Had the boiler service man (small local guy, not BGas) 'round the other day to service the boiler. He said that the heat exchanger was "getting thin in places" and would start to leak "within the year". Given that the boiler concerned is about 20 years old he may be right.
I asked him what a replacement would cost. He said "about GBP1,100 installed". I nearly fell over with shock. That much for a 12kw heating-only boiler ?
He then went on to explain that the local council is stupid enough to subsidize boiler replacements to the tune of GBP200 and another £150 for upgrading "controls", so he suggested replacing the (perfectly serviceable and newish) thermostat/programmer with another unit for GBP30 and to pocket the difference of GBP120 in addition to the GBP200, bringing the cost down to GBP780. (!)
My way of looking at it is this:
Boiler, 12kw: GBP350, tops. Installation: Free, I can do that myself. Two water pipes, a gas pipe, a flue, and a control circuit, how hard can it be ? Professional commissioning and testing for leaks, just in case: GBP50 Total GBP400.
I think he was trying it on AND inflating the price by the amount of subsidy to boot. Opinions please - what IS a realistic price for this sort of thing ?