New kitchen quote

ScoobyZ

I used to work as a Sales Manager at MFI and If I was you I would go to the following:

Sainsburys Homebase (keep an eye out for 10% off fridays)
MFI - keep an eye out for 25% - 30% off all items, I will cover more later.
B&Q.

Get 3 plans done. Pick your best one and then ask them all to price based on that, they wont mind doing it as long as you have a list of what you need. Often refered to as a "Larry List".

Play one against the other to get a good price.

With MFI always ask to see what their back pocket deals are. You will see it flash up on the screen, if they tab past it they are not offering them to you. Often they are a free dishwasher or extra 5% off. Some sale people offer you this as an incentive to comit on the day or have finance. Dont take either. Make sure if you do buy from MFI you have a clubcard as you get a few hundred quid of deals. You moan about the delivery price and say you will collect from store rather than pay delivery.(obviously you wont but helps them to remove the £30-£60) Also read the charter that they want you to sign and cross out bits you dont agree with. One final thing is if you delivery comes and there are a couple of things missing dont refuse the delivery as they often courier down the missing bits. Also sign boxes look ok but contents unchecked to cover you for damage. Plus dont book your fitter until 3-4 weeks after you have your first delivery or make sure he wont charge you if he has to come back and fit some stuff.

Scoobyz

PS dont feel pressured into buying when they say offer ends wednesday as there is always a new offer. Dont buy when its bogof as they double prices and deal isnt as good.

ScoobyZ

Anybody have any luck with the tips and save some cash ?

diddyd_2

I am in the process of buying a kitchen. I had an good idea of what we wanted then went to Magnet - what a load of c**p. They kept trying to add more and more cupboards, in their eyes if there was any wall space it must have a cupboard.Under duress they quoted for what I wanted.

B&Q and MFI were great, both quoted for qhat I wanted, gave subtle suggestions to improve design with pros and cons of each item then let me decide.

I ended up playing them off each other and ended getting Units, including plinth lighting, free fridge, free dishwasher and free delivery from MFI, the worktops and splash backs are coming from B&Q with a 20% discount.

The magnet cost of my basic kitchen was £4000.(not including fitting,fridge, dishwasher) my actual cost is £2500(OH will fit)

Look around and don't be afraid to walk away.

Heard good news about Howdens and have now set up an account(wish i new about them before, just tell them you are renovating a buy to let and you can get a trade account and they might suggest a fitter)

bobsa1

I have a B & Q kitchen which is fine but I hear Ikea are great. Might be worth trying them

across

ive just had an mfi kitchen fitted and they said it would take one week but it has taken two and its still not finished the first fitters were hopeless the worktop round the sink area was fitted on a slope quarter of inch out they spent three days making plastering work then fitted cupboards on wet plaster wall didnt even screw them in either so now they have begun to blow, they sink was like a waterfall last weekend when they put the wrong fittings on and glued it, they didnt have a workbench so used my washer to build base units with no dust sheet on it(it is now very scrached on top) they didnt cover anything only floor and used my ceramic cooker to put tools on including drill and mallet(it is very scratched too), they removed the plinth heater i already had and all the pipes are now damaged and it is left still leaking in a corner because it cannot be fitted back were they planned as they planned it to be under a fridge/freezer which is not possible nor would it fit anyway! (we are arguing to get plumber bill paid to have it either relocated or capped of)they also planned to fit to shelfs was of which was over my microwave which again is not possible because it needs ventalation above it so another impossible idea (bad planning)they broke my back gate left a mess everywhere and just did a number two which stank the house out day after day where we were meant to wash up too, we had no cooker or water downstairs for a week etc etc when i complained i had to wait days before someone else could come round and patch things up and the next fitters were great i wish we'd been given them from the start very professional they really worked hard and were a total contrast,the first lot had no respect for our home at all and seemed to be just creating more jobs,charging us extra and expecting cash in hand only plus they were banging and drilling until 8.15 pm one night (and we have a two and four year old to put to bed!)and 6.30ish the other nights so we didnt get a very professional service at all they'd turn up when they felt like it eg 10.15am first day go for long dinner over an hour and the kitchen was an empty shell for four days totally gutted and no progression being made apart from plastering walls this is our experiance obviously and we were unfortunate but i felt i should post my experiance as a warning so you know that even some mfi fitters can be of poor standard so be careful and keep a diary/photos if like us you experience behaviour like above. good luck!!! you'll need it!!! i never want a new kitchen ever ever ever ever again!! the shop doesnt seem that bothered either and the kitchen has cost around £5000! i am also left with an mfi laminate floor as well that noone will fit now without another bill because it was in the first fitter contract so when we asked for refund the shop says it is over seven days so we cant have one!! Most Frustrating Incident ever!

