British Gas CH quote negotiability

Stonk

Hi,

I had BG in to quote for a boiler and cylinder replacement, and other associated works. Obviously I know their quote will be the highest by far, but I wanted to know the maximum, and then work downwards from there.

The quote was actually not quite as outrageous as I expected. It's high, yes, no doubt about it, with a definite premium in it for "peace of mind". I know how much I'm prepared to pay for peace of mind and all the other intangible stuff they go on about - I don't really want to get into a discussion about that!

All I really want to know is, how flexible are they on the initial quote? What sort of percentage can I expect to haggle off?

I know a lot of big home improvement companies (double glazing, conservatories, etc) discount steeply from their initial quote, easily and quickly, but it took the BG salesman a lot of time and typing into his laptop to wangle in a piddly discount of £225. I told him to find the column marked "profit" and reduce it, but he said "if only it were so easy!". Is their pricing system really so inflexible (in which case I won't bother trying further), or should I persevere?

Many thanks.
Paul.

tstodart

I think the golden rule is to always get three quotes anyway. I found BG to be about 50% more expensive than the installer I went with. I doubt you'll negotiate that sort of discount.

Another critical consideration is what boiler are they offering to install?
Which magazine have a review of the best (trial subscription £1) or there is plenty of comments on this site. If its a budget boiler then you might pay the price in the long term.

I am not sure the value of the BG piece-of-mind. If you get a boiler installed by one of the boiler companies trained installers (check their website) you will usually get a 1-2 year guarantee anyway.

Radsteral

a bathroom i refurbished recently, in that house bg had installed a boiler
a own brand boiler and for a small house like that they hadnt opted for a combi! at 6800 boiler plus 5 radiators i would stuff the BG sticker up their aaaaaa@
if the other fiters charge 4000 for that house then 2800 saving is a total piece of mind whatever hapens.
the best boiler is less than 1000 and to fit costs less than 1000 anyway

Stonk

Of course, I will be getting at least 2 other quotes, and I expect them to be about 70% of BG's current quote. I went through this process a couple of years ago, and that was the ratio back then. I think the salesmen then and now both realised I was a savvy consumer and didn't bother quoting astronomical nonsense like Radsteral mentions!

I'm absolutely not prepared to pay that much extra for BG, but if I can knock them down by 15%, then they become more tempting. I'd be astonished if they matched my other quotes (i.e. dropping 30%), but was wondering whether something of the order of 15% is at all realistic. To my mind, there'd still be plenty of profit left in there for them.

The proposed boiler is a Worcester Greenstar 24Ri, which I understand is considered to be a good one.

keystone

How big is the property? 24kW might be a tad underpowered and you may be better off with one with a bit more ooomph!

Cheers

Stonk

keystone wrote: »

How big is the property? 24kW might be a tad underpowered and you may be better off with one with a bit more ooomph!

Really? An EA would call it "4/5-bedroom detached". The rooms are a touch bigger than average, on the whole. None of the quotes I had 2 years ago suggested anything other than 24kW, so there did seem to be a consensus. If it's borderline, though, I would prefer to over-spec.

keystone

Stonk wrote: »

Really? An EA would call it "4/5-bedroom detached"

More than one bath/shower room? A combi won't supply more than one shower at the same time anyway.

The rooms are a touch bigger than average, on the whole. None of the quotes I had 2 years ago suggested anything other than 24kW, so there did seem to be a consensus. If it's borderline, though, I would prefer to over-spec.

How big is an average room? You need to consider your whole house requirement for both DHW and CH to determine the answer. There is a whole house calculator at
http://www.sedbuk.com/

BTW a 24 kw typically will give you 9½ litres per minute @ 35 degree rise. Even if you only have one shower and that isn't enough for you then that on its own says a 24kW ain't big enough.

Presumably everyone who has quoted has measured your mains pressure/flowrate to ensure that a combi is appropriate?

Cheers

Stonk

Aha. Misunderstanding on your part, I think. I didn't say anything about it being a combi boiler. It most certainly is not - or better not be! Worcester Greenstar 24Ri is a regular boiler, right?

The salesman ruled out combi boilers within 2 seconds, and he was quite right to do so. I like a bath, and I don't want to wait quarter of an hour to run it!

keystone

Stonk wrote: »

Aha. Misunderstanding on your part, I think. I didn't say anything about it being a combi boiler. It most certainly is not - or better not be! Worcester Greenstar 24Ri is a regular boiler, right?

Sorry - picked up the word "combi" in post 3 and went into auto. My mistake. Consider it withdrawn.

The salesman ruled out combi boilers within 2 seconds,

Good - my thoughts exactly without being too harsh initially but there are too may peeps around just chucking any old combi in any old where, run away and hang the consequences!

and he was quite right to do so. I like a bath, and I don't want to wait quarter of an hour to run it!

Exactly. You need what is right for you.

Cheers