Q)= howdens kitchen quality & hardy inside ???

allan673

hi, as per previous post im looking at going for a howdens kitchen "cream gloss finish is 100% what i want".

are the kitchens of a good standard please. im just waiting for the designer to arrange to come and visit me, its arranged through a local kitchen fitter.

im also going for a magnet quote, so which are the best quality please. i want good quality as im not intending moving from this house.

also had a quote for a hardy inside kitchen, but its on the expensive side. what do you think of these kitchens?
hardys are sprayed gloss finish, im not sure if the otheers are vinyl wrap???

cheers

koolkid

Hi

We just had white high gloss units fitted from Magnet- we got them from Magnet as OH knows someone who works with them who got us a good deal. Our kitchen fitter usually uses Howdens and he said that if he was honest Howdens were better quality because the end panels were slightly thicker but apart from that there wasn't too much difference

HTH x

koolkid

P.S We have granite worktops... we sources these seperately if you were thinking of having these I would definitely look for a proper granite supplier rather than the unit supplier for the best deal

pramsay13

Not sure about the others, but we've got a howden's kitchen and we're extremely please with it.
We've two small children so doors take a small amount of battering, and need to be wiped constantly etc.
The default electrical appliances aren't great though, so in hindsight I would upgrade to better appliances.

dawnybabes

Have a Howden wood kitchen, 3 years in still is fab quality with no problems. We were a toss up between Magnet and Howdens, Howdens won just on quality. Our fitter fits both and he said they where much the same.

Welsh_Totster

When we rennovated this house 5 years ago we had our kitchen from Howdens, its a Schrieber kitchen (which MFI also supplied at 4 times the Howden price) 5 years on its still like new and we love it. We are moving house later this month and will be replacing the kitchen there with a Howdens kitchen, Id highly recommend them and the best bit is the carcases come ready assembled which is a bonus and saves your kitchen fitters time and you money!

CKdesigner

Hi Allan673

Obviously you will get plenty of recommendations from happy customers with Howdens kitchens but if you seek the advice of a true kitchen professional they will tell you that Howdens kitchens are for the bottom/builder end of the market. Sure Howdens are pre assembled which does make things a bit easier for the fitter but ultimately a true kitchen designer will not touch them because they are very limiting as to the range and unit sizes available. Then there is also the issue of their marketing policy of 80% off etc. With kitchens there is no such thing as a sale, units are only produced once an order has been placed so these national companies just rely on the 'sale' mentality. Then there is Magnet - as other posters have said, not much difference.

I don't know that much about Hardys inside other than it is a French company and its route to market is via independent kitchen specialists, so it should be a far superior product with a much larger menu of unit sizes to choose from. I can't help thinking though that a German kitchen from the likes of Schueller or Hacker would be a little cheaper and probably slightly better quality.

Hope this helps.

CK

Welsh_Totster

CKDesigner, as far as Im aware the 70% off with Howdens is the trade discount as you have to be in the trade to purchase from them (we have a trade account with them and there's no 'Sale' involved its a straight price, always) similarly from Magnet Trade who offer a similar discount from the prices seen by the general public in their showrooms. But Im sure you know that already.

CKdesigner

Welsh_Totster wrote: »

CKDesigner, as far as Im aware the 70% off with Howdens is the trade discount as you have to be in the trade to purchase from them (we have a trade account with them and there's no 'Sale' involved its a straight price, always) similarly from Magnet Trade who offer a similar discount from the prices seen by the general public in their showrooms. But Im sure you know that already.

Actually what I think is hilarious is that 'trades people' that have accounts with them actually think they are getting a 70% discount!

CK

Welsh_Totster

Put it this way, whatever they cost, they're not shoddy. Some people can afford a £30k kitchen made to exact requirements, some people can't. Oh and by the way I'm not a 'trades person' I happen to have a business that's not connected to a trade, however it still qualifies me to open a trade account to get a kitchen cheaper than that in a showroom.

Howdens still have to make a profit or they wouldnt be in business, but the likes of Magnet where the man off the street pays £10k for a kitchen from the showroom that could have been bought for £3k trade, it's a huge difference.

Anyway I'm sure if there was anyone on the boards here that had received an awful kitchen and service from Howdens or Magnet trade then I think they'd probably be just as vocal about it, if not more, than the people who are happy. Swings and roundabouts methinks!

Doozergirl

CKdesigner wrote: »

Actually what I think is hilarious is that 'trades people' that have accounts with them actually think they are getting a 70% discount!

CK

I don't think anyone is that dim. Everyone knows that nobody pays the ridiculous RRP

The % discount you obtain does make a difference because even 5% extra on an incredibly overpriced item actually adds up to quite a bit. On a cabinet that is listed insanely at £1000 then an extra 5% discount is £50 so it's really, really important to get the highest % possible.