Boilers- Which one?

[Whyisitsodifficult]

We need a new boiler and in our last two houses our plumber has always gone with a Worcester Bosch. In this house we’re using a new plumber who has recommended a Baxi 824. Does anyone know about this make? Any good or bad experiences?

We’ve got a baxi 600. It came with a 10 year warranty. It’s a couple of years old and we’ve not had a spot of bother with it.

My plumber tried to palm me off with a particular boiler. I went down the internet rabbit hole of boilers and eventually discovered they were half price to plumbers, a saving he had not planned passing on to me. I chose one from Worcester Bosch in the end, still going v strong after 15 years.

@ConFusion360 Because nobody will go near it. The parts are impossible to get and it has broken down a good few times in the 8 years we've had it.

Had a baxi bermuda back boiler at our old house which was still functioning fine, albeit not as efficiently as a modern boiler, having probably been installed in the 1980s when the house was built.
New house, did a massive renovation and installed a Vaillant (thought it would be a better option that relocating the approx 7 year old existing boiler) and it had frequent issues in the first year. Got Vaillant out to sort it eventually, they replaced two major parts (forget which two) and it's been ok since - touch wood - but I can't recommend them based on our experience.

I’ve heard good things about Ideal & Valiant

Worcester or Vailant .

DH is a plumber and generally recommends Worcester Bosch orBaxi.

We’ve got a Baxi , very happy with it. If you can pay a bit more' some of the Worcester ones have a10 year guarantee, good for peace of mind.

A lot of tradesmen get incentive deals for pushing Worcester Bosch, we got a Viessmann last year and it's a belter

We just replaced a Baxi with a Worcester Bosch, Baxi died after 14 years. The Worcester is far superior and for peace of mind comes with a 10 year guarantee providing Worcester acredited tradesmen fits it, and of course yearly service. Due to size of our house we were recommended to get next boiler size up from what the likes of Npower/British gas offer, for a couple hundred quid more this was worth every penny.

For clarity, DH is not a Worcester accredited installer nor does he get incentives for promoting them, he’s a self employed sole trader. Just fits them coz he thinks they’re good.

This has made very interesting reading! It seems Worcester and Vaillant are coming out as tops. I’d like to think the plumber would recommend me the boiler for our needs rather than thinking profit for himself. Or am I being naive! We’re having an extension and UFH so our old one is not up to it. Should I ask him to quote for Worcester and Vaillant as well? @CurlsandCurves your husband likes the Baxi then? Is there a big price difference between Baxi and Worcester and how does he decide which one to fit?

Maybe he only fits Baxi boilers. I know the guys that fitted next door seem to only do Baxi ones so wouldn't quote for alternatives

Our previous boiler was a Vaillant. We had to replace it earlier this year as it was beyond repair. It was only 7 years old (I have the paperwork from the previous owners). We’d already spent a fortune fixing it several time over the past couple of years. Plus it was the least intuitive boiler I’ve ever had. I hated it.

@Whyisitsodifficult he doesn’t make the final decision, the customer does. He will recommend what he thinks is right for their homes needs but the difference between Worcester and Baxi is mainly price and length of guarantee. So he tells the customer that. If budget is limited, they might choose Baxi, if it’s not a problem then it’s usually Worcester that people go for.
We’ve got a Baxi at home because we don’t need the long guarantee, DH can do any work on it himself. It’s been in 11 years and he’s only had to do a couple of cheap part replacements in that time, stuff that goes on almost all boilers as they get on a bit.

@CurlsandCurves thank you, so is there no incentive for him picking a cheaper Baxi to make more profit on the job? It must be lovely being married to a plumber I hate it when my boiler breaks down!

No, he factors in his wage into the estimate. He could pocket the difference in price I guess but he’s an honest man.