Worth replacing a 23 year old oil furnace?

Afternoon folks,

I am about to buy a property (converted barn) which has a 22/23 year old oil furnace. The current owner has been quite honest and said it breaks down every couple of years but his policy - which costs him around £300 a year - pays for each breakdown and there are no surprise expenses.
The furnace is used for hot water and central heating.

My question is, is a newer furnace worth it from two major points of vew:
1. Efficiency - will I realise a saving
2. Control - I use Evohome heating coupled with OpenHAB smart home and could benefit from a boiler which supports OpenTherm. Is there anything in this area which may be worth while?

Alternatively, is there another option? Ground-source heat pump worth it if I do the ground work myself?


TIA

C

Save your money until it leaks.

Thanks Terry.
So new ones are not really worth replacing for? According to the current owner it breaks a often enough but I guess I know it'll "only" cost me the insurance each year and that's predictable.

I doubt you will get insurance on something that old.

I'd also wondered this. His existing policy makes sense if it's long running but to start a new one...? I'll soon find out

It breaks down every couple of years ........Does it get a service in between??

300 quid a year for a breakdown is a lot for an oil burner.

What Boiler /Burner combination is it.

As the saying goes; 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. A regular service should be maybe £100 ish plus parts. If the old insurance policy was a claim back, and the engineer knew it, he may well have been taking advantage of it to make a few quid.