Moving House - Boiler Enquiry

EmpireKicking

BUFF said:

ciderboy2009 said:

I've got a 20 year old Worcester Bosch here that's still going strong.  Every year when I have it serviced my gas man advises me to keep it until it dies as modern ones aren't as good quality!

Depending upon efficiency & overall consumption it may be costing you considerably more in terms of your gas bill though than would a new one.

My last boiler replacement (from  non-condensing BF to condensing FF) & controls upgrade 14 years ago has paid for itself by now in consumption savings (even at a lowly ~2.5p/kWh rather than current ~10.5p).
The next one has no chance to do so as efficiency improvements will be minimal (probably single figures % at best). 

that's why I'm looking into my end as I have no idea what conditions and overall consumption regard not wasting money on gas. I mean rather be on the good than get pooped later, even if it lasts 30 years. 

We might not even replace it - until we have more paperwork and have it checked out, I won't even know. 

Soot2006

In my old house, I considered my Worcester Bosch "the new boiler" until it was over 10 years old. Then moved into a house with a 25 yo Potterton and did 2 winters on that before doing some upgrades

macman

Just get it serviced, that will tell you if it's in working order or not.

twopenny

I left a house with a 40yr old boiler that actually ran cheaper than the one 20yrs old where I moved to. 

This one had a service and the fan was rusty from lack of use (took a couple of days) but so far works fine.

Just get it serviced to begin with, move and get settled. See how it goes.

Clueless56

I would suggest living with it, getting it serviced annually and checking your usage - perhaps post on here and ask whether people with similar properties and usage are paying more/less than you to help you gauge its efficiency if you're moving from a very different property or are changing your usage.

I have a different make & model but mine is nearly 30 years old and very efficient, so I have no plans to replace it until it starts to fail.

jennifernil

Why do so many buyers think they should get a price reduction because the boiler is a few years old? 

Surely the house is priced to take all these sort of things into account?

We have recently replaced  our 34 year old Potterton boiler, not because there was a problem with it, in 34 years it has never needed any repairs, and still worked fine, but because it is less efficient than current condensing boilers.

Hopefully it will pay for itself in efficiency savings before it needs replaced.

inspectorperez

jennifernil said:

Why do so many buyers think they should get a price reduction because the boiler is a few years old? 

Surely the house is priced to take all these sort of things into account?

We have recently replaced  our 34 year old Potterton boiler, not because there was a problem with it, in 34 years it has never needed any repairs, and still worked fine, but because it is less efficient than current condensing boilers.

Hopefully it will pay for itself in efficiency savings before it needs replaced.

Interesting comment and relevant for me in more way than one.

My own Potterton Myson boiler is 34 years old almost to the day and is still going strong. New thermocouple every so often and the odd manual intervention on the diverter valve plus annual service and totally reliable. Maybe not the most efficient in terms of modern day boilers but our heating engineer is happy to provide the annual service and does not recommend changing for a new replacement.

My son on the other hand is in the process of acquiring an apartment constructed in 2008 with original boiler. The seller has been very reluctant to produce the service record and has only today produced the gas inspection report. On contacting the heating engineer who signed off the report, he indicated there was no way he would service that particular boiler (Ideal HE24) as it was long past it's sell by date and would need to be replaced (cost to include scaffolding to access flue which emerges from the apartment block roof). I contacted our own engineer, who without prompting, made exactly the same comment except to say that it might not require the scaffolding cost component.

TBH, I think my son is well within his rights (morally) to request a downward price adjustment, even though the deal is on the point of completion and even though it might result in the transaction being aborted if there is no positive response from the seller.

EmpireKicking

inspectorperez said:

TBH, I think my son is well within his rights (morally) to request a downward price adjustment, even though the deal is on the point of completion and even though it might result in the transaction being aborted if there is no positive response from the seller.

That's why I'm looking into it myself before that paperwork is signed and then finding out later that we made a mistake. Been lucky for seven years in the United Kingdom with two homes (Yes moved twice in seven years) that the boiler has not had to get a replacement. The boiler in my home that's now sold is Baxi that is five years old with all paperwork and annual service, hose before that is around three years old and again annual service and with paperwork with trick boxes.

This time, however, 12 years old with no paperwork stating regards last service and so it's up in the sky. End of the day it might be healthy as a bird with 20 years of life left or it had a very bad life and might become pooped. Until I hear more and get an engineer out to check, the other people would have to work with me as the contract is still going through and not owning the house outright but meantime knowing what the outcome is to see if we can get the house price decrease or pay half/half - then again if the boiler is all good, then nothing to worry about 

the worse part is that it's near to X-mas and everyone is busy and booking times can take two weeks 

casper_gutman

Just because somebody has decided that boilers have an expected life of 12 or 15 years doesn't mean you need to rush to rip out a 12 year old boiler if it's working perfectly well.

Imagine you were offered a new boiler now with no payment due for three years. Let's call this Option A. Imagine you pass up this once in a lifetime deal and keep the old boiler as it's working like new anyway, then keep it. Say it lasts three years and then you replace it with a new one. Call this Option B.

After three years with Option A you might still be feeling pretty smug about the great deal you got. You'd have paid for one new boiler and you'd have a three year old boiler (a quarter of the way to being obsolete, if you believe boilers are useless after 12 years).

On the other hand, if you'd gone for Option B you'd still have paid for one new boiler, and you'd be the proud owner of a brand spanking new boiler.

Once a piece of kit like a boiler (or e.g. a car, for that matter) has been paid for, I'd keep using it for as long as it gives reliable service. The exception is if the old one no longer meets your needs, or if a new model has running costs so much lower that it pays for itself.

Bendy_House

jennifernil said:

Why do so many buyers think they should get a price reduction because the boiler is a few years old? 

Surely the house is priced to take all these sort of things into account?

We have recently replaced  our 34 year old Potterton boiler, not because there was a problem with it, in 34 years it has never needed any repairs, and still worked fine, but because it is less efficient than current condensing boilers.

Hopefully it will pay for itself in efficiency savings before it needs replaced.

'Hopefully', indeed.

How much did the new, unnecessary, boiler cost? And how much gas does it save each year? Ie, I wonder when the break-even point will occur?

Anyhoo, yes, boilers do seem to be a very emotive point in house purchases. (My MIL was fixated on this, and it would be one of the first things she'd ask about during a viewing. The EAs cottoned on, and would make a point of mentioning the 'nearly new Worcester' as she'd turn up. It worked; "Ooh, Worcester - they're good!")

I think it's reasonable that folk do take into account the age and condition of the boiler, just as they would the state of the carpets, built in appliances, the roof covering. Ie, it's a cost they need to factor in for the future. It's helped by it usually being a known ballpark figure - go for ~£2.5k, and you won't be far off. If a boiler is, say, ten years old, you can usually assume a), it should be working fine, and b) it'll start needing parts replaced within 5 years. If a buyer wishes to factor in, say, £1k for this, that's their call, and is fair enough. The vendor can say 'No', and that's their call and fair enough too. Just as with any other part of the house.