Has anyone got a bad word to say about Vaillant?

[vulcancontinental]

Be interested to know why you don't trust Which magazine?

As far as I can make out they survey thousands of people about their experience of whatever boiler they have, and draw a judgment based on that?

Isn't that as good as an objective on the view on the thing as you are going to get?

I gather that Which survey their own members for their views on boilers.

BUT their members are hardly the average homeowner. They are Class A/B and have enouigh money to spare to subscribe to Which.

Being well off A/Bs they get them fitted by respectable installers who do the job properly and they get their boilers serviced properly every year!

A properly installed budget boiler, serviced every year would probably give very similar reliability to the vaillant and worcester models.

Tony

Yes they do now because making them pay wasn't impartial. I told an American friend of this who is a Which subscriber and said that Consumer Reports in the States buy everything they test anonymously and don't even accept samples.

In the past the feedback supplemented the test procedures, now it is the main source of information.

Then again people usually write in with a problem and respond to a questionnaire if they're asked about a purchase. So an AB customer with a son or daughter starting out in life in a budget world will write in if there's a problem obviously negatively. That same AB customer who has disposable income and hasn't gone for the cheapest installer, when asked are you pleased with the job, is likely to say yes.

It's a difficult thing for Which to do and I try not to criticize too much when I haven't got a better alternative for them and I haven't.

Atag are thought of very highly over here but are considered a pile of doo doo in Ireland and not by poor installers but by guys who I've met personally and been impressed by their knowledge.

It's perception a lot of the time.

 

[oph]

Which are in the same league as Checkatrade etc etc

 

[vulcancontinental]

Just heard from the American friend that the latest Which gives Vokera a poor report, Viessmann were second chooice, I wonder who was the consumers choice?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Be interesting to see how they came to that conclusion.

Shame people actually take it as accurate information though as everyone else who "knows" would likely come to a different conclusion.

 

[oph]

The problem is that people associate the word 'Best' and 'recognize'

Subliminally, 'Recognition' must mean 'Best'

 

[simond]

It is quite amusing that this post was primarily stirred up by an internet jockey who, having 'researched' that Vaillant were the best make, then bought their most troublesome model.

His advice to buy the boiler oneself and then find aninstaller was tops. I don't know any good boiler installers who will fit a customer supplied unit.

I have seen plenty of moody jobs where the customer thought they would save a few bob. Usually too late by the time the chickens come home to roost (yr 2 to yr 4 typically) they are then left with paying people like me £94 an hour to turn up and say 'who fitted this?'.

If you are thinking that buying the boiler will make the job cheaper, bear in mind the installer has to make a reasonable living.

If you find an installer who is happy to charge you significantly less then others, there will be a reason, and it won't be altruism.