Boiler replacement costs – reasonable or not?

Hi Paul,

I got a quote a few months ago from British Gas as there was some sort of grant for older boilers where the boiler is free with installation.

The work needed doing seemed less than above, but the fitment price was the same you were quoted without even the boiler!

Reply to the comment left by "Neil Patterson" at "24/04/2017 - 15:55":

Thanks Neil.

British Gas are well known for their sky high prices. A Which report identified that they can be up to 75% dearer than local independent installers - see http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/08/british-gas-boiler-prices-investigated-225391/.

The parts alone for the boiler, flue, inhibitor, cleanser, etc are around the £1000 mark. Therefore, labour is being charged at around £1400 +VAT - which for a day's work - is unbelievable.

The last time I had a boiler replaced it cost £1700. That was in Manchester four years ago and done by an independent Gas Safe engineer.
I agree with the comments about British Gas prices. Recently I took out a Landlord policy with them but withdrew again quickly when it became evident that most of what I wanted was not covered and it would all cost considerably more than my usual engineer charges.

Has going through the roof been itemised as I am guessing that is not cheap?

Just had the same boiler fitted in a house and the cost was £1550 including new wireless room stat, think your being stung!

Well, there is an interesting twist to this little episode!

Just had another Gas Safe engineer out who identified that the original engineer who stated that the boiler was dangerous, had failed to visually inspect the boiler flue in the loft. (The background to me originally seeking a new boiler was that an engineer had said that the boiler was dangerous, after fitting a replacement component as part of the original call out for lack of hot water). Following the failure of a gas emission test, what the engineer should have done - I am told, is to then visually inspect the flue, and at that point he would have seen that the flue joints had separated, which would have accounted for the failure of the test.

Long and short of this is that the flue can be reassembled and tested, at which point the installation would be considered safe and my tenants can have both hot water and heating again. Cost of flue reassembly is £150.

First call tomorrow is going to be back to the engineer who failed to visually check the flue in the loft, followed by a second call to the engineer who carried out a Landlord's Gas safety check (CP12) six weeks ago, and also failed to pickup that the flue had started to come apart in the loft area.

Consequently, I now have a new best friend in the form of Gas Safe engineer who will be rewarded for his honest approach by getting all subsequent boiler related work on my properties in the area.

Glad for the happy ending...but just a thought for the future
On the choice of Boiler - Personally I would avoid Ideal Logic. I have one in my Resi which is a new build and another in a new build BTL.Both have needed a fair amount of attention for intermittent faults in under five years - in the case of the BTL, in less than two!
As a consequence I'm now good friends with my local central heating engineer! He tells me their business was close to going under a few years back and these new range are a 'make and break' attempt to regain some market traction. It's no surprise that they seem to be a choice for mass volume house builders (i.e. cheap) and the items that fail seem to be low price point internal components. Building to a reasonable price point might seem to make sense from a consumers perspective but as a Landlord I want my installations to be bullet proof and not give me any hassle for at least 7-10 years.
Interestingly enough, in my other BTLs where I've installed or inherited higher quality installations,they seem to run trouble free and the annual service seems enough to keep the hassle factor at bay...
PS Pricing the work above in the Colchester area seems a tad high - it's about a Grand for the bits so how many days work and how many people to charge another £1500? He might get away with that price on my side of Essex but not over your way. I think someone suggested getting British Gas to quote - half that price and you're probably in the right sort of ball park...

Claudio,

Thanks for your comments.

Yes, the whole choice of boiler question appears to be a bit of a minefield, and the answer also varies with each Gas Engineer. The Ideal comes with a 7 year parts and labour guarantee, compared to the Worcester Bosch units which have a 5 year parts and labour. These (Bosch) seem to be highly rated, and the view of the Ideal units are that in the past they were very poor but the newer units are up there in terms of reliability with the Worchester Bosch boilers, hence the length of guarantee offered.

The general consensus from all engineers seems to be that most modern boilers whilst more efficient compared to older style boilers are only likely to have a useful life span of between 10-15 years at most. So from a tenants perspective - that great news - they get cheaper heating bills but from a landlords perspective, we need to be budgeting to replace the boiler about every 12 years.

Approx 18 months ago I paid £1800 for a combi-boiler renewal (Vaillant with 7 years warranty).

In recent years I have installed the Ideal Esprit Eco2 boiler. All in they're about £500.00 inc flue etc and a free magnatec filter (City Plumbing) and have an amazing warranty and service support network. My plumber rates them highly.

He charges me a flat rate of £250.00 for a like for like change. With a good wireless stat and programmer and a bit of plume management and sentinel, I reckon on about £900 - £1000.00 each time I need a new boiler. Bargain.