In a quandry not sure what to do next.

[ed_blackadder_1]

We have a combi central heating boiler in our house, it is 12 years old, last week we had it serviced under our insurance policy and everything is in good working order.

This morning we had a letter from the insurance company to say that they will not be renewing our policy due to availability of parts.

We are now unsure what to do, I have contacted other insurers of boilers and they have all said the same they can't insure us.  Now we pay £23 per month for a parts and labour policy and this includes a full service on the boiler once a year.  We have had to have new bits and bobs over the years, thermostat, pressure valve and a couple of other things I can't remember what they are called. so we have had our moneys worth, as I understand that a service can be over £100.00.

Do we carry on without any cover and hope it doesn't breakdown, and pay for the service which we know is important regarding carbon monoxide emmisions,  or do we bite the bulllet and get a new boiler, before the other one goes wrong in the depths of winter when you can't get an engineer for love or money.

We have been offered a new one from the makers of our old boiler for £1400 this will be guaranteed parts and labour for 5 years so we would have no need for a policy, theoretically this would mean the boiler only cost £600.

Do we or don't we, the bloomin thing is only 12 years old and was top of the range when installed when the house was new.

[cookiecookuk]

to be honest i would not replace it and just wait till it gives up the ghost.ours is now 22 years old and yes we kmow it is on iots 9th life but we have the money there ready to replace it when needed.

you could get years out of yours and the worst that can happen is you go without heat for a little while if it goes in winter.

we do still have it serviced once a year normally september/october so in theory it should make it through the winter.be have been saying this for years and it is still going...

[carolyorkie2010]

That's a good price for a new boiler; we are currently in the process of getting quotes for a replacement boiler and the average price is £1900. Would do as Cookie suggests really, and not replace it yet.

[dwnmll]

I would put away your £23 per month in a savings account that you then use when the boiler finally gives up. I may easily last the 5 years you would need to save £1400 (or a bit more given new boilers will go up).  Even if it goes wrong you may still be able to get the parts it is just that the insurance company can no longer guarantee it.  Fingers crossed it will last ten years and you have money left over 🙂

[ilove2patch]

---

@dwnmll wrote:

I would put away your £23 per month in a savings account that you then use when the boiler finally gives up. I may easily last the 5 years you would need to save £1400 (or a bit more given new boilers will go up).  Even if it goes wrong you may still be able to get the parts it is just that the insurance company can no longer guarantee it.  Fingers crossed it will last ten years and you have money left over 🙂

---

I like that idea myself.

[cookiecookuk]

---

@carolyorkie2010 wrote:

That's a good price for a new boiler; we are currently in the process of getting quotes for a replacement boiler and the average price is £1900. Would do as Cookie suggests really, and not replace it yet.

---

I had one fitted in my daughters house last year and paid £1199 all in plus 3 years parts and labour.it is worth shopping around and we used a small local chap.the highest quote we got was £6250 and that was british gas 

[lhasa.two]

At 12 years old your boiler is unlikely to be a "condensing" combi. They brought in the Combi condensing ones in 2003 so now all combi's are condensing which makes them hugely more efficient so you would see less of a gas bill and start your 5 year warranty... The sad fact is that boilers aren't made to last these days, just like a lot of things. We seem to live in more and more of a wasteful society. I had one of the early condensing boilers, a big one fitted just as they came out, it lasted all of 7 years and I spent around a £1000 on repairs but pleased to say the technology has moved on now and they are hugely better.  Check out the Which? reports if you haven't done already.

Having said the above, there's nothing worse than being cold in the winter so I f I was in your position I'd book the plumber for the end of August this year to fit a new one and get the rads well cleaned out and topped up. You'll save on your insurance premiums and your running costs. 

Isn't it annoying that the insurance people don't think to tell you that you are no longer insured for parts because they're unobtainable, yet they'll happily take your money. I've had a similar situation with my fridge/freezer which stopped making replacement parts after 8 years... Hence one of the reasons to get the insurance industry overhauled by the government... A bunch of cheekie chappies imho.

Anyway just my thoughts and you must decide what's best for you. 

[lhasa.two]

British Gas are an outrage with all their charges.

It amazes me that people still use them!

[bitsnknots]

We use British Gas for the servicing and we pay around £20 per month.  We had a new combi boiler put in last summer but we had a local plumber for that.  I think he only charged around £2000 and that included two new radiators and a heated towel rail in the bathroom.  We have British Gas for the servicing because we need someone who will come out any time of day every day of the year.  We can't be without heating as my mum has a serious heart condition and we need the heating.

[lhasa.two]

I can understand you needing a 24/7 cover for your Mum but aren't there other gas suppliers who can offer a competitive service?

