To consider buying a second hand kitchen?

[kitchenswitchen]

Mine is seriously in need of being replaced, but I'm hoping to sell in a few months, so don't want to spend a fortune. However, I think the current one might hinder my chances of a a quick sale or lower the value.

Noticed a a few second hand/ex displays for sale on Facebook tonight and just wondered if anyone had any success stories, or otherwise, with replacing a kitchen this way.

Thanks.

Outside the UK it’s common to do this and I know plenty of people who have. It’s essentially furniture after all. I have never done it myself but I have had a very dated kitchen professionally painted and it came out well at a low cost, in case that’s another option for you.

I did that in my first house. I spent £250 and £500 installation. New worktop. 2 years later I painted it. It was a u shape kitchen, so tons of units, and solid wood.

My parents bought a solid wood kitchen for £500 (including appliances) plus transport costs. It was originally more like £50k. Being wood it could be altered to fit their very unusual new space, they painted it and added a couple of £k of wooden worktop and looks like a bespoke kitchen worth many £££s.

Thanks @MySocalledLoaf

Good to know this is common elsewhere. The current one was badly fitted from day one, so I think complete replacement is my best option, or just doing nothing and hope for the best

Friends of ours bought one off eBay and it looks great. Admittedly they are both good at DIY.

This is encouraging! I certainly wouldn't attempt to fit it myself, so would be installation costs. It's only a tiny flat and the kitchen is about 2.6m x 2.6, so only a few days work I'd hope.

There are a few sites catching for this now. A friend of mine got an £120,000 brand-new Italian kitchen that had been on used in a house in Chelsea for 5K. It included Gaggenhau appliances. Definitely worth doing it

Wayne and Frankie Bridge just sold theirs through the used kitchen company. They have used and ex display kitchens on for a fraction of new prices!

Be cautious of the ones which want you to remove it yourself.They don't all survive removal and it's tricky if you've paid for it up front.

Friends bought a really nice one at the end of an ideal home exhibition really cheaply, looked great - husband is a carpenter though.

Thanks all. I shall definitely being considering this. The Kitchen Exchange seems to do everything apart from the install. Although their current kitchens are definitely more expensive than I'd pay.

Glad I asked!

Definitely. What a price difference. I'd never buy a kitchen again unless I win the lottery

We are intending to buy a second hand kitchen off a specialist website - around 2k vs 20k. Most include appliances so they are a bargain.

Makes perfect sense, even if you have to buy new worktops and pay a bit to get them altered to fit perfectly.

We did it.

Solid oak shaker kitchen with marble worktop for £3k.

We did have to pay for new worktops because the old worktops didn't work with our layout.

It's now 25years old in total and I wouldn't be surprised if we get another 10years out of it.

My friend did this for a flat - she got a really expressive one for a fraction of the price. I can’t get my head around how you’d make it all fit if it’s been made to fit someone else’s kitchen! Wouldn’t you have gaps? Or things which are too big? Surely you can only hope for a pretty good fit and if it somehow ends up perfect how on earth do they adjust it all?

I've considered doing this too. Good to hear lots of you have done it and it's worked out well.

We did it to match our utility and pantry to our main kitchen. It was a named German brand and we knew we could get an extra unit/door/trim/baseboard if we needed but didn’t want to spend the full price for a utility room. I’d absolutely do it again.

@DaphneDuBois

My friend did this for a flat - she got a really expressive one for a fraction of the price. I can’t get my head around how you’d make it all fit if it’s been made to fit someone else’s kitchen! Wouldn’t you have gaps? Or things which are too big? Surely you can only hope for a pretty good fit and if it somehow ends up perfect how on earth do they adjust it all?

Unless it’s been made completely bespoke, kitchen units are standard sizes. So makes no difference if you buy new or second hand on that. A solid wood cabinet can be taken apart and remade in the right size and shape if necessary. For laminate units fillers can be made to cover gaps.