Am I being overcharged? Boiler advice!

[OldSpanner]

Boiler springs a leak (a glow worm if you're interested) , chap comes along tells me to get a new one and charges me £78. I already think that's a bit steep but fine.

He wants to install an Ideal Logic Max 24 at a cost of £2160. I've taken a trial offer of Which to look up. They're ok not best buy or anything.

After a google I see an advert offering a Viessmann Vitodens 100-W Combi for £1794 inc vat.

or a Worcester Bosch Greenstar i 25kW for £1894.

I feel like I've heard of these brands as well, but torn because local chap might be better somehow Money is really tight too as haven't worked since mid March, so I don't want to feel like I'm being over charged. Any advice?

I can only speak for myself but I recently needed to have my boiler moved. For the cost of getting it moved (£600) I was advised to just have it replaced. I'm in a one bed flat so didn't need to get a top of the range boiler. The one that was being replaced was massive but also 12 years old. I wanted my new one to nicely fit into a tall larder so I went for a compact one. This is the one I had installed:
www.heatingandbathrooms.com/main-eco-compact-combi-30kw-high-efficiency-condensing-combination-boiler?gclid=Cj0KCQjw2PP1BRCiARIsAEqv-pQzM1kQ-_PRtvMbJNvuif_Am4LQBRWZyHqt2QgXHAzs4tbUKYtg8lEaAnSDEALw_wcB

I paid £1100 for the boiler, a new flue and to have it moved to another wall.

@PigletJohn always has sound advice on such things

I should add that i know it's not the most expensive/doesn't have the highest reviews on Which, but for my budget, the fact that it came with a 5yr guarantee and my circumstances (1 bed new build flat), I thought it was a good option for me!

Smallgoon that's a thousand pounds less!

Christine dammit wish I'd known before.

I know PigletJohn has a Veissman (I've looked here too). Just don't want to cock this up by making a speedy wrong decision!

Have you posted this before?

I'm having deja vu about those boiler names, so much so that the last time I read this thread I got worried enough about my old-ish boiler that I started to save for a new one.

You're not from the boiler marketing board are you

Is that the price for fitting as well? Or just for the supply? I wouldn't recommend spending more than £1300 for an ideal.
Not a big fan of logic personally. If you have the money, I would recommend a viessmann, but I generally end up fitting an Intergas as they are cheaper and have less things that go wrong with them. Not a big fan of Worcester on the gas side either. The only benefit is that you get the 5 year warranty on parts and 10 years for the heat exchanger.
If they've quoted that much for just the boiler, tell them where to go and find someone else. The CIPHE are a good lot, so check their website for local people.

Is there a boiler marketing board?

No, I know fuck all about boilers hence my state of near panic about what to do. I nearly collapsed when the Glow worm strated leaking

I've now got a new fellow coming round to quote

Oh Muchly thanks for that advice. The price quoted is for installation, everything This house is quite small, only 2 beds. I don't need anything mind blowingly good.

We have a Worcester which we inherited with the house. It’s economical. I’d get second quote for reassurance.

That's not too bad then for a full install. Obviously, a full install can vary, but should include a system filter, a system clean, flue, pipework etc etc. Have they given you a full breakdown of parts? Did they do a check on your gas flow as well? Newer boilers generally, will need a higher flow rate than older boilers as they modulate, so it is best to make sure that is checked too. You ideally want your boiler to be good as it is a big investment, works constantly for you and should hopefully last 12-15+ years on gas. Did the previous engineer tell you where the leak was coming from on the boiler? Did they give you any paperwork as well?

Not a bad quote but always get three to compare. I had a similar boiler replaced a few years ago for £1900 (south east area) so your quote is not unreasonable. You can always buy the boiler yourself and have them fit it, it MIGHT save a few pounds but perhaps not worth the aggro, especially if something fails on it. A supply and fit contract is much preferable

No paperwork. There's something wrong with the pump. Water was collecting at the base so dripping out. I can't really remember. They offered to fix it for £450 but as I've hated this boiler more or less forever I'm relieved to change it.

But I'm not happy with the £78 just to diagnose, he was here about half an hour.

Thanks Loofah, I've got another guy coming over later. So pleased to get so much advice.

Paid £2000 for Valient boiler. 7 year guarantee if fitted by Valiant registered plumber. That was in London. Would probably expect to pay less out of London

have you already got a combi? Or a cylinder? What colour?

Hello sorry off doing the home schooling

It's a combi. So swapping out the (dreadful) Glow worm and replacing it with something else. All pipes etc in situ.

You see £2000 for Valient in London seems ok. £2160 for Ideal by local bod way way outside London seems a bit to me.

The £78 is a bit odd. Did they tell you there would be a call out fee when you booked them? If not, there hourly rate shouldn't be that much.
You will still likely have your current pipes rerouted as each boiler company has a slightly different setup on pipe runs. Plus fitting a system filter, which is recommended for any new boiler, will make a difference too. I'm on the border of Wales and England and I charge £200 a day for an install. It's difficult to say, but you should be looking at 2 to 3 days.

Not in London but I have been quoted £3,300 for a boiler fitting in a 4 bed (radiators are nearly £2,000 more). This seems very expensive to me, but the firm has a lot of 5 star reviews.

@Muchlywrong They didn't mention the £78 anywhere and it's what gave me pause and ask on here. Anyway I put them off and now they've come back with 'Alright will do it for £1500 and put a cheaper boiler in then', massively missing the point that I want a decent boiler at the right price. Thank you for so much for your advice, it's very valuable to me.

New chappie came along. He is obsessed by boilers! Showed me reams of photographs of boiler parts and what can go wrong with them. Advised me on what secondary schools to send my children. Hates Worcesters with an almighty passion. Loves loves loves Veissman - 'like a Bentley'. Is going to quote on that and an Alpha which he describes as 'like a VW but not VW prices'.

So any added thoughts gratefully received .

You see Rhapsody how would you know if that's right or just a rip off?

@Muchlywrong it isnt uncommon for the first hour to be more expensive than subsequent hours. I wouldnt fit a Veissmann their technical department dont seem to like answering questions with straight answers. Vaillent and Ideal have excellent aftercare

Never heard of Veissman. We generally go for Worcester Bosch as you get up to 10 years p&l with them. I work in FM so deal with quite a lot of boilers servicing and installs.

It's time you did.

Spelled "Viessmann"

What you will probably need to take in to consideration @OldSpanner, is that you should be using him again, to service your boiler and deal with any breakdowns. So if he is recommending either a viessmann or an Alpha and you will be using him as your year to year engineer, then go with his recommendations.
It sounds like you were impressed with him too, so having someone you trust is what you really want. He may not come in cheaper than the previous engineer though, so be prepared.
As I've mentioned, you should be looking to have a system filter fitted on your system and for the system to be cleaned too. Whether the cleaning is by a powerflush or just running a system cleaner through, over night, it is a must on new boiler installs. Depending on where your property is located, it may also be worthwhile looking at a weather compensating module being installed, as well as a smart control system. These will both save you money in the long run, as they will help knock down needless usage of energy. Smart control systems I recommend, are either Drayton wiser, or Honeywell evohome. They both allow you to control each radiator individually, as long as you have a thermostatic radiator valve fitted, but the Drayton works out a lot cheaper.

What you will probably find with Viessmann @R1R2, is that unless you are a gas engineer, they won't tell you anything but the basics, as it is for yours and their safety. I have dealt with Viessmann for over 15 years and never had any trouble with them whatsoever.