Reply to: New boiler quote

[TinTrump]

Your man's quote tallies roughly with mine a year ago from my local company that service the current, 17 year old boiler; A rated combi boiler and thermostat radiator valves £1800 incl. VAT

BG came in about £700 more

[Zippy]

Get a recommendation for a plumber and get more quotes. Don't bother with british gas as they will rip you off.

No luv. You seriously need to think about bleeding your radiators. Is yer 'usband in?

I'll get me spanner ...

[Halcyon]

What make is the boiler? I have a huge floor mounted Worcester-Bosch which needed a new diverter valve in January for which I paid a local (W-B approved) firm £320; however it packed up again at the end of last month.

To cut a long story short(ish) the original firm didn't turn up for their appointment to have another look at it (or answer their phone all the next day), another (approved) firm came and had a look and manfully declared themselves clueless, and I went to W-B themselves.

W-B offer an inclusive price of £285 which seemed a lot but that includes most parts (one or two are excluded)

The guy was here for 3 hours, totally knew his stuff and what impressed me was that he looked at everything that might go wrong because W-B have a 30 day recall policy, if it goes again within 30 days (ten year old boiler) they come back at no extra charge and, more to the point, his bonus is related to the number of recalls, so on top of a new heat exchanger he gave the whole thing a good going over, new seals everywhere, put a new pump on and generally did everything he could to protect his bonus

I think the financial industry could learn a lot from this policy?

R

[d000hg]

I would just Google it and see if it looked like a job I could do myself, and what it would cost for bits and take it from there.

It sounds like it isn't anything to do with the gas side of things so you are probably OK to do it yourself.

Not true at all. They are VERY strict with anything even tangentially related to gas. Not to say you can't do it, but risky for the amount you'd save.

[Sockpuppet]

Hire a local blonde 20 year old page 3 girl to get the quote for you. Reckon you'll get a cheaper quote as long as she says she's home during the day and "bored" with her husband.

When he turns up to fit the boiler tell him you've let yourself go and your very sensitive about it.

[al_cam]

I would just Google it and see if it looked like a job I could do myself, and what it would cost for bits and take it from there.

It sounds like it isn't anything to do with the gas side of things so you are probably OK to do it yourself.

That said, check the efficiency of your old boiler compared to a new one (Google for SEDBUK) - might be quite a bit of savings to be made on the gas bill with a new boiler and could help you justify it. I would definitely get another quote - or Google to see what others have paid recently.

[Grinder]

Only 10 ish years old - what make is your current boiler?

[Doggy Styles]

Don't trust the first quote you get.

A few years ago I was quoted over three grand by a bloke subcontracted by the builder extending my kitchen. So I found a quote for a good Pilko boiler, about £600, went back to the bloke and asked him what he was doing for the rest of his quote.

Much waffle later I got the job done for not much more than a grand, including some new pipework to reposition it (which he bodged, despite me warning him not to do it the way he planned).

I've never used his firm again, nor has the builder and, as the plumbing firm is fairly local, I've advised anyone who asks to avoid them as well.

[conned tractor]

I would get a second quote.

A few people I know are plumbers/ gas engineers/ heating engineers and I wouldn't trust them to fix anything - most of them are actually suprisingly stupid.

When they quote, it is usually easier for them to buy a new combi (about 6-900 quid trade depending on type) which will take him and an hoppo a long morning to fit - they then walk away with 3-400 quid each for a mornings work and spend the afternoon on the golf course. Diagnosis is out of the question since that would require some intelligence. Then again why bother when you can replace it with a new one and probably make more money anyhow.

On the other hand, I know a heating engineer, who is tulip hot, and diagnosed my faulty boiler correctly over the phone (by knowledge of common faults). He on the other hand is worth his weight in gold. He works for a company full time and dosen't want to go it alone, so isn't available to anyone.

However, this is only my experience.

Also there are a few components which are not cost effective to replace in a combi, I know when my diverter valve went I changed to a new combi since it was getting old and I wanted one with seperate water circuits for water and heating thus not needing the diverter valve. Think I paid about £900 for a ferolli combi, and he still made money on that for a saturday mornings work.

I mean, you connect up four or five pipes, wire it up (as difficult as a plug), connect the flue (assuming one there previously) and screw it to the wall. Wish my job was that easy.

However, I may just like whinging about trades earning more than me.

[moorfield]

I have been told I need to replace my combi boiler ( its leaking water) and the plumbing guy has quoted 1500 plus VAT.Advice ?

Sounds right ball park to me too.

We spent about 1500 on a new boiler (not a combi mind), and IMO it's the best thing since sliced bread, a funky control system, cold water all off the mains, hot water at mains pressure and the hot water tank is inside the boiler unit,
meaning we have now got rid of the cold water tank in the loft plus the airing cupboard in the bathroom which gives us space for a walk in shower.

[norrahe]

Hey learned chaps

Sorry if this is a total off topic thread.

I have been told I need to replace my combi boiler ( its leaking water) and the plumbing guy has quoted 1500 plus VAT. He mentioned that the boiler is unsafe ( he serviced it 4 years ago..hmm). He could be trying to force me into a quick decision by saying that the boiler is unsafe.

So what do you lot suggest?
1) Get another guy to take a look.
2) The quote looks good and I should take it.

Advice ?

Get a recommendation for a plumber and get more quotes. Don't bother with british gas as they will rip you off.

[TheFaQQer]

OI!

[norrahe]

I believe that there are some experts on CUK who are now probably benched who could advise on bleeding the radiators.

OI!

[fullyautomatix]

Mine too. I was quoted £3000 (including the cost of a Vaillant boiler).

Apparently a large chunk of that is for (wait for it) bleeding the radiators.

(well not just bleeding, but flushing them out, which is apparently very slow and labour intensive)

So what did you eventually do ? 3K sounds a bit expensive but I guess you are getting a lot more work done in addition ?

[fullyautomatix]

£400 off?

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/...rappage-Scheme

Boiler scrappage wont apply in my case since current boiler was installed in 1999 and is a combi boiler already.