Howdens or Benchmarx kitchen?

Dan-Dan

When i bought my Howdens kitchen , the designer came to me , dealt with me , but ultimately my builder invoiced me for the price of the kitchen

TranceNRG

Dan-Dan wrote: »

When i bought my Howdens kitchen , the designer came to me , dealt with me , but ultimately my builder invoiced me for the price of the kitchen

Maybe things have changed. I'm pretty sure both Howdens and Benchmarx said I could pay by credit card so pretty sure the payment doesn't need to come from my builder.

leveller2911

john_white wrote: »

Howdens beat DIY Kitchens for me. They were cheaper, DIY also required 5 weeks for delivery and to have a named delivery day added £175 to the bill.

I've never known Howdens to beat DIY on price for a like for like quote but again that just shows how ridiculous Howdens discount system is when you get different branches undercutting each other.

I would also just mention regarding the delivery charge with DIY there are 3 delivery options with the most expensive being £175 and for this the client gets to choose the delivery day and the whole kitchen is delivered into the property by the delivery men and checked. You don't have to pay for that option but you do have to have 2 people to offload the units from the kerbside.

The main issue I think though is you need to know exactly what to order, fine for units but end panels trim etc can be an issue, especially if you are changing a layout.

Fair point re knowing what to order but they phone you after you have placed the order to go through it and they do ask relevant questions about why you chose/need a certain parts. The layout/plan should be set before ordering most of us don't need to change the layout after the order is placed.

The units though do look very good.

They are very good compared to Howdens,Benchmarx and Wickes. The fact that they use a thick ABS plastic edging is way better than the other mentioned and will easily put up with knocks. I have also had problems with Howdens units not being square which can also be a real pain and their laminate worktops are very poor. The decent quality laminate worktops are made in Germany by Duropal.

I've had an account with Howdens for over 20 years but they won't be getting any more of my business purely because they haven't moved with the times, their units are poor quality and they don't actually have "designers" they just have an employee who uses the company software to "plan" the kitchen which is no different than any free software available online to the public.

Good luck OP , hope it all goes well.......The advantage with the client paying the invoice is the warranty is with the person who pays the invoice so if the builder pays the bill strictly speaking any warranty claim needs to go through the builder, which is far from ideal. In the old days Howdens sent out warranty cards for the client to fill out but this no longer happens.

chappers

I've fitted a fair few of both and would say that there's nothing between them. I would take the cheaper quote and the free Hoover.

TranceNRG

chappers wrote: »

I've fitted a fair few of both and would say that there's nothing between them. I would take the cheaper quote and the free Hoover.

I would normally but Bencharmx' Turin kitchens have glass wall units with a frosted glass but my girlfriend wants to have plan glass so we can have some nice colourful glasses inside and see them from the living room. So that could be a potential deal breaker. Hence we are keen to get the kitchen from Howdens.

Is it worth making an appointment with another Howdens store?

Dan-Dan

leveller2911 wrote: »

I've never known Howdens to beat DIY on price for a like for like quote but again that just shows how ridiculous Howdens discount system is when you get different branches undercutting each other.

I would also just mention regarding the delivery charge with DIY there are 3 delivery options with the most expensive being £175 and for this the client gets to choose the delivery day and the whole kitchen is delivered into the property by the delivery men and checked. You don't have to pay for that option but you do have to have 2 people to offload the units from the kerbside.

Fair point re knowing what to order but they phone you after you have placed the order to go through it and they do ask relevant questions about why you chose/need a certain parts. The layout/plan should be set before ordering most of us don't need to change the layout after the order is placed.


They are very good compared to Howdens,Benchmarx and Wickes. The fact that they use a thick ABS plastic edging is way better than the other mentioned and will easily put up with knocks. I have also had problems with Howdens units not being square which can also be a real pain and their laminate worktops are very poor. The decent quality laminate worktops are made in Germany by Duropal.

I've had an account with Howdens for over 20 years but they won't be getting any more of my business purely because they haven't moved with the times, their units are poor quality and they don't actually have "designers" they just have an employee who uses the company software to "plan" the kitchen which is no different than any free software available online to the public.

Good luck OP , hope it all goes well.......The advantage with the client paying the invoice is the warranty is with the person who pays the invoice so if the builder pays the bill strictly speaking any warranty claim needs to go through the builder, which is far from ideal. In the old days Howdens sent out warranty cards for the client to fill out but this no longer happens.

They were still doing that in Oct 2013 when we bought our kitchen

chappers

TranceNRG wrote: »

I would normally but Bencharmx' Turin kitchens have glass wall units with a frosted glass but my girlfriend wants to have plan glass so we can have some nice colourful glasses inside and see them from the living room. So that could be a potential deal breaker. Hence we are keen to get the kitchen from Howdens.

Is it worth making an appointment with another Howdens store?

You don't say how many units etc the kitchen is but to be honest £300 over the life of the kitchen isn't really much, have you been back to Howdens and seen if they would match the price.
Yes it might well be worth going to another Howdens although if they are fairly local they might use the same guy for their kitchens.
Our Howdens kitchen guy works self employed and covers at least two branches that I know of. He has always been open to a bit of bartering though.

martin_peek

I have managed to see a copy of the benchmarx kitchens trade price list...... Are thes subject to negotiations or is this the bottom line that they will work to

chappers

Oh yes definitely subject to negotiations, I am a trade customer of Benchmarx and Howdens and have always managed to negotiate.
However they both sell only to the trade. if they will deal with you as a retail customer and it has been known, I wouldn't expect you to get below that, but no harm in trying.

martin_peek

chappers wrote: »

Oh yes definitely subject to negotiations, I am a trade customer of Benchmarx and Howdens and have always managed to negotiate.
However they both sell only to the trade. if they will deal with you as a retail customer and it has been known, I wouldn't expect you to get below that, but no harm in trying.

Will be getting through my builder.... Just wondering how much I will be likely to shave off... At least they are more realistic than howdens mystery prices ah ha... Need to save as much as poss for the granite