Are Howden kitchens expensive?

[tastychicken]

Just this. We had a quote from B&q and it came in at £6k would howdens be more/ less do you think?

Howdens are trade only- the prices displayed in their catalog bare no resemblance to the price actually charged.
Normally the fitter has an account with them and will negotiate their discount, how much if that discount the end customer gets is up to them.

If you want to buy and fit the kitchen yourself, go and have a chat with the rep.
We have (builders) fitted lots of Howden's kitchens- reasonable price and quality. It is especially useful to know that they keep everything in stock- so you buy off the shelf, no waiting months for your order to arrive.

@averylongtimeago thanks for replying. I should have said that we are getting work done and it was our builder that suggested howdens as he has an account with them and said he'd get us it discounted (think he said cost price, not sure)

I’ve used howdens and like their kitchens, yes they are trade only and might be a bit more expensive but all cabinets come pre made so you don’t have to put them together which then saves time in having to pay someone and wait for missing bits ( happened to a few friends)

@Goldensunnydays81 thanks so much. Initially we were attracted to b&q because of the finance options over 5 years which makes it so affordable. But I just don't know if Howdens will be much more expensive ontop of the no finance (which I just don't think we could afford)

Would it not be better to ask the builder to quote? Then you will be able to see the difference and weigh it up against not having the finance.

@Magenta82 yes, that would be best. He isn't staring with us for a few weeks but I will ask him then. I love looking through catalogues then realising the one you love is unattainable🥺😂

It really does depend on your builder’s discount and how much he’s willing to pass on. Our builder didn’t seem to get much of a discount at all - or maybe he doesn’t pass it on. We found for a solid wood painted kitchen, DIY Kitchens were about 60% of the price of Howdens (comparing their Chilcomb to DIY Kitchens’ Linwood or Norton). So we went with DIY.

Builders like Howdens because of the discount, and also because if anything is damaged in transit or needs to be changed, it can be done more or less the same day. But for us, the sums simply didn’t stack up.

I also think it’s not transparent in terms of responsibility if there’s a problem given that you’re effectively buying through the builder. I could imagine it being difficult to work out who was responsible for any issues, especially if they arose further down the line.

Howdens are good kitchens and unlike most others they are in stock meaning if something needs altering it is easy to swop. Look online at their offering and ask your builder to get you a quote

Ps my fitter is my dad so I got best prices, aka free fitting and howdens gave him extra off

Your builder sets the price OP. You will never know if he's getting it for the price he charges you. Depends on how much you trust him tbh.

My parents and I both had Howden kitchens installed by the same builder, mine came to £8k with integrated appliances, £15k with fitting but I had alot more work done than they did, internal doors, boiler and central heating etc so had given my builder a maximum budget which he stuck to and choose the kitchen bits himself whereas my parents were on more of a budget. And bought their appliances from ao.com in the January sales.

There are some things to watch out for, I have a square edged worktop and they have a rounded edge - barely any difference between them but mine cost £££ more. I had a bin cupboard put in which was expensive my parents had the cupboard put in and bought the bin accessories separately for a fraction of the cost.

The kitchens themselves are great, the doors are nice and thick, alot sturdier than similar styles I saw in B&Q.

We have a Howdens kitchen we’re really happy with. They matched the price of the DIY Kitchens basket which took about half the price off

DIY kitchens will be 1/3 to 1/2 that and equal if not better quality.

We got a howdens kitchen last year. The first quote for a mid range kitchen with lots of extras (recycling unit, pull out shelving, real wood work top) came in at 10k. We got rid of extras and picked a laminate work top new price was 7k this includes built in fridge , microwave and washing machine . With builder fitting and flooring came to about 10k

Love it too

We’ve got a Howdens account and can only get 20/30% off the price because we don’t use it very often. I had a look at the DIY prices and reckon they’re similar prices to Howdens.