Should You Repair Your Gas Boiler or Replace It With New?

Repair Or Replace?

 

When it comes to deciding between repairing or replacing your boiler there are a few things you need to consider.

First, you need to find a Gas Safe boiler engineer that knows what he is doing, what I mean by that is, there are many good engineers who only specialise in installing boilers and only carry out simple straight forward repairs.

When it comes to fault finding on a boiler this is a totally different skill, boilers are now more complex with many electronics to test.

The best way to find a company that specialises in boiler repairs is to contact the Gas Safe Register, they will be able to supply you with 3 local contact numbers.

Before you make contact with any of the companies try and find out your boiler make and model, you should find these details inside the boiler case, also if possible the boilers age, this will help the engineer when he comes to visit the boiler.

When the boiler engineer arrives ask him if he thinks it’s worth repairing your boiler or should it be replaced. Don’t forget though you are the client and the one who will be paying the invoice. Don’t make any decision straight away, always sleep on it.

Next, if your boiler is over 12 years old consider replacing it with a new high efficiency model.
Your old boiler may have been working fine for many years before, but boilers makers stop producing spares parts after 10 years, yes spares may be available but as they become scarcer the cost starts to rise, older boilers are always expensive to repair.

I would always advise replacing if the boiler is over 12 years old.
Most new boilers now come with a minimum 2 year warranty which can be extended if needed, some makes offer 5 years as standard.
Don’t forget though having a long warranty doesn't mean you don’t need an annual service.
All warranties are offered on the terms that an annual service is carried out.

All new boilers are better for the environment than the older models.
You will also see a big reduction in the running costs of around 30% plus. We all know the cost of gas is high, so any form of saving is a bonus.

What you have to consider is if the repair to your boiler is not too expensive then it may be worth repairing, but should the cost be on the high side you could be throwing your money away.
You have to way up the pros and cons.
Though it will be more expensive to replace the boiler, it could be cheaper in the long term.

Your boiler is the heart of your home, it supplies you with all the hot water you need and keeps you warm in the colder months.
So look after it, have an annual service carried out.