Shall we pay 10K for a fitted kitchen?

[snowleopard]

We know nothing about kitchens and have never had one fitted... Moben came round last night and we have been quoted about 10K. It's not a huge kitchen but it is complicated and a move from one room to another. I know we could just buy units and get a local fitter, but I want to have to do absolute minimum organisation (work freelance, need my evenings for work) and I don't know any good ones so it would be hit and miss.

Are Moben OK? Reliable and quality? Hideously expensive and/or is it worth it? One thing we do NOT want is for it all to go wrong and be left waiting around 6 months for parts - horror stories I have heard about IKEA etc.

One the one hand it's a vast sum and I'm horrified - on the other we have the money (left over from previous flat sale), we've saved it for spending on the house and what we're doing will effectively free up a room and give us 3 bedrooms plus a study, so should increase the house value by well above 10K.

Any tips and opinions? Thanks

does it include applicances? And everything else like tiling, electrics, plumbing etc?

NO NOT USE MOBEN
google their customer satisfaction
They are DREADFUL

Get a local builder in for a quote
Bespoke kitchen half the price

hang on you're moving it to another room and they've quoted 10K .. double check that that includes siting and moving gas, plumbing, electrics, lights etc .. does it also include finishing .. tiling, decorating etc

as a guideline kitchen fitting is generally around 3K quoted by showrooms .. you can get that for about 1,200 from a fitter nearby .. but if you're moving stuff around that's separate .. these quotes are based on a sticking it in where the outlets already are

I'm not sure what kind of rep Moben have .. I'd check up on it

Moben do have an awful reputation.

For ten grand you can john lewis to do it

Yes, new appliances, tiling, lighting, plumbing, wiring, gas supply move, all that stuff included - we may have to pay extra to move a drain, but that's yet to be assessed.

sounds bloody cheap .. I'd be nervous

It sounds like it's worth spending the money, but I would definitely get some more quotes first.

I have heard good things about Wickes - a friend of mine used them and they did a good job.

The trouble is, all kitchen companies get a total slagging if you google them - because anyone who has had a bad experience has a rant online. I'd like to hear from anyone who's had a really good experience and who with!

Honestly Twig, is that cheap? it sounds like and arm and a leg to me!

The plus with Moben, as far as I can tell, is they have a compensation scheme and if it's X days late or goes wrong in whatever way you get compensation - so I hope that would avoid months of hassle. With a local fitter you'd have no comeback and they could be a cowboy. I can see the need to get other quotes - just don't want to get too many as last night took all bloody evening, DP and I were knackered, we can't do that too many times as I have to work...

it depends on the size of your kitchen and the cabinets your having and extras.

Does sound quite cheap for all that work.

That sounds very cheap for that amount of work involved. We had a quote from Magnet for a medium-sized kitchen (one of their cheapest) for units and appliances only and that came to £8,000. That didn't even include worktops let alone fitting, tiling, plumbing etc. We've getting a similar kitchen from B&Q for a fraction of the price.
By the way Moben and Dolphin are part of the same company and I know people who have had horrendous problems with Dolphin.

problem is it all mounts up .. and I think if you're turning a room that isn't an existing kitchen into one you'd be looking at a fair amount into the basic works .. plumbing, electrics, gas and making remedial repairs for actually getting it in there from where it is at present

Yes 10K is a lot of money

I can recommend a kitchen fitter who can do the whole job if you're within the M25 .. we used them last year

I meant yes 10K is a lot of money .. but its not that much when it comes to the crunch with kitchens .. a standard kitchen from one of these kind of places is 8 - 10K I've found

Thanks for the offer twig but we're in Edinburgh - if anyone can recommend a small local company or fitter I'd be interested.

Moben is the sister company of Dolphin Bathrooms who were dreadful - overpriced and not good quality fittings, imo. We had shower attachments snapping within the first week, and when the bracket on the toilet seat broke just a year later (out of guarantee) it cost £114 to replace with an identical cheap and plasticky fragile one!!!

Our kitchen was from Wickes and we were very pleased with it. Good quality finish and fittings for a decent price. We got our builders to fit it.

