Advice about decrepit boiler - repair or replace

dryjoy

Yes the policy covers repairs; with a £50 excess and it’s an annual renewal. But we don’t know what the impact on the future cost of the insurance is. Only thing is they’re not sure if they can get the parts, but currently I’m inclined towards trying. They might cover a new boiler if not (‘unable to repair’). 

FreeBear

dryjoy said: Only thing is they’re not sure if they can get the parts, but currently I’m inclined towards trying. They might cover a new boiler if not (‘unable to repair’). 

I very much doubt BG will stump up for a new (free) boiler. From their sales booklet -

    A replacement for your boiler if we can’t repair it and:

• it’s less than seven years old; or

• it’s between seven and ten years old, we installed it and it’s been continuously covered by us under either a warranty or HomeCare product

As you have only taken out the HomeCare product at the beginning of the year, you fail on the continuous cover bit.

Just to reiterate an earlier point - If it is the main heat exchanger that needs to be replaced, the cost of the part alone is pretty close to the price of a new boiler. I'm afraid it will probably be deemed an uneconomical repair.

dryjoy

FreeBear said:

dryjoy said: Only thing is they’re not sure if they can get the parts, but currently I’m inclined towards trying. They might cover a new boiler if not (‘unable to repair’). 

I very much doubt BG will stump up for a new (free) boiler. From their sales booklet -

    A replacement for your boiler if we can’t repair it and:

• it’s less than seven years old; or

• it’s between seven and ten years old, we installed it and it’s been continuously covered by us under either a warranty or HomeCare product

As you have only taken out the HomeCare product at the beginning of the year, you fail on the continuous cover bit.

Just to reiterate an earlier point - If it is the main heat exchanger that needs to be replaced, the cost of the part alone is pretty close to the price of a new boiler. I'm afraid it will probably be deemed an uneconomical repair.

It’s only six years old though, so I feel
the first paragraph (before the word ‘or’) ought to apply. Quite likely I am wrong though!

ThisIsWeird

dryjoy said:

Yes the policy covers repairs; with a £50 excess and it’s an annual renewal. But we don’t know what the impact on the future cost of the insurance is. Only thing is they’re not sure if they can get the parts, but currently I’m inclined towards trying. They might cover a new boiler if not (‘unable to repair’). 

£50 excess for that repair or a new boiler is pretty darned good in my books

The impact on future insurance costs is immaterial; if they increase it, go elsewhere.

2nd point - can they get the parts? Yes, they can. Almost certainly (and you can confirm with Biasi if you wish).

Ok, are you saying that they'll GIVE you a NEW boiler if 'unable to repair'? If so - GO FOR THAT!

Sorry - I'd assumed that they were expecting YOU to buy a new boiler if they couldn't fix this one, hence their reluctance to repair it!

DOUBLE CHECK, but if they will fully cover (£50 excess...) a new boiler, then great.

dryjoy

ThisIsWeird said:

dryjoy said:

Yes the policy covers repairs; with a £50 excess and it’s an annual renewal. But we don’t know what the impact on the future cost of the insurance is. Only thing is they’re not sure if they can get the parts, but currently I’m inclined towards trying. They might cover a new boiler if not (‘unable to repair’). 

£50 excess for that repair or a new boiler is pretty darned good in my books

The impact on future insurance costs is immaterial; if they increase it, go elsewhere.

2nd point - can they get the parts? Yes, they can. Almost certainly (and you can confirm with Biasi if you wish).

Ok, are you saying that they'll GIVE you a NEW boiler if 'unable to repair'? If so - GO FOR THAT!

Sorry - I'd assumed that they were expecting YOU to buy a new boiler if they couldn't fix this one, hence their reluctance to repair it!

DOUBLE CHECK, but if they will fully cover (£50 excess...) a new boiler, then great.

Thanks. I’ve probably been a bit muddly in explaining. I think that if we opt for the repair and they can’t do it due to a lack of parts or whatever, then we MIGHT then be able to claim for a new boiler (although I’m sure they’d try anything not to pay out). 

But if we go for a new boiler straight away on the advice of the engineer (‘your premium will go through the roof so you’d be better off with a new one’ etc), then we would have to pay for that. 

I think we’ve decided to try and go the repair route. I think I’ve seen another potential issue with the homecare cover which he made me unsure whether we will be able to get the repair done for the callout fee, but we’ll see. Will speak to them Thursday and see if we can get it done

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. Will post further with the conclusion as might be helpful to others in the future. 

ThisIsWeird

Just ask them outright - what are your options, and what's the cost of each.
And really worth 'chatting' with Biasi and see what they say. And ask if the mainX are still available :-)  It should be - it's only 6 bleedin' years old

dryjoy

ThisIsWeird said:

Just ask them outright - what are your options, and what's the cost of each.
And really worth 'chatting' with Biasi and see what they say. And ask if the mainX are still available :-)  It should be - it's only 6 bleedin' years old

Have instigated the repair process with BG and also contacted Biasi to confirm the  part is available, so if BG say they can't get it, hopefully I'll be armed with the facts.

Good advice, cheers!

dryjoy

Just to follow up on this, in case anyone else is in a similar situation in future. 

BG ordered the parts, came out and repaired the boiler under our home care cover yesterday. So far, so good - let’s hope it lasts a while. 

Thanks to all in this thread for steering me towards a sensible solution. 

FreeBear

It would pay to put some money away each month so that you have a lump sum available for the day when the boiler needs replacing. Fingers crossed, it lasts another 5 years without any more problems.

ThisIsWeird

Great result, dryjoy :-)

The repair included a main exchanger? How long did it take to complete?