buying a house with a 30 year old boiler

[feellikeahugefailure]

Even if they say it works without issues and has been serviced would you still knock 5 grand off for it and assume it needs a new one?

[Nanasueathome]

Any boiler over 10 years old is probably no longer energy efficient and if it does break down then are spare parts readily available?

[spudnik1]

my in laws still have the boiler that was there when they moved in (back boiler) 28 years ago and it was quite old then. It still works but their gas bills are horrendous compared to our new boiler (houses in same area , same age, same size, and have same levels of insulation)

[GettingScaredNow]

Does a boiler cost 5 grand?!?

[EssentialHummus]

I have only ever had ancient boilers and, touch wood, the current 25 year old one still does a decent job.

I think £5000 is an excessive amount to knock off for a standard boiler though - a year ago we were quoted £1900 in Zone 2, London (new boiler, fit, system flush, removal and disposal of old boiler), and earlier this year I was quoted £1700 for the same in Kent. There are also boiler lease schemes available.

Basically, you're probably fine to ask for some money off, but I'd find £5000 excessive.

[gininteacupsandleavesonthelawn]

We moved in to house last year with a 30yo boiler, bills were astronomical (£100+ per week) so we had to change it - cost was £5k and that was the cheapest quote, it's a decent size house though

[feellikeahugefailure]

Wow I didn't know modern boilers were that much less to run. How much more are your in law bills than yours?

British gas say £3950-4150 to fit a new boiler, but im rounding up as needs new thermostat and removal of the water tank and a few other things.

[Glittershoes22]

Yes I would take the replacement cost into consideration when making an offer, we didn't on a 25 year old boiler which had been serviced and was working fine. After a year I came home and could smell gas OH couldnt I was sure it was gas, got the gas board to come around and they said there were high levels of carbon monoxide in the air so condemned it. I think it was a build up of soot type material burning off when in use hence creating the carbon monoxide & smell. We could have got it serviced and fixed but rather than spend unknown amounts to get it fixed we decided to go for a brand new one.

Cost £7k and since our old boiler was in middle of house and new regs are that boilers now must be on outside wall it was a bit of a faff. Your boiler could go on for years, but definitely budget for a replacement.

[EssentialHummus]

Feel - maybe get a second quote? When I've used them for servicing British Gas have been literally 4x the cost of the independents.

[Nowthereistwo]

You can only try. They might feel the house is already fairly priced for condition and not accept your offer - especially as it's fully working

[Jayfee]

You will be replacing the boiler soon. Whether you offer lower depends on all sorts of things....the price you have offered, competition for the property, etcetc. Your surveyor would presumably have mentioned it. Dont be too gung ho if you want the property or you might lose it, but fair negotiation should be ok

[phoebemac]

I have a 26 year old gravity fed boiler and my boiler chap says don't replace until it conks out. He reckons it is a bit more inefficient than modern boilers but not massively.

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/advice/11365880/Do-I-need-to-replace-an-old-boiler.html

[phoebemac]

Oh, and he said it would be about 2K, 3K at very most to replace when the time comes.

[wowfudge]

BG are way more expensive than anyone else when it comes to boiler replacement.

[JT05]

Replacing a very old boiler with a modern one will require more work than just replacing like for like.

We had an old floor standing one vented through a flue in the middle of the house. For various reasons, the most important, new safety reasons, the new one had to be moved to an outside wall in the garage. It cost around £5000, but was a lot of work. We used BG because they had no quibble guarantee for the work, the workforce was very professional and considerate, it took 2 days, was checked twice by their quality control and included an extra year breakdown cover.
It worked so well you could forget the boiler existed, never needed attention. (Moved from that house now!)

[Hufflepuffin]

We are selling a house with 30+ year old boiler and won't be knocking any money off for it. The asking price reflects the house as it is, not as it would be with a brand new boiler. An old boiler isn't exactly a surprise that it takes a surveyor to uncover!

[specialsubject]

5 k will replace the entire heating system!

[feellikeahugefailure]

Thanks all for your input, would it be cheeky to present the british gas price to the vendor even if I would intend someone local to do it for half the price?

[phoebemac]

Thanks all for your input, would it be cheeky to present the british gas price to the vendor even if I would intend someone local to do it for half the price?

A bit! You could try if you have the front, though. If they have no other offers it would be worth a try.

[EssentialHummus]

Do you really need to ask?? Of course it's cheeky. Whether you'll get your way or not depends on the state of the market, other offers, vendor's need to sell etc. Lots of variables.

[feellikeahugefailure]

Yeah I thought it was a bit cheeky, but at the same time its just asking for the amount off the market leader and most respected company charges.

[Jayfee]

I think a British Gas would be acceptable. You are just making them aware.
As long as people think you are being fair, they should negotiate. My daughter's seller got his own estimate and they met in the middle

[PigletJohn]

you can try, but don't expect agreement.

If you do a general modernisation, including cleaning and filter, TRVs, programmable stat and upgraded insulation, you will save more than if you just change the boiler. In my own house, I had already done that, and changed an old iron boiler for a modern condenser (conventional, still with a cylinder) and the average annual gas usage (measured in cubic metres per year, not by the ££ on the gas bill) dropped by over 20%, which I thought very good.

However when you compare the saving on gas and the cost of installation, there's not much in it, so it's not a paying proposition to change until the old one goes wrong and is irreparable.

If you buy a new boiler tomorrow, there is about zero chance that it will still be working in 15 or 20 years.

Some people think that all modern boilers are combis, but that's not true.

[Missgraeme]

My fil has a house with a 55 year old boiler.
My mil.

[Lilmisskittykat]

I've been told to keep my old boiler (20yrs) going as long as possible .. Can still get parts so no drama!

My engineer (uncle so no bs) said the new ones don't last as long and have more electrical advancements which are harder to fix as they often go wrong - just like buying a new all singing car

5k is a cheeky offer. I certainly wouldn't agree to that. I'd get it fitted and fixed myself first if it came up on a survey rather than trust a buyer trying it on (would seem a good gut instinct too judging by your post!)

[MumOfTwoMasterOfNone]

My boiler is 17/18 years old. Had to replace two parts on it and asked my gas fitter (friend of a friend) if it was worth replacing. He said definitely not, it's a brilliant boiler and will run for years and years and we'd had the most expensive parts replaced (about £350 in total I think for parts and labour).
Our gas and electric bills are about £120 a month on average but I've had two mat leaves and OH likes the house to be like the Bahamas so could be a lot less. A new boiler would never pay for itself!!