Cost: £3000 and that was with me buying a extra luxurious sink separately (at £350 blush), and a top AEG oven. We didn't replace our dishwasher or washing machine at the time.

kitchen fitting will be cheaper if you go direct to a fitter/builder that through a kitchen showroom. the kitchen supplier will be taking a cut from what the fitter is being paid. we are having a new kitchen fitted atm, this is a breakdown of costs which might help a bit as we are also having building work done :

plumbing work - moving radiator and sink, plumbing washer, tidying up pipes to boiler and moving central heating pump - £460

building work - blocking in old back door, new drain for sink waste, plastering, taking out window and fitting french doors - £800

french doors and 2 windows - £950

kitchen units - inc worktops, sink, tap etc (from ikea) - £2200

kitchen fitting - on a day rate of £100 a day - 3/4 days - £350 approx

flooring - laminate tiles - £300

total - £4260, our budget was £6000 but the extra goes towards new cooker, decorating and any added extra's.

hth

Moben/Dolphin have been on watchdog and various consumer programmes - they are infamous for screwing up jobs and leaving customers out of pocket with missing parts.
WE had B+Q do out kitchen at our old flat.
Ok we had one or two little things, but they did a good job in the end, ironed out any minor issues promptly and refunded items that had been not needed.
Ikea I would recommend without question. A comapany a few complaints are normal.
Moben did ny inlaws over horrendously and a house sale was depending on it as well. 7 months it took them, and the wiring was poorly done adn technically illegal.

Yes, as lucykate says, you should explore the possibility of having a kitchen maker do the work - IMO it looks better anyway.

Our kitchen is handmade, and the total inc. integrated appliances, (reconditioned) aga, solid oak worktops, granite drainer, slate flooring etc came to 11k earlier this year. I thought that was a lot but it sounds like a bargain compared to an off-the-shelf one for 10K!

This also included building materials and labour for knock down of wall and knock through of chimney breast. However my DH was 'paid' a minimum fee for this - being a builder type.

Where do you live? I couldn't recommend our kitchen maker highly enough.

My sister had a Moben kitchen fitted about 4 yrs ago. She's just had an extension which necessitated a new kitchen. When the builders dismantled her current one they said that the electrics were hazardous and it had been badly fitted. Moben had done the electircs. The kitchen came with a free / massively discounted range cooker that has had so many problems I couldn't begin to tell you. she wouldn't have Moben again. We had our kitchen done and spent £800 at Ikea due to a tight budget. It was v. well fitted by a local builder and looks great. Two yrs on still great. Our builders told us that basically unless you are paying top dollar that the cabinets and doors are pretty sim. - Moben., Magnet etc. It's all about how well it is fitted and attention to detail. Ours was easy to organise and the extras,like the pull out shelves in the cupboards are great.

This is very interesting. You have to get stuck in to this kitchen lark don't you? Just wanted to pay and get it done but of course you've got to put the legwork in, find out all about up-stands and kickboards....

Twig: am in SE London - would your kitchen fitter cover this area?

toots will let you know our quote for a neighbour whose also a builder in se london..hes doing out his own house..ripping it out completely and were in and out of his house getting ideas..he`s just knocked through a chimney breast in the kitchen[an alcove has been built in it for a range cooker ] for £250 ..we had quotes from other companies nearing £1400!!! he knocked it through ,put in lintel and then plastered it up and now we want him to plaster our whole kitchen then fit out new kitchen etc ..so he s got to quote yet but will let you know..

re moaning online - DS2, who is 13, quoted at me wisely this week that satisfied customers might mention it to one or two friends, dissatisfied customers tell the WORLD! Don't know where he got it from but have heard it before . (We were looking at a PC football game btw)

OTOH Moben don't have a good rep in general.

I found this website really interesting when researching kitchens. Moben don't come out well. I am in Fife so have local knowledge of places near Edinburgh but we ended up getting a rather expensive one (Intoto) - can't give you any tips on bargains. But Howden's are well rated apparently, if you want quality off the shelf at a good price.