Howdens or Benchmarx kitchen?

TranceNRG

Hi guys, I got Wickes, Howdens and Benchmarx to design my kitchen . I've asked all 3 to design the same kitchen with very similar glossy cream cabinets:

Benchmarx - Turin
Howdens - Burford

Wickes quote was the most expensive of them which came to about £4100 while I managed to get Howdens quote down to £3000 and Benchmarx down to £2800.

This only includes only the cabinets, wooden work tops and stainless steel sink/tap.

From the research I've done all 3 seem to be of decent quality but more people seem to recommend Howdens. For this reason I decided to go with Howdens.

I rang the design consultant at Benchmarx to thank him and to say I'm going with Howdens and he offered an extra £100 discount and a free hoover. He also reckons the backboard at Benchmarx are better (12mm solid as opposed to 6mm of Howdens) but not sure if this is true.
This has made my decision more difficult as Benchmarx are looking pretty attractive now price wise.

How would you go with??

Thanks!

Edit - Both Benchmarx and Howdens come pre assembled and offer next day delivery

19carlymarie88

Hi,

I would say go with Benchmarx. I am however biased as my OH does work for them but from what I am told (And I am told alot if I want to hear it or not! LOL) Benchmarx kitchens are a better quality.

The backboards are thicker (couldnt confirm how much thicker, I didnt always listen!) and their cupboard doors come with soft-close as standard whereas I am led to beleive Howden charge extra. I think the overall quality of the kitchen is better aswell from what I have seen, but please dont take my word for it I dont want that sort of responsibility on my head!!!

My dad also had a Benchmarx kitchen put in about 3 years ago and he is in love with it, and to be honest it is a lovely kitchen!

So my thoughts are Benchmarx personally! Hope this helps.

Dan-Dan

Who is fitting it?
I chose Howdens over benchmarx partly because there is a howdens in my town and any missing items can be got in minutes which means my fitter wouldnt have been kicking his heels at any point and the quality did seem similar in any case

I have burford cream , and we really like it

TranceNRG

Thanks guys. I'm very lucky that that Howdens and Benchmarx are within 5mins from my flat. The kitchens look identical looks wise but Benchmarx are going to be £300 cheaper

Edit - My builder has a carpenter/joiner so they'll be fitting it.

cattie

I chose a Benchmarx kitchen this time round when I downsized. I'd previously had kitchens from Magnet & Howden's.

Benchmarx was the keenest on price for pretty much the same kitchen & when an item was found to be damaged when my installer opened a package, Benchmarx sent a driver round within an hour or so with a replacement. So I have to rate them highly on customer service & I'm extremely happy with my kitchen & would definitely use them again. Plus after fitting my kitchen, my installer decided he'd be recommending Benchmarx in future, this having been his first time dealing with them.

dirty_magic

I think the two are so similar that I'd just go with the cheapest tbh. I don't think there will be a huge difference in quality.

We had quotes from Benchmarx and Howdens too. Howdens beat Benchmarx by £100, but I think Benchmarx would probably beat it if we went back to them. We're going to stick with Howdens though because we prefer their kitchen.

mclaren32

We bought a Benchmarx kitchen last year, the service was very good, the quality of the kitchen appears good and the price was lower than both Wickes and Howdens. My friends parents bought one more recently and are equally happy.

Worth remembering that Wickes and Benchmarx are both part of Travis Perkins so the kitchens are essentially the same.

TranceNRG

Thanks guys for the replies. Much appreciated.

Now I'm leaning towards going with Benchmarx and saving 300 pounds!

Davesnave

DIY kitchens will be cheaper and better than either of them.

If you'd posted in 'In my Home' you'd have heard this, I'm sure.

However, not everyone is comfortable with on line purchases because of transit damage, bits missing etc. My experience with Howdens suggests you don't need to go on-line to experience this though!:rotfl:

TranceNRG

I was thinking of going with Benchmarx before but a potential deal breaker has come up - I have a glass wall unit in my kitchen design so we can see this from our living room (girlfriend wants to have some nice colourful glasses in there) however for some silly reason Benchmarx Turin kitchen only comes with a frosted glass and you won't be able to see what's inside it becasue of the frosted glass.

As far as I know the similar kitchen from Howdens (Burford) comes with a plain glass wall unit. So we might have to go with Howdens.

However it's hard to overlook the £300 difference between Howdens and Benchmarx and the fact that Benchmarx guy who severed me seemed to be more interested in getting the sale than the Howdens' guy.

Decision would be a lot easier if the prices were similar. Do you know if different Howdens stores would compete with each other? Maybe a design consultant at another store would be keener to price match or at least get very close to Benchmarx quote.
I have another Howdens store only a few miles away. Will they know that I had a kitchen designed by another Howdens store?

Thanks.

BaileySJ

Not to throw another spanner in, but I recently used Wren and they were very good - they also come preassembled and offer delayed payment / 0% if needed.

I believe Howden's are generally considered to be of excellent quality but then it comes down to price usually.

Hope this helps!