In the past I've had bad experiences with BG so maybe my opinion of them is prejudiced.

[bitsnknots]

I must admit that we've had no problems at all with British Gas.  When we've had problems, BG have been out in no time so I can't complain.

[carolyorkie2010]

Has anyone looked into the Help-Link ones that are advertised on TV?

[ed_blackadder_1]

I like the idea of putting the £23 away and see what happens.  We had a bad experience with BG as well and the prices they quote seem pretty high to me, so we probably wouldn't go to them.

Our gas bill is quite low now since we had the new windows put in, but I know the new boilers can save you more.  We will probably take our time and see what happens.

Thanks for everyones thoughts on this.

[aernethril]

Ed - also look to see if there is any way you can benefit from getting a new boiler with the handouts that have still yet to be used up.

A lot of people think they're not eligible when they are, so it's worth asking around because you could get a good deal to change it now.

Eventually, these deals will all be gone as the Govt has scrapped the extra charges the energy providers were levying but it's worth doing some research on this.

[ilove2patch]

I was told I need to be receiving benifits to qualify.

[mikelayuk]

£23 per month is £276 per year. That's a lot of parts if the service cost is £100. I'm not sure we've ever paid that much even when they've had to replace bits.

If I were you I'd put aside the £23, carry on getting it serviced each year, and plan to get a new one when the service engineer pulls a sad face and tells you that you need a load of very expensive parts which your saved £23s won't cover any more. If you have your service in midsummer (just get it done a month later each year, if it's due now, 13 months rather than 12 won't be an issue safety-wise), then it won't be such a problem if you then have to wait a bit for a new one.

Our experience is that it's much easier to get an engineer in the depths of winter when you haven't got a service contract (so you will be paying if they show up and not paying if they don't) then when you've already paid anyway. It was a nightmare getting someone out when our new and under warranty boiler started misbehaving!

[ed_blackadder_1]

We have had some expensive parts replaced in the past that is why we have kept the policy, the engineer alweays comes when they say as he lives local,

Now we have to find someone we trust that isn't a cowboy, which I think is the worst part.  The engineer that came through the policy has been to us everytime over 9 years, and we know him now so I think that is the main thing just finding someone who won't rip us off.

[ed_blackadder_1]

By the way we don't qualify for anything as we are both working and claim no benefits, we are not on a low income and have no dependant children.

We can afford a new boiler if we have to it is just whether to wait or do it now.

[mustavaquid]

With it just having a service I'd think it'll be fine for another year or so with no repairs . Do as others have suggested and save your £23's every month and look to pay for the next service. Although many boilers will have certain parts which are maybe 'unique' to that particular model or maker, there should be others such as the pump, thermocouples, thermostats and gas valves which can easily and safely be replaced with 'generic' ones. It's the same with some other domestic appliances --- washing machine pumps, maybe the same with dishwasher pumps, definitely with fridge and freezer thermostats, even the compressors are usually 'universal', being made by one of a few major makers. A friend of mine installs a,d repairs fridge units in delivery trucks and big shop display cabinets. He tells me that a fridge failure is very, very rarely due to the compressor, it's more likely to be something simple and cheap to fix, even a lleak of the refrigerant is noe a reason to scrap the appliance. He occasionally buys 'non-runners' cheaply, especially the large American ones, and sells them for a fat profit after fixing.  I'm just about to scrap my 26 year old Hotpoint washing machine. Yes, 26 years old. I stopped paying for the service contract many years ago and have fixed it myself when it has failed. I can't say that I've saved up the money because I haven't. The washer now has a control board fault and as no new part is available it's time for scrapping.  I'll save the pump because that's only a few years old and the motor too.Am I buying a new machine? NO. I've bought a good 'pre-loved' one, another Hotpoint, in good working order, at the local auction room for £40. I'm certain the pumps are interchangeable if / when it fails and probably also the motor. 

[captainbovine]

in our last house, we needed a new boiler and the BG woman came round and said we could site the new one under the stairs as it could be vented out, and there was a window in there.

The guys come to fit the boiler and they refuse to put it under the stairs. They said it would break the law. Now this woman from BG is nowhere to be seen at this point, so I text her with a rather insistant text!!! she rang the plumbers but wouldn't come round.

We ended up having to send the guys away and WE had to rip out the airing cupboard to have the boiler fitted in the bathroom.

About 5yrs in,(we are having the boiler serviced every year by BG) they came out and he said would it be alright for the lad with him to service it as part of his exam...we said yes, the boiler never worked properly after that...

they wouldn't replace the pump when it wore out they said it wasn't covered ...

so now I'm glad we are all electric!!!