Bought new boiler, but do we still need cover?

resmnky

undaunted wrote: »

To me ask yourself A) how much the cover is going to cost you & how likely you think it is / how soon you think you'll need it.

Does A x B sound like enough to cover repairs in the event they are needed? If no insure but if yes just put the money aside and use it if you need to.

Undaunted, I have learnt the hard way. Last year we had to call out the repair guys about 8 times for a "neither that new/nor that old" boiler. Pretty much every part was changed at some point. Fortunately we had a plan (see below). We had a few months respite and then the problems started again. At which point we just threw the towel in and bought a brand new one.

When you move into a new house you never know what 'joys' await you. Dodgy plumbing, electrics, paintwork, roofing, extension … and pretty much anything dodgy you could do to a home awaited us. If you had asked me 18mths ago - "Do you really think you'll need it?" - I may have been as philosophical about it. Now, however, knowing the beast I am dealing with, I'm not so sure.

When we called the manufacturer's of our old boiler the repair equalled the cost of the 12 mth service plan (unlimited call out/parts/labour) offered - so it made sense. However, had we taken out the plan before the thing had conked out the service plan would have cost half and covered the whole heating system (rads, pipework etc) as well. Now you can see why I'm trying to plan ahead?

undaunted

But your not comparing like with like there surely - you now have a new bolier with a 5 year warranty included in the deal. That isn't what you had the problems with.

Personally I'd just set aside what you think the cover would cost you (at worst) but the choice is yours.

resmnky

undaunted wrote: »

But your not comparing like with like there surely - you now have a new bolier with a 5 year warranty included in the deal. That isn't what you had the problems with.

Personally I'd just set aside what you think the cover would cost you (at worst) but the choice is yours.

Yeah, what you say makes sense. I guess after the 'Disaster of a plumbing year' that we've had I guess I'm in super sceptical mode. We're in a far better place now that's true. It was also good to hear from others how reliable WB are.


The 'slush fund' is a pretty decent idea - I think I'll do that.

gollum007

A couple of points from this end:
* I found that a maintenance plan including a full service from a local company (NOT British Gas, Scottish Power etc.) costs me ~£60 more than having the boiler serviced per year.
* Depending on exactly who you choose, plenty of the service plan companies will have arrangements to carry out work under the boiler warranty.

Whether or not the £60 per year is worthwhile I'll see in a few years time, but to me it was worthwhile to take out a policy where I make one phonecall for a next-day fix, and they figure out the rest

-Gollum

alleycat`

gollum007 wrote: »

A couple of points from this end:
* I found that a maintenance plan including a full service from a local company (NOT British Gas, Scottish Power etc.) costs me ~£60 more than having the boiler serviced per year.
* Depending on exactly who you choose, plenty of the service plan companies will have arrangements to carry out work under the boiler warranty.

Whether or not the £60 per year is worthwhile I'll see in a few years time, but to me it was worthwhile to take out a policy where I make one phonecall for a next-day fix, and they figure out the rest

-Gollum

Just to add to this.

My WB has a 7 year warranty, based on the same rules as the OP talks about.

The annual service from the WB accredited installers is approx. £7 cheaper than their "service contract".

If you go with the service contract, which includes the annual service, but expands the "covered items" to all of the rest of the system it seems like a bargain to not go with the additional cover.

Haven't done it mind you, i have the letter in my "to consider" pile. :cool:

resmnky

gollum007 wrote: »

* Depending on exactly who you choose, plenty of the service plan companies will have arrangements to carry out work under the boiler warranty.

Whether or not the £60 per year is worthwhile I'll see in a few years time, but to me it was worthwhile to take out a policy where I make one phonecall for a next-day fix, and they figure out the rest

-Gollum

Well this was my thinking too - I'd rather make one phone call to one party who can deal with it all if something happens (boiler or controls or pipework or whatever). But WB were very insistent that THEY were the ONLY ones who could make any parts replacements in the boiler for the warranty to stand. I did ask if they did a Service Plan themselves but the response was "only after the warranty runs out". Having said that, I think their service is the same limited cover as their warranty - boiler only.

resmnky

alleycat` wrote: »

Just to add to this.

My WB has a 7 year warranty, based on the same rules as the OP talks about.

The annual service from the WB accredited installers is approx. £7 cheaper than their "service contract".

If you go with the service contract, which includes the annual service, but expands the "covered items" to all of the rest of the system it seems like a bargain to not go with the additional cover.

Haven't done it mind you, i have the letter in my "to consider" pile. :cool:

Can you clarify? Are you saying WB HAVE a service plan that covers the whole system (rads, pipework, non-WB controls, WB boiler etc) and it only costs £7 more per annum than the boiler annual service? Well this would have solved everything! I didn't realise they did this, and I am struggling to find any information on their website about their service plans. I'm very curious about your letter now!

Having said that, I was told I wasn't eligible for THEIR service plan(s) until my 5yr boiler warranty ran out. There was no confusion in the conversation - the agent understood I was after a 'one stop shop' solution for my boiler and whole heating system.

macman

ollski wrote: »

corrode, split, snap bleed valve off, fall off wall off the top of my head.

I'll continue to live with the risk of those not being covered then...

macman

resmnky wrote: »

Yes, all checked. When you register the warranty you have to submit the installer's details. Plus I spoke with WB to clarify the terms of the warranty - this was the conversation where they said if someone else replaces the parts then the warranty is invalidated. But that the boiler could be serviced by any Gas Safe engineer, not necessarily one the WB team.

The boiler warranty and GSR documentation should be registered by the installer, why are you having to do it? The point of that is to certify that a legit WB installer has done the work.

resmnky

macman wrote: »

I'll continue to live with the risk of those not being covered then...

Sure, but that's not where the real costs lie is it - even I can make a few minor repairs to the heating system. But if you can't, it's the flipping call-out charge that's the killer. Not to mention trying to find someone to do it and the 'endless piece of string' response time!