What does a new boiler & installation cost in London?

[Polly1]

£2,200

He's not BG though. He was asking £1,500 2 years ago. That's about 20% inflation!

Even at £1,500 it was a joke. £700 for the boiler & £800 for sundries and a days work.

Sure I agree doing a really great installation would be worth something, but we're talking replacement here, no core cutting, pipes are positioned, filling loops are usually in the boiler themselves these days and I'll even dispose of the old boiler myself and I might even throw in free parking for the day, hell I'll even rush to the shop if bits are needed to complete the job!

 

[JohnD]

OOI, how much has inflation put up the value of your houses in that time?

 

[Polly1]

OOI, how much has inflation put up the value of your houses in that time?

You can't spend it unless you borrow more. And why would I do that when a BG contract is so economical?

 

[EliteHeat]

I have given up bothering with people who think a couple of grand for a quality installation that will provide all of their heating and hot water requirements for about ten years is too much.

If they really think that BG is such a philanthropic organisation, then let thm learn to their, or their tenants, considerable cost and discomfort.

Also, don't get me started on those idiots who have watched all of the motivational "how to secure a bargain" programmes on TV. As soon as someone comes out with "I've checked the price on the internet and .." I start looking for the door.

 

[JohnD]

So I take it your original investment has grown by more than the 20% p.a. you complain about.

 

[Softus]

I mean that compared to a new boiler, the £198 fix anything price from British Gas is pretty good.
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So all-in-all, BG looks pretty competetive compared to the installation prices I'm hearing.

Then I suggest that you go with BG - it will be one fewer short-time-cost-driven blinkered and whinging customer for everyone else to have to deal with.

A straight replacement of a combi boiler can be done in an 8 hour day

Then I suggest you go ahead and do it, and remove yourself and/or the flat occupants from the gene pool in the process.

You guys do an important job, but maybe not as important as your prices might suggest!

We do a job, not an important one, and the prices reflect the cost of the materials, the labour involved, the overheads, and the profit. Your assumption that the profit is excessive betrays a poor understanding of the labour and the overheads, which is not uncommon amongst whingers.

I've learned a lot about plumbing over the years

It would seem that you haven't learned enough yet.

No offence intended of course - just my observations.

 

[Softus]

I agree that your Polish unregistered plumber can change a boiler in 8 hours BUT have you considered how long it takes to do the job properly?

On behalf of Polish plumbers everywhere, why don't you just f*ck off Agile.

 

[Polly1]

I mean that compared to a new boiler, the £198 fix anything price from British Gas is pretty good.
.
.
.
So all-in-all, BG looks pretty competetive compared to the installation prices I'm hearing.

Then I suggest that you go with BG - it will be one fewer short-time-cost-driven blinkered and whinging customer for everyone else to have to deal with.

A straight replacement of a combi boiler can be done in an 8 hour day

Then I suggest you go ahead and do it, and remove yourself and/or the flat occupants from the gene pool in the process.

You guys do an important job, but maybe not as important as your prices might suggest!

We do a job, not an important one, and the prices reflect the cost of the materials, the labour involved, the overheads, and the profit. Your assumption that the profit is excessive betrays a poor understanding of the labour and the overheads, which is not uncommon amongst whingers.

I've learned a lot about plumbing over the years

It would seem that you haven't learned enough yet.

No offence intended of course - just my observations.

Competition is a tough thing isn't it.

Frankly I'm sick of half knowledgable plumbers who come round & say it might be this, it might be that, why don't we try this or that and see if it's repaired if we're lucky. Or better still, I'll sell you a new boiler for an inflated amount because truthfully, I don't know if I can fix it, I can't be bothered to try and I'd much rather be paid 10 times more to do a more straightforward job and I don't even know if I can get the parts quickly for you or not anyway.

I used BG 6 weeks ago on another boiler problem. The guy was professional, on time, seemed to have a small army of people to be able to phone to discuss the problem and diagnose it correctly. He got a parking ticket & laughed it off, not complaining to me about it & not trying to squeeze a few pounds from me for parking like some guys do. He ordered the parts while there at my place for delivery to his base for the next morning. He turned up the next day and fixed it. No arguments, no if's, no but's, got another parking ticket and laughed it off, printed me off a receipt on the spot and shook my hand with a smile. Bloody hell, you could even say he looked like the guy on the TV ad!!! All-in-all, a bargain!

But seriously, at the end of the day, the BG maintenance contract deal is a form of insurance isn't it. You pay, everyone else pays, some of you dip into the trough to get repairs done.

 

[Softus]

Frankly I'm sick of half knowledgable plumbers...

Frankly, you're inviting the wrong people round. If you're in the habit of getting work done then you could do with people you can trust to do the work competently and not overcharge. I do some work for some property investors, but they're usually not my favourite type of customer because, well to be quite honest, most of them are barking mad parasitic t*ssers. Present company excepted of course.

...No arguments, no if's, no but's, got another parking ticket and laughed it off, printed me off a receipt on the spot and shook my hand with a smile. b****y hell, you could even say he looked like the guy on the TV ad!!! All-in-all, a bargain!

I agree.

But seriously, at the end of the day, the BG maintenance contract deal is a form of insurance isn't it. You pay, everyone else pays, some of you dip into the trough to get repairs done.

An astute observation.

 

[Polly1]

The problems us landlords are up against:

- We need to control our costs, just like any other business.

- We are bound by law now for certain types of properties (licensed HMO's for anyone who know what I mean) to keep the HW and heating working.

So we need to find a place in between these two controls that we're comfortable with. In the case that caused me to start this thread, BG will be good for a repair, but I would still like to find a reasonably priced installer who does a good job and is actually available when something goes wrong with the job later!

 

[Nixt]

You've made it clear. Everyones out to con you, you know enough about plumbing and BG offer you great maintenance service.

You clearly aren't looking for DIY advice so (no dis-respect) you may as well p*** off and install the things yourself.

 

[Polly1]

Was it because I said I was a Landlord?

In this thread, I wasn't after DIY advice, I was after an indication of a fair price to install a new boiler.

So why don't you **** off & let someone else answer....

 

[Softus]

The problems us landlords are up against:

- We need to control our costs, just like any other business.

As you say, just like any other business, but which business owners come on here moaning about the cost of having work done? Only property investors, that's who, and mostly because they think they've learned "a lot" about plumbing. You're foolhardy enough to be joe-90!

- We are bound by law now for certain types of properties (licensed HMO's for anyone who know what I mean) to keep the HW and heating working.

This isn't a problem per se - why not just flout the law like so many landlords do? Then all you'd need to do is assign some contingent funds against the risk of being found out and/or prosecuted.

...I would still like to find a reasonably priced installer who does a good job and is actually available when something goes wrong with the job later!

There you go again with your primary criterion being "reasonably priced". If you concentrated on "competent and trustworthy" then the person you'd find would automatically be reasonably priced.

FFS.

 

[Nixt]

Could't give a t*ss what you do and how much you make (as it bothers you what others make). But this forum is fir DIY advice not for what you're after, which is not even about price but more to vent your feelings about the price of work that you are free to do yourself.

 

[Polly1]

Could't give a t*ss what you do and how much you make (as it bothers you what others make). But this forum is fir DIY advice not for what you're after, which is not even about price but more to vent your feelings about the price of work that you are free to do yourself.

Free to install a new boiler myself? Not that I know of due to CORGI lobbying govt. Correct me if I'm wrong.