Limana68

We bought our kitchen from B & Q, which cost us 3K including appliances, great service which included all the planning etc and we got a local fitter to fit it and do the plumbing, then used a local electrican to do the electrics,and it cost us approx 4 K , and would have cost 5K if we used B & Q fitters!

Cristy

silvercar wrote:

John Lewis kitchens will be more expensive, I doubt you'd get it all in for under 5k, but their service is excellent.

OK, after a few months and a few more sums I think we will be able to stretch to £7-9k. Probably won't be until the new year though - will have to give JL a try. They are my favourite retailer in the whole wide world and I would much rather give my money to them than anyone else!

missk_ensington

I would recommend Howdens (as I've asid on other posts) but it is Trade On;y, however if you have a relative/friend with a Trade Account Id recommend them.

I would always advise buying your appliances independently, and arranigng fitting yourself if finances are an issue. I got a fab Range Cooker (RRP £1,299) FOR £610 including delivery from Ebay as an ex-display. Obviously there is some risk attached to buying off Ebay, but I have personally found goods to be very good and they are just ordinary businesses who use ebay as an alternative to a webpage.

I can recommend a few sellers that I've used on a regular basis for your washer/dishwasher/oven if you want to PM me.

The big firms often charge as much for fitting as for the actual kitchen! I would advise getting a local joiner to fit it. I paid £380 for 2 men to spend 2 days fitting my kicthen (although didn't include electrics or plumbing gas cooker (these were an additional £120)

B&Q are very reasonable and you get a lot for your money, although I can't comment on quality as I never bought from there in the end, got it from Howdens

ScoobyZ

missk_ensington wrote:

I would recommend Howdens (as I've asid on other posts) but it is Trade On;y, however if you have a relative/friend with a Trade Account Id recommend them.

I would always advise buying your appliances independently, and arranigng fitting yourself if finances are an issue. I got a fab Range Cooker (RRP £1,299) FOR £610 including delivery from Ebay as an ex-display. Obviously there is some risk attached to buying off Ebay, but I have personally found goods to be very good and they are just ordinary businesses who use ebay as an alternative to a webpage.

I can recommend a few sellers that I've used on a regular basis for your washer/dishwasher/oven if you want to PM me.

The big firms often charge as much for fitting as for the actual kitchen! I would advise getting a local joiner to fit it. I paid £380 for 2 men to spend 2 days fitting my kicthen (although didn't include electrics or plumbing gas cooker (these were an additional £120)

B&Q are very reasonable and you get a lot for your money, although I can't comment on quality as I never bought from there in the end, got it from Howdens

Howdens are MFI's trade outlet same as Hygena at currys was MFI. Comes from same factorys, same machines, same vans. Some people think they are cheaper but ive seen dozens of Howdens trade quotes dearer than MFI.

MFI are trying to split them into to seperate businesses for accounting purposes or in order to sell one off as the group are struggling at the moment.

missk_ensington

I got a quote from MFI and it was £4,665 I went to Howdens with the same plan and paid £1,200. It just goes to show how much profit margins are in MFI kitchens!