Boiler advice - repair or renew?

[Wingedharpy]

Baxi combi boiler is almost 13 years old.
Central heating system working fine.
Hot water is currently dipping in temperature periodically - at all hot taps and both showers.
With the aid of Google etc, I've diagnosed the problem as a bunged up plate heat exchanger.
This hasn't been confirmed as the problem by a plumber.
Advice wanted is, is it worth trying to get this repaired, replaced or cleaned up on a boiler of that age or would it be better to replace the whole boiler with a more modern one?

I don't know Baxi, but after a quick google I would phone them up and see what they advise.

They may have some sort of fixed fee repair service with their own engineers who have all the parts on the van. (Vaillant do for older boilers which are past warranty).

I have the exact same problem, Baxi combi boiler, 13 years old, central heating is fine but hot water is a bit tepid. Had an engineer round today, he said we need a new plate heat exchanger and diverter valve. Quoted £320 for parts and 2-3 hours labour at £85 an hour, so roughly £600 all in.
He said due to the age of the boiler he would recommend a new boiler, quoted 2.6k for that! I am going to get a few quotes but I am also stuck with the dilemma of repair or replace?

We have an 18 year old Baxi. Our local plumber advised to call Baxi as he was not sure what was wrong. They arrived and had the part in the van so it was fixed immediately, better than the local plumber who always had to order parts in. We pay a monthly amount (about £30), I never used to do this but with an old boiler it seems a good idea. I think if they cannot fix they will take the cost off a new boiler.

I realised I didn't answer any of your questions wingedharpy. I suggest you call Baxi to see what they offer. Your boiler is young compared to ours but we don't have a combi. I did research brands when ours went wrong, I had thought we would get one of the German brands but Baxi are rated just below the German brands by Which, and are half the price!

Thank you all.
Very helpful and much obliged.
@TimeZonedOut, I was interested in a German boiler, (Viessman), as Germany is supposed to be renowned for its engineering, but was a touch worried in case getting parts may be an issue in the future, post Brexit.
That's interesting to know regarding Which and Baxi.
Other than this, we've never had any problems with it.
We don't have any sort of service plan with anyone but I'll speak to Baxi and see if/what they offer.

@Wingedharpy
We have just been through this although our boiler was older. It was working fine but had got into a breakdown every 18 months due to a known fault.

What tipped us over into changing it was we have had a BG Homecare contract for years and years. I never usually buy such service type contracts but have with the heating as they have been so reliable and can always get parts....or so we thought.

About two years ago had a breakdown. No heating and BG couldn't come for 3 days. When they were due, got a phone call to be told they couldn't come. When pressed, they admitted basically that if a breakdown came in from someone classed as vulnerable, then they leapfrogged us. Any customer can deem themselves as vulnerable. What a joke!. The engineer that eventually came said the other problem was they had cut staffing and in reality in winter didn't have a hope in hell of getting out within 24 hours. I thought WTF ...may as well have a cheap insurer then!

I was that hacked off I decided not to renew it but was persuaded to with a big discount. Roll forward to late last year and same issue.....took BG 2 weeks to get the part.

Decided enough was enough and boiler needed to be changed. Got quotes and also asked advice from @pigletjohn. Settled on a Vaillant Ecotec plus boiler which is a stainless steel heat exchanger and also has automated pump speeds and can automatically adjust heat output (important apparently😳😳😳😳). Plumber said Veissman are good but parts not quite as easy to get a valiant and he carries a lot of the Vaillant parts anyway. Replaced the boiler.....incredibly quiet and the gas bill first full month, which was the coldest in years as been 15% lower in KW usage.

In addition...DH is cancelling the BG Homecare as we have an 8 year warranty on the boiler now and if needed I will just get the plumber than installed it who is local.

Just as well I don't need BG as apparently the staff went on strike over how they are being treated...hours increased conditions worsened so they are not even doing routine appointments and don't even come out unless you have no heating or hot water...and then it is days. 2 neighbours have been U.K. in arms about it..

Anticipated savings from getting the new boiler is £500 a year from reducing gas bill and saving on the service contract. That allows for a yearly service.

We didn’t have a Bali but had a 15 year old boiler. Plumber said parts would be difficult but he’s be happy to carry on servicing it if that’s what we wanted,

We decided to get a new one, the difference was quite marked, it was more efficient and better.

Google mr central heating for boiler prices a decent plumber will swap it out in a day
New combination inc flue etc should be around £2k fitted
I wouldn’t recommend spending more than £500 on a boiler over 10 years old

Just wondering have you tryed just having hot water onand no heating on ? my boiler doesn't do both at the same time.

@Erimaz strangely our hot water is absolutely fine when the heating is on and is only tepid when the heating is off. I was told the central heating and hot water use a different part to heat the water so I don’t quite understand how the hot water is piping hot when the heating is on unless it somehow steals hot water from the heating 🤷‍♀️. At the moment it is not a huge problem as the heating tends to be on in the morning when we use the shower but we will definitely notice it when the weather gets better.
The new boiler the plumbing company recommended was a Worcester Greenstar 30i which comes with a 10 year guarantee on parts and labour.

How did you conclude it was the heat exchanger? Sounds more likely to be a faulty diverter valve. Easy fix.

You need a new heat pump. No more fossil fuels 💪

We have just had a brand new Baxi boiler fitted, new particle exchange and thermostat (nest system) for £2,600.

Our old boiler died, we had no heat. It would have been £600 to fix a 13 year old boiler.

Our plumber recommended Baxi over Valliant due to their customer service. Baxi will send someone out within 48 hours whilst it is in its 10 year warranty.

We moved into a house with I assume an older boiler. I don’t know what it is or how it works. The hot water takes hours to heat in the winter when the heating is on. It runs out quickly and and heating isn’t very efficient .I don’t know whether to get a new boiler. Apparently we can’t have a combi for some reason. Can anyone tell me how old this is ?

@NewPapaGuinea : Google.
Other people have experienced the same issues and a plumbers q and a site pointed towards the heat exchanger being at fault.
The hot water is hot, whether heating is on or not, but then dips in temperature and goes down to tepid for 30 seconds or so, then gradually becomes hot again for a minute or 2, before dipping again.
And the cycle continues.

@Eloisedublin123: Draughty old Victorian terraced house here so don't think the heat pump idea would be suitable. Plus, they look to be enormous.

Just fitted a 28k combi boiler for someone today £600 for new boiler including flue kit and filter and chemicals plus labour 6 hours
it went in the same position so minimal pipework , fitted a Magnatech filter , flushed system before and after
Impressed with the boiler Heat Line Capriz 2 which shares lots of parts with Vailliant and has a two year warranty

There are deals out there , I didnt get mine from there but Wickes sell these

GoLightlyonthe Earth that is a hot water tank not to be confused with a boiler
Fit a system boiler with a pressurised hot water tank for the best system

@billysboy

GoLightlyonthe Earth that is a hot water tank not to be confused with a boiler Fit a system boiler with a pressurised hot water tank for the best system

Shows how much I know!! I will go and look at the boiler now... so embarrassing.

No drama a lot of people call them a boiler

Just be aware the best boiler in the world with old rads will still be inefficient