Should i replace my boiler or repair?

[Qqbank01]

Our boiler is having a problem on hot water flow into radiator incorrectly, causing no hot water to bath/shower, our engineer quote for repair is about £300, but he point out that our Vaillant boiler is quite old (estimated 16 years old), it looks good and working now but he suggested to replace a new one for long term running, should i repair it or replace it?

repair

Repair

Repair.

My boiler is nearly 30.

Has he given you a quote for a new boiler? Just repleced our 20 year old one it was £2.5k for a straightforward combo to combo (same brand so same pipework too) swap.

Personally I'd repair yours and start saving for a replacement when it dies a final death

He quote me £2.1k for worcester bosch and £2.7k on Vaillant, including all pipes and labor.

Replace, if you have the budget and while it's easy to do (because it won't be, without some sort of disincentive, forever) but do the repair if money is tight. It's probably just a diverter valve but, once they go, other parts seem to follow suit, in our experience.

I too had a 16 year old Vaillant boiler which began to have faults. I had a maintenance contract so these were repaired FOC but it was really beginning to niggle me. It served me well but I decided to go for a new boiler, I felt it was just prolonging the agony, and replaced it with a Worcester Bosch which is guaranteed for 10 years so no maintenance contract to pay for for a while. No regrets.

This is the similar thing that our engineer said, i don’t have any maintenance contract, our last service was 2 years ago, if boiler is broken i think i can’t claim for home insurance ?

I’ve never had a plumber look at a boiler and say “that will do you for a good few years yet”.

Replace... our landlord has been playing this stupid game of 'just repair it' for years its a MASSIVE inconvenience every time it breaks and we are left without hot water and have to take time out of our lives to wait in for someone to come out to fix it + it has cost more in repairs than it would have to just bloody replace it.

Repair

I’d repair - my boiler is 39 years old and still works totally fine.
Obviously if parts are hard to get then that would be different and I’d replace.

Get some quotes for a replacement ASHP boiler, there could be a Govt BUS grant of £7500 towards the cost.
https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/boiler-upgrade-scheme/

People who say 'my boiler is 40 or 50 years old and is still going fine' is utterly no use to anyone.

Modern boilers are not built the same as a one 4 decade old or more, they don't last like that and are not designed too.

Its like how the Queen Mothers fridge bought for her in 1954 is still working but a modern cheap mass produced fridge for £200 from Argos will NOT last 71 years.

Hi I’d replace too, I’ve just replaced my old hot water system( water tanks immersion, boiler) with boxt for a Worcester Bosch combi really pleased with it, you pay monthly with boxt life which covers service & repairs, might be worth looking in to? I was worried at first but really pleased with it! Pretty sure I’ve a referral code if interested please dm me & I’ll take a look.

You should get a new Vaillant, they are the better brand. By the time you need to replace a new one bought now, you may only have the choice of getting a heat pump.

At 16 years get it repaired. Have the system fully flushed out and then topped up with anti corrosion fluid and have the fitter install a Fernox TF1 magnetic filter or similar and lean how to clean it every year which is a very simple thing to do but helps alot. Your system will have an extended life.

Have you looked into getting a heat pump? Government grant covers most of the cost. You'd potentially need to upgrade older radiators to more efficient ones.

A well designed, well fitted heat pump is great and mine is very cheap to run.

That sounds very reasonable. Literally getting quotes at the moment to replace my 28 year old vaillant. I had mine from new on an annual service contract. Suddenly, at 19 years and 6 months I was told the contract would be cancelled as the boiler was no longer being manufactured and no parts would be available through vaillant. The boiler has continued well like yours. But now the repairs are edging up in cost and frequency, and I think better efficiency is a good idea.

As I understand it the 10 year boiler warranties are only valid.If you have the boiler serviced annually , the service can be done by any qualified boiler engineer , it doesn't have to be a full singing all dancing service contract.

16 years is getting on a bit for a modern boiler.

Some of the old ones last forever but their efficiency is useless so you pay maybe almost double the amount in gas charges than you would with a new one.You also get much worse emissions.

I guess whether it is worth repairing depends on what is broken which is not clear from the OP.

Expansion vessels, valves, fans and pumps (basically anything with moving parts) and heat exchangers are all things that can stop working and need replacement.

Agree with @GasPanic about old boilers. Our 50+ old one worked fine, until it didn't, but the new one was much better (that was an oil fired one).

I would replace mainly because you may not have that option at all in a few years time when it breaks down again.