't do it DIY, who do you pay to do the installation? Does HD do a good job of installation?

3) Do you have worry about light which can a problem for a lot of vinyls? I'm going to install this in a room with a wall of windows on one side so I'm concerned about all the light that will hit the floor.

4) What's the repeating variation like? How many boards before it repeats the pattern? 

I'm putting in a big open floorplan so I'm concerned that if it repeats too often, it will be easily spottable. 

5) What's the wear layer? I'm looking at their specs, but I don't see anything about it even though the wear layer will be a key important factor for durability. 

This product is still relatively new so how do we know how durable it will be years from now? It might be good now, but will it still be good 7 years after installation?

6) At $3.50 a square foot, its comparable in price to a lot of the other vinyl planks on the market. So, why so much love for it then? Is it simply a better product for the price and thus a better bang for the buck than other similarly priced vinyl planks?

7) Is anybody installing it in their class A properties?

8) Is there a specific color or wood type that looks better or more realistic than the other Allure options?

9) Is there anything else I need to know about Allure before I install it?