8 Year Old Boiler Needing Replaced!

[amka]

I have a rental property which has a combi Vokera Unica Boiler that's 8 years old. It gets serviced by the letting agent's engineer every year. This year it's showing following faults - AAV leak, flue leaking onto top of boiler and inside combustion chamber, restrictor elbow should be capped below floorboards. The cost will be £600 for these to be corrected but saying the combustion chamber is also showing signs of corrosion so he's getting me a price for a new boiler also as an alternative option. What would you do? Get a new boiler or pay £600 + another maybe £500 for replacement combustion chamber?
Should the faults have been picked up before they started to corrode the combustion chamber?
(The boiler in the house where I live is a 28 year old Glow Worm conventional boiler that has served us well. I need a new CH system but these leaks with Combis is putting me off.)

 

[muggles]

@vulcancontinental do Vokera do fixed price repairs?

 

[amka]

Thanks - checked their website and they do fixed price repairs. I'll call them in the morning.

 

[Justin Passing]

restrictor elbow should be capped below floorboards.

That sounds like an old gas fire issue, nowt to do wi' boiler. Job will depend on access.

AAV leak,

Cheap and easy once someone's there.

 

[ianmcd]

Vokera will fix the boiler and AAV issues under fixed price repair, but wont touch the restrictor elbow, you will have to get someone else to do that

 

[gas112]

no need for a restrictor elbow to be capped below boards unless they are worried about kids falling on it

 

[amka]

Aah, I now understand what the elbow thing means as there is an old fire that isn't piped in. So the £600 is to repair just the AAV leak and flue leak!! Just got a text from the letting agent saying the engineer has 'switched off' boilers in the past as 'dangerous' due to leaks...

 

[vulcancontinental]

@vulcancontinental do Vokera do fixed price repairs?

They do and it runs at £300 ish incl VAT covers £450 of parts. Which Unica though, the HE or the Unica i?

 

[muggles]

Aah, I now understand what the elbow thing means as there is an old fire that isn't piped in. So the £600 is to repair just the AAV leak and flue leak!! Just got a text from the letting agent saying the engineer has 'switched off' boilers in the past as 'dangerous' due to leaks...

Sounds like he's trying it on and hoping to get a boiler replacement out of it

 

[amka]

I called Vokera but they say they don't do fixed price repairs on flues, regrettably. The certificate says - flue leaking onto boiler and into combustion chamber + AAV leak. Vokera said to try any engineer in my area so they weren't of much help. I'm sure it was the letting agent's previous gas engineer who fitted the flue as he said the original one was damaged. I think it was replaced in 2019.
It's a unica i28

 

[vulcancontinental]

Probably rain coming in through the air tube which should be fitted level. Depends what the state of the inside of the boiler is as to whether the boiler is replaced. AAV is next to nothing, remove and replace a flue not much either.