How can I knock Wren Kitchens down on price or should we go elsewhere?

FrankFalcon

Hi all

We need a new kitchen at home.  We have been told Wren are pretty good and partner went to look at the Kitchens.  She chose one that is way above our budget.  It took a huge squeeze and a lot of haggling to get the salesman to give us a breakdown of every item on the quote.  The cost of the kitchen is £20,000 which is above our budget.  We literally added every item from their quote into our own spreadsheet and calculated the cost of the kitchen to £15,000, which of course, then means that the fitting cost is around £5,000, which we think is a bit steep.  Maybe we are wrong.  So, our question is...Are there any tactics, ideas, plans etc to get Wren to drop their prices?  Are there any companies who can match Wrens quality for cheaper?  Sorry to sound a bit dumb but this is not our field of expertise and the amount of money here is quite high.

Thanks in advance

43722

Personally, I would be getting one or two more quotes, then see where that leads me. It may lead me back to Wren, it may not. 

FrankFalcon

Any suggestions on reputable companies.  Have had previous history with Howdens and they stressed us to death with exchanges, items missing etc.

43722

I have had good experiences with two good local companies. I would be tempted to at least check out one or two, wherever you are.

Cactus_Flowers

Do they have a sale on, or if not is there one coming soon? When I got my Wren kitchen, the sales guy said they basically plan to sell at sale prices so the 'standard' cost is very over-priced.

If you get other quotes and still come back to Wren, I think it would be well worth looking elsewhere for fitting - when I did, I think the cost wasn't that different but it included lots of extra things in redoing the kitchen (moving lights, cabling, etc.) that I don't think the Wren fitter would have done.

Otherwise, I think it would just be a matter of looking through your list and seeing what you can either change or live without. Does it include all the appliances as well? If so, they could be got elsewhere. Anything like those special hot water taps that you could leave off for now and install later?

ashe

I'd join the fb group Wren kitchen disasters before proceeding... 

go to howdens , have a design done, get diy kitchens to price match it, use a fitter of your choice 

Doozergirl

FrankFalcon said:

Any suggestions on reputable companies.  Have had previous history with Howdens and they stressed us to death with exchanges, items missing etc.

I've bought probably 100 or more kitchens from Howdens and a proper problem once, which was sorted within a couple of days. So not that bad.  

If you have a problem with Wren, it never gets sorted.   You're waiting weeks each time and their prices are outrageous.  

ComicGeek

My in-laws had a kitchen from Wren a couple of years ago, against all advice. As well as taking ages to finish, the flooring was done incorrectly and has had to be replaced, the carcasses and doors never matched, and now all the doors are peeling. 

Style has now been discontinued, and it's an uphill battle to get them to honour warranties. 

Postik

Just to add, a friend of mine had a Wren kitchen and was exceptionally pleased with it, although it's very new so I guess time will tell.

If you're not in a rush, I would just play hard to get with Wren.  Get a couple more quotes, and if they are cheaper for the same thing, wait for Wren to call you and say, "We're considering using X company because they're £X cheaper for what we think is the same thing."  Or, use the other company anyway.  Or go back to Wren and say what you've chosen is way above your budget and ask to start again.

SVaz

Wren come down hugely in my experience.
Ours started at £12k,  we got them down to under £4k by haggling and junking their ridiculously priced cupboard carousel thing,  the sink,  which we got for 1/3 the price elsewhere and the 5 burner glass hob, ditto.  

Their built in oven and microwave prices were reasonable though.
We sourced our own fitter for the work surface £500) and he made us a door to hide the washer from an extra wide end panel that wren supplied for us as an extra. 

We have 1 tall unit with built in oven/microwave, cupboard above / pan draw below.
1 x metre wide set of drawers,  5 wall units with a bridging unit over the hob that holds the extractor, 5 large base units and around 4m of worktop. Plus handles, 3 tall end panels and various plinths/kickboards.  

pmartin86

I have a camping stove. Id rather use that year round in the garden to cook for a family of 4 than use Wren.