New Kitchen - should I haggle, and where from?

richmond155

Hi
I'm in the market for a new kitchen. Space is 4m x 3m, I'm keeping my own appliances, need a 1.20m wide plasterboard partition knocked down, an electric cooker switch moved and wall tiles removed and made good as well as the usual units. I have a budget of £10000 all in including labour.

I'm searching in Wickes/Homebase/Magnet/John Lewis/Howdens.

2 questions - which is the best place to go? I don't want it falling apart in 2 years

Should I haggle over the price? ? I've had a price from Wickes for £7100 inc labour but excluding the electrics, any lighting, the wall, the tiles etc etc. This is discounted from the post sale price of £10200, but I have to buy in 48 hours or it goes up Is that a reasonable price? Its 16 units plus worktop sink, tap and cornices etc

Should I get a little man in to fit rather than the companies?

Any advice gratefully received!

CKdesigner

Hi

Try an independent kitchen specialist near you.

There is no such thing as a 'sale' in the kitchen industry. Its all marketing hype.

Good luck

CK

cddc

Hi Richmond,

Work for Wickes and yes you have hit the end of the Winter sale which is genuine compared to what you would have to pay to buy a kitchen from Wickes for the next four weeks.

Would advise that if it is an oak fascia in particular and you are keen on it, get in now.
The price going forward has just rocketed. If it is not oak. you could wait until April when we will be back in sale. Buying from Wickes during giveaway makes no sense at all in most cases.

The fitting price would be considerably more than you would pay to have an independent fitter do it. Same with all company based fits. The advantage is you do get a company backed warranty on the install but you do pay more for it. Wickes are far from the worst offenders for jacking up fitting charges but you would be far cheaper getting a recommended local fitter to do the work.

Anthonyg_2

hi, im a joiner and all i can say is the cost places like wickes and such like charge for fitting is unbelievable. if you know a joiner or look in your local for one im sure it will cost £1000s less.

Steve_the_fitter

Also if its Wickes you like find a kitchen fitter who has an account with Benchmarx and you may be able to get the kitchen cheaper. They are the same kitchens as same parent company but Benchmarx cabinets come pre built. As said the fitting charge will also be cheaper through an independent.

Also avoid Homebase as their kitchens really are not worth the money

cddc

Steve_the_fitter wrote: »

Also if its Wickes you like find a kitchen fitter who has an account with Benchmarx and you may be able to get the kitchen cheaper. They are the same kitchens as same parent company but Benchmarx cabinets come pre built. As said the fitting charge will also be cheaper through an independent.

Also avoid Homebase as their kitchens really are not worth the money

The Bword are not always cheaper and not all of their units come pre-built. Have beaten them on price personally 4 times in the last couple of months on company authorised offers. Daft to be competing with ourselves effectively but hey!

Steve_the_fitter

Doesnt really surprise me you can sometimes beat their prices. Benchmarx seem to charge what they think they can get from the person they are selling them to. I drive a very hard bargain with them but still feels let down by their prices sometimes. Id be really annoyed if it was the other way round and someone took a Wickes quote to Benchmarx and they couldnt beat it

cddc wrote: »

The Bword are not always cheaper and not all of their units come pre-built. Have beaten them on price personally 4 times in the last couple of months on company authorised offers. Daft to be competing with ourselves effectively but hey!

Splemoni

Yes haggle them down. All places (Howdens, Wickes, Benchmarx & more) have there prices marked up by easily 1000%.

I am a kitchen designer at Selco Builders Warehouse (And I'm not trying to sell a kitchen for them) and I get builders and public (with there builders card) bringing quotes in from these places which state up to 85% discount.

So yes find your kitchen, shop around and haggle down. You WILL get phenomenal savings.

richmond155

Well, thanks for all your responses.
I've had quotes from Wickes and Homebase, both offering apparent discounts, but neither being really the quality or flexibility I want. The installation fees were silly money - more than 50% the cost of the kitchen!
I'm going to have a local kitchen company come out and am seeing the John Lewis people, especially as I found out I can get some of their units much cheaper from a couple of places on line - thanks to others on these forums!
John Lewis 'First range' is by Symphony kitchens - are they any good - they are much cheaper than the rest of the John Lewis ranges, so I just wondered f there was a catch?

Also, anyone have any tips on worksurfaces? I'm not financially in the granite market,, but some of the melamine stuff looks a bit cheap and nasty - is there an alternative that is not too expensive and can be fitted on site without hassle? Where's the best place to look?

Thanks for all your help - I was feeling rather overwhelmed by it all until I started getting some down to earth advice from you all! your are sanity as well as money savers!

thesmiddy

I just got a fantastic kitchen at a great price from Howdens. How good a deal you get there depends on how much the fitter skims off as they only sell to trade, I was lucky enough to have a friend who is a kitchen fitter so I got it at cost. They have a beautiful laminate worktop with quartz through it, it's worth a look anyway, but there are lots of good deals out there if you push for them.