B&Q Kitchen our experiance from start to finish!

dave82_2

njames25 wrote: »

I too was dreading reading this being in the process of buying a B&Q kitchen. We have pictures we are happy with and the Surveyor is coming round tomorrow to measure up etc.

We too have gone for their fitting service, mainly because of the 2 year guarantee on all work they carry out. I was pleased to read that they did price match your appliances too as I have managed to find ours for over £250 cheaper online :-)

I hope the rest of our experience is as good as yours.

I hope so too. Would be good to get more than one succes story!

CKdesigner

dave82 wrote: »

It's all about overheads. It is cheeper to be an independent fitter or an online shop that takes orders for appliances that may well come direct from the supplier warehouse. Than to be a retailer with stores, staff etc etc

I can understand why B&Q are more expensive and I think it is good that they price match.

Hi Dave

Sorry you're wrong - in these days of transparency and the internet any retailer that thinks they can sell appliances for more than another retailer is very silly.

As you can probably tell I am a kitchen designer, the OH and I have our own independent kitchen specialist and we are always the same price or cheaper than any internet company for the appliances we sell. If we were more expensive it would just make everything we do look expensive.

CK

dave82_2

CKdesigner wrote: »

Hi Dave

Sorry you're wrong - in these days of transparency and the internet any retailer that thinks they can sell appliances for more than another retailer is very silly.

As you can probably tell I am a kitchen designer, the OH and I have our own independent kitchen specialist and we are always the same price or cheaper than any internet company for the appliances we sell. If we were more expensive it would just make everything we do look expensive.

CK

To be honest in my opinion it isn't the retailer that is silly, or me! It is the person from the street that buys them without checking the price.

That's why they price match! Even if it isn't down to overheads if they sell 1 out of 20 units at full price they are dong well and for the people who ask for a price match they end up selling the unit anyway to a customer who thinks they have won!!

There are alot of people who don't take advantage of "transparency and the internet" and they pay full whack. Even more if they chose to go somewhere more upmarket than B&Q!

Also as an "independent kitchen specialist" I am sure you can't advertise in the same way B&Q can so you have to be competitive!

Anyway this is just my opinion and wasn't really the point of the thread I am sure it's a subject you know far more about than me! So can we just agree to disagree?

Doozergirl

I think the point is that if they are prepared to sell something that can be checked as easily as appliances online, then you can only presume that the kitchen units and other elements which are less easy to compare are also being sold for too much. Yet you accept the price of the units despite knowing that they were knowingly going to overcharge you for appliances, which you knocked down.

Everything is too expensive in B&Q. The worktops are horrendously expensive - they do make quartz elsewhere, they just put their own name on it so when you try to compare, you can't. The fitting service is shockingly expensive - you could fit a kitchen twice over at their prices. You could stick half the money in a bank account and use that as a lifelong warranty on the fitting, let alone 2 years.

And the units, well, the only time that they present value is when they are 50% and even then I'd be looking for the additional 15% that they do on occasion.

If you are stuck because you are looking for finance then it will help with 0% as finance obviously increases the cost further over time. And it's great that they fitted it well for you but there is no question that there are good fitters out charging far less who will also leave you with an entirely finished kitchen.

It kind of is the point of the forums that you obtain the best value for money, and it's hard for people not to suggest that others do this when your thread is so very clearly pro-B&Q - it wouldn't really be right if we didn't discuss it.

We've bought so many different kitchens now, I know what value looks and feels like. A friend just got quoted £12,000 for a modestly sized B&Q kitchen. Needless to say I had an opinion on that.

dave82_2

To be honest I think I have given a fair and impartial view of things as they went for us if you simply read the original post. I am not saying we weren't lucky I don't know if we were the exception or the rule but it is a review of how things went for us.

The thread was supposed to be about the service offered by B&Q rather than the price because lets face it I don't want to hear how much I could have saved when the money is already spent!

It isn't supposed to be pro or against B&Q although I can appreciate I am becoming defensive and I assure you that wasn't what this was supposed to be about!

I appreciate that people at the start of the journey need to be careful about what they are spending but this was simply supposed to be a review of how the process worked.

You are right though if you pay B&Qs full whack you are getting a bad deal! It's just marketing though they know they will sell most of the cabinates at 50% off and still be making a good profit!

"Yet you accept the price of the units despite knowing that they were knowingly going to overcharge you for appliances, which you knocked down."

You make quite a big assumption here. It isn't that hard to compare kitchen units. We looked at Wickes, Ikea and several others for simelar units and were happy with the 50% off that we were getting good value. I think they price match on units too if you can find a simelar kitchen.

"If you are stuck because you are looking for finance then it will help with 0% as finance obviously increases the cost further over time. And it's great that they fitted it well for you but there is no question that there are good fitters out charging far less who will also leave you with an entirely finished kitchen."

As I have said before I don't disagree with you on this point. If you can find your own recommended fitters that you can afford and see examples of their work. I would go with this option every single time! But as you say we were tied by the finance.

dave82_2

Steve_the_fitter wrote: »

Ive been fitting the same kitchen the last week and I must say I'm very impressed with the quality of the kitchen. As a kitchen fitter I always found the delivery the biggest problem with BandQ but since they changed their delivery company I dont mind fitting their kitchens at all. In all honesty I sometimes even recommend them which I would never have done a year ago. The fitting side from b and q is still very expensive and it is hit or miss if you get a good kitchen fitter but you can see you have had some good fitters in who have done a very nice job.

Cheers it is nice to hear from a fitter that it looks like a good job!

CKdesigner

dave82 wrote: »

Cheers it is nice to hear from a fitter that it looks like a good job!

Hi Dave

Yes it does look like it has been fitted well and the overall design looks fine as well, obviously having quite a small space limits what you can do with it.

I actually think you have done the right thing in getting B & Q to fit it. This gives you peace of mind, if there is any problem like the cracked granite in another thread, you have no issue because the whole job is B & Q's responsibility. Yes you may have paid over the odds but as long as you are happy with the overall package that's all that counts.

At the end of the day there will always be someone round the corner that can do a similar thing cheaper.

I hope you get many years of enjoyment from your new kitchen.

CK

dave82_2

Thanks :-) Sorry if I got a bit funny about discussing the price its just not really where I meant to go. But I get it that this site is about saving money. I would say overall jjust make sure you ship around plenty for a deal that suits you :-)