Combi Boiler advice for a layman

[Rooster]

Hi,
Just looking for some advice/points of view from those in the know.
Door to door salesman from a company called Home Efficiency Surveys caught me in a good mood on a sunny day & I agreed to get a quote for a new efficient boiler (something I generally don't do). The sales guy has just been round and given me a quote for a Zanussi combi boiler (model 30 or 35). He made a good pitch but I naturally decided to check online to see if the price sounded reasonable. It seems extortionate from what I can gather!

He said the installation would be a simple swap over from the current Baxi combi. The quote was £4452 but looking online, I can see the average cost for a Zanussi boiler is:
Typical installation Cost (inc VAT) £500 - £1000 Sundries (Filter, Flue, etc) £300

A massive difference. Am I safe to assume he was just chancing his arm & I'd be a fool to pay £4452 (especially on 7.9% finance over 10 yrs)?

I just want to be a bit more genned up before the inevitable follow-up call & hard sell, so I can tell him to Foxtrot Oscar with confidence. DW, I'm not going to go ahead with it. I'd just like some advice on what I should realistically expect to pay, so I don't sound like a moron.

Cheers

 

[cjg]

some one taking the pi**, at that price, how old is your baxi, which model is it,
is it not up to it,?

 

[Rooster]

some one taking the pi**, at that price, how old is your baxi, which model is it,
is it not up to it,?

The current one is a Baxi Combi 105e. Was in the house when I moved in, so I'd estimate it's between 15-20 years old. Works well enough, so no pressing need to replace. It was only because the initial salesman caught me a bit off guard that I agreed to a quote. The thought of a 10 year warrant meaning I didn't have to pay Homeserve a DD every month, as well as the increased efficiency seemed like an appealing long-term investment.

To be honest, I had no idea what a new boiler cost to install but when I googled it, the difference between the average & what HES is charging is YUGE. I guess they just chance it, figuring a percentage of people will be gullible enough to pay.

I agree that they're taking the p*ss. Just wanted to share the experience & see if anyone had any amusing ways of telling them where to go, when they call back. My guess is they'll offer a massive discount now or some other such BS.

The other part of their sales pitch was getting their call-centre in Glasgow to find a cheaper gas & electric provider & sort of throw that in the mix to make the quote looks more appealing. As if I couldn't do the same thing on a comparison site.

I the price included a system flush, but I don't imagine that's very costly to do.

 

[Chuck]

Never get work done by cold callers, even if the package seems like a good deal, because the likelihood is you'll get stiffed. People who are any good tend to be swamped with work and don't need to solicit in this manner.

Do your research, make a short list of good local installers, preferably based on personal recommendations, and ask them to quote for the work.

 

[Rooster]

Never get work done by cold callers, even if the package seems like a good deal, because the likelihood is you'll get stiffed. People who are any good tend to be swamped with work and don't need to solicit in this manner.

Do your research, make a short list of good local installers, preferably based on personal recommendations, and ask them to quote for the work.

Good advice. This is what I normally do. Preferably a recommendation from a friend or family. I think I'd just woken up from a night shift & it was a belting hot day, so I was in an unusually good mood. I always regret speaking to salesmen & 99/100 I politely say thanks but no thanks & shut the door.

The thing is, if they'd pitched say £1800 - £2k, they'd still be asking over the odds but perhaps not so much that people don't buy the rest of their sales patter. When a quick Google search suggests they're asking for 3-4 times the average price, it seems like the guy must waste a lot of hour appointments, or there's a lot of gullible people out there!

 

[cjg]

the baxi 830 is a good boiler, fit them most of the time. and no i do not work for them,
i just think that for the price and g"tee they are good value , point to think about with a new boiler is also you will now have a condense pipe to fit,

 

[Last Plumber]

The 105e was a good boiler. I wouldn't spend money repairing it at that age so you do need to be thinking of replacing it soon I would say but not because of efficiency alone. You probably won't notice much to be honest.

 

[Rooster]

The 105e was a good boiler. I wouldn't spend money repairing it at that age so you do need to be thinking of replacing it soon I would say but not because of efficiency alone. You probably won't notice much to be honest.

Thanks. It seems to work fine. I have a maintenance contract with Homeserve, who service it yearly & if it does break down, they call out & cover any parts & labour, which actually works out relatively economical, as I've had them out several times to replace parts. If the efficiency savings are not that noticeable, then that's another reason not to bother right now. I expect (touch wood) it has another 5 years left in it, so it can soldier on for now.

 

[Last Plumber]

Thanks. It seems to work fine. I have a maintenance contract with Homeserve, who service it yearly & if it does break down, they call out & cover any parts & labour, which actually works out relatively economical, as I've had them out several times to replace parts. If the efficiency savings are not that noticeable, then that's another reason not to bother right now. I expect (touch wood) it has another 5 years left in it, so it can soldier on for now.

The day will come and I expect you will know when it does. Ball park figure I would expect approx half the figure you mentioned but that is obviously without seeing it.
Efficiency wise, no it's not worth changing just for that.

 

[Ric2013]

I bought my house 15 years ago and the (heat-only: less to go wrong with it than a combi in fairness) boiler was already 18 years old. Since then the boiler has needed a new PCB and a new fan, so under £600 in repairs in 15 years. I suspect the heat exchanger is badly corroded and may fail eventually, but it can be surprising how long last legs can be.

So how long was your salesman suggesting your old boiler will last?

 

[Last Plumber]

I bought my house 15 years ago and the (heat-only: less to go wrong with it than a combi in fairness) boiler was already 18 years old. Since then the boiler has needed a new PCB and a new fan, so under £600 in repairs in 15 years. I suspect the heat exchanger is badly corroded and may fail eventually, but it can be surprising how long last legs can be.

So how long was your salesman suggesting your old boiler will last?

What boiler have you got?

 

[cjg]

like he said The current one is a Baxi Combi 105e.

 

[Ric2013]

What boiler have you got?

Mine's a Potterton (Netaheat) Profile 40e, which, as I say, is a heat-only. My point is that we often worry about old boilers breaking and not being repairable, yet I can think of a lot of boilers that have lasted similarly.

To clarify, I'm not the OP and this isn't about my boiler.

 

[Last Plumber]

Mine's a Potterton (Netaheat) Profile 40e, which, as I say, is a heat-only. My point is that we often worry about old boilers breaking and not being repairable, yet I can think of a lot of boilers that have lasted similarly.

To clarify, I'm not the OP and this isn't about my boiler.

I know who you are, I was just interested in the remark about your boiler.
I used to install those years ago and they were good boilers. Their efficiency is pretty good too.