Reveals the most reliable boiler brands
Buying and installing a brand-new boiler can easily set you
back £2,500, so it’s an investment that it pays to get right first time –
especially as new Which? research has revealed that the the average
cost of a callout and repair is now £188.
The high cost
of boilers and repairs is the reason why every year we survey thousands
of owners about their boiler and the faults it has encountered. We use
this information to calculate unique reliability and satisfaction scores
for all the main gas and oil boiler brands.
The results of our
2014 boiler owner survey are now in, and one brand has streaked ahead of
the pack to earn our coveted Best Buy recommendation.
Which? members can log-in now to read reviews of the best boiler brands,
as well as find out which are the least reliable boiler brands that may
be best avoided. If you’re not already a Which? member, you can get
instant access to all our reviews with a £1 one-month trial
Best and worst boiler brands
Our
boiler survey captures information from owners about everything from
the type and brand of boiler that they own to how often, if it all, it
has broken down and how much it cost to repair.
More than 10,000
boiler owners took part, and as a result we had enough responses in our
survey this year to provide robust reliability ratings for eleven gas
and two oil boiler manufacturers including Worcester, Baxi, Potterton
and Vaillant.
Boiler breakdowns
Boilers get put through an
awful lot. Even in a moderately busy household a boiler could be
expected to instantly heat up gallons of water to 80 degrees three or
four times a day.
With such a heavy workload, they do inevitably
break down from time to time and our survey reveals that the average
cost of a repair is £188.
Almost half of gas and oil boilers will
develop at least one fault that needs a repair within the first six
years of its life. Get yourself a Which? Best Buy boiler and this drops
to fewer than two in five.
Despite the likelihood that your
boiler will eventually develop some faults that need fixing, our survey
reveals that 93% of people who own a boiler would be £50 or more better
off without even the cheapest boiler cover contract.
Though the
value for money that they therefore offer is questionable, many people
like the peace of mind that a boiler cover contract provides. If that
sounds like you, read our boiler cover provider reviews to see what different policies do and don’t offer, and which brands have the most satisfied customers.