Apollo 15/30B Boiler - BG suggest change - limited parts?

[Richardthe3rd]

Boiler made between 1983-1990 even if parts are available or not, maybe its time to start looking for a change. I bet there are not many other appliances in the property that are older than 25yrs.

Ah so you can justify the £1-2K installation cost to change it for a modern condensing boiler, that's has loads more expensive to replace components & will be less reliable. All to save a limited amount of gas per year.

Granted a new boiler will have an extended warranty for the manufacturer to wriggle out off at the slightest opportunity.

I think you've been listening too closely to the suits at BG??

Ive never suggested BG to install it?
I bet your cars not over 25 years old and im sure it cost you more than 2K. Why do people expect boilers to last forever and moan when they have to change it. As long as the TV is a flat screen and as big as the wall, and there is a brand new car on the drive.....f*ck the boiler!

I couldn't agree more, but the point is the boiler still works, spares are freely available & the customer was told otherwise. The 'cowboy in his polo shirt' wants the customer to spend money which I'm sure they can't afford, to replace a perfectly good boiler. While that's bad enough, it's far from an isolated case.

No real similarity between boilers & cars. Cars kept in good order grow in value with age, boilers end up in a skip.

 

[Richardthe3rd]

Well, as an ex BG fella, I'll side with PP here. I used to advise the client if their boiler was on the reduced parts list, and would ask them if they wanted a quote for a new boiler. It was made clear that there would be nothing wrong with sticking with the existing appliance for as long as it kept going, but it may not be repairable if it were to break. It was also made very clear that there was no obligation to have BG fit the replacement. In fact, I often told people that bg would be a lot more expensive than some local installers. It was up to them. And I was paid my tenner whether they bought the appliance or not. I don't dispute that some sharp sales practices might have gone on amongst some of my former colleagues, but they were a very small minority in my experience. Just the same as a minority of independents are sharks.

The point is Bob, the parts ARE available. Just cause the BG's puter or the likes says no. The software etc is maintained & updated by BG, so with the best will in the world, Joe Poloshirt will not know if parts a truly available or not, it's a con!

 

[petit_pablo]

BG's parts sourcing is much better than it used to be.

Once the manufacturers stopped making a part it was deemed obsolete, now they will scour the market to find them before declaring obsolete. I've had parts couriered overnight to jobs before from independant parts suppliers like gas appliance spares in Preston.

 

[gas112]

Petite thats not new either BG have been doing that since before 2000 when the obsolete parts help desk was set up i sat in with them for a day and watched them try to source parts but the only way that works is if the engineer contacts them or however its done now .
If engineer just tells cust then nothing can be done by the office then the whole company gets tarred

 

[petit_pablo]

Petite thats not new either BG have been doing that since before 2000 when the obsolete parts help desk was set up i sat in with them for a day and watched them try to source parts but the only way that works is if the engineer contacts them or however its done now .
If engineer just tells cust then nothing can be done by the office then the whole company gets tarred

Something has changed in regards to obsolete parts recently. Something to do with the procurement side of it. Goes back to the FCA involvement.

 

[Richardthe3rd]

Petite thats not new either BG have been doing that since before 2000 when the obsolete parts help desk was set up i sat in with them for a day and watched them try to source parts but the only way that works is if the engineer contacts them or however its done now .
If engineer just tells cust then nothing can be done by the office then the whole company gets tarred

Something has changed in regards to obsolete parts recently. Something to do with the procurement side of it. Goes back to the FCA involvement.

Well that's positive, but FFS how many years has it taken to provide a service of this nature to their customers. Certainly not the image they project to the poor unsuspecting British public.

Like all large companies, everyone is too busy covering their own ar.e to provide a service to customers.

 

[srhawksy]

Many thanks for all the replies - most helpful.

The reason I originally started this thread was because of my own experience with BG. I should start by saying that I have had a BG service contract on my own heating for some 25 years and have always been very happy indeed with their service. However, BG told me that my own boiler (warm air) should be changed around 6 years ago, stating that many parts were no longer available. I contacted the manufacturer direct only to be told that parts would be available for at least another 10 years! I went back to BG and was told that the engineer who called had made a mistake - some of the parts were no longer held by BG but were still covered and could be sourced if required.

So, whilst I think BG offer a great service, I just wanted to check that the same 'mistake' had not been made.

Thanks again for your help.

BG WILL sell you a new boiler if they can. Countless customers have told me this now, many of them are also leaving theirs contracts with BG coz they do f all! (from what I have seen)