New Central Heating System

bambi1980_2

Dear All,

When I bought my house nearly two years ago unfortunately it did not have central heating. Luckily it is only a small mid terrace so I have managed to cope up until now. I am interested in having a system installed but not too impressed by the prices! I have worked out I will need only four radiators, the bathroom isn't large enough for one. I will then need the combi boiler and whatever else goes with it. My house is about 25m x 15m so isn't that big.
I haven't got any estimates yet because I have noticed on the British Gas website that they do a flexible payment plan but I don't know the interest rates/costs for this yet. I have them coming round for a no-obligation quote next week. They are also offering free towel warmer for the bathroom, free loft insulation and new shower system plus a year insurance cover for free. I imagine their prices will be expensive compared to local tradesmen but I don't have the money to pay tradesmen outright.
Has anyone had experience of British Gas installing central heating? Does anyone have any advice on cheap options?
I know it is coming up to Summer but the heating will bode well when I come to sell my house.

Any advice will be welcome....

Thanks

Liz1966

Hi Bambi,

I had British Gas provide a quotation & it was exhorbitant plus they recommended changes to the existing system that weren't needed thereby making the job more costly. They seem to consistantly come in over priced judging from the comments others have made. In my case their quote was £3,800+VAT compared to a another central heating firm quoting £2,450+VAT for a similar boiler. Additionally BG would only quote for their own boiler thereby locking me in to using their service contract.

If they quote for the finance option make sure you add up how much you are paying in total - in some cases it is nearly twice as much as the cost of paying in cash. A cheap loan would be a much better option if you can't afford the full cost now.

I got 5 quotes for a new boiler & although it was tedious it was worth it as the quotes were very different & some very specific whilst a couple were vague as to what they were going to do.

economiser

I got four quotes when renewing our central heating and British Gas was just about double the other three, all of which were from local companies with reasonable reputations. They did however quote for all sorts of knobs and whistles which were not essential.

domdom_2

Hello bambi,

I aggree with what has been said so far.
I've had central heating installed just under a year ago. I've got a terraced house (2 up 2 down). I paid £2500 for combi boiler, 5 radiators and labour.
I had a quote from British gas: £4800 and that was - so the british gas rep said, yep they send you a rep first - with a fantastic discount of £300 that would only be available if I was to sign on the doted line on the day....
Needless to say, I didn't sign and rang round some local companies to come and give me a more sensible quote.
£2500 wasn't the cheapest I could have gone for, it was a middle of the road quote.
I would never never recommand British Gas for central heating installation.
The flexible finance plan is a bit of a con too. It basically is a loan that you can't repay any quicker and for which you can't decide on the length of the term neither. You end up paying twice as much as the initial cost.
Better off getting a local central heating installer (half the BG price) and shopping around for a cheaper loan.

ormus

always arrange your own finance. you can get loans for approx 6% these days.
home improvement companies loans are on a par with CC and store cards!
dont ever touch them with a barge pole.

and a small terraced house ch system should be no more than 1500/2500 quid.

bambi1980_2

Thanks everyone who has replied. I agree with everything you have said. Since I made an appointment for BG to come they have never been off the phone or sending letter!! I wonder why! I think I will cancel the appointment it sounds too costly and I will consider getting a cheap loan.