Nightjar "cpb"@" wrote:
On 26/03/2011 13:10, Triffid wrote:
gareth wrote:
It never rains but it pours.

Court summons arrives in the post at 11:45, central heating
boiler goes bang at 17:30.

Vaillant ecotec 831 boiler fitted less than 5 years ago.

Faults to date ...

Design fault, a rubber ring to be replaced by a graphite ring.

Design fault, a pressure sensor gives up the ghost.

2 weeks after guaranteee expires, the change-over valve fails
but exhibits water leak that has been there for months. Vaillant
refuse to honour under the guarantee.

Vaillant pressure us to take out extended warranty, which we do
because of change-over valve replaced. When the small print comes,
it specifically excludes any faults that existed before the
guarantee so cancel the policy immediately.

Thermostat fails requiring use of manual override.

Yesterday, rubber expansion joint fails. Emergency engineer says
that it is another design fault having a rubber hose next to the
heat exchanger, and that replacement will be a telescoping metal
joint. The emergency engineer says that our experiences both with
Vaillant
and with theor boilers are commonplace, and that he always recommend
Worcester boilers.

Moral : Don't buy a Vaillant boiler, not only are they crap but
Vaillant have a predatory attitude towards customers' bank balances.

I'm really surprised - I've always regarded Vaillant is one of the
best manufacturers.

I've always found it to be so, as have others I know who have used
them. Of course, the satisfied customers rarely bother to post
threads about how happy they are.

When we had a new boiler three years ago it was a toss-up
between a Vaillant and a Worcester Bosch. The installer recommended
WB - mainly because, he said, they had a first class produce and
excellent after-sales service.

and, looking at the trade discounts I can get on both makes, a bigger
profit for the installer.

I bought my boiler via an eBay seller (brand new and in unopened box). The
seller's brother was an installer and they buy a bunch of boilers at trade
prices between them, and while the brother sells and installs some via his
business - his brother makes a bit of profit selling the remainder at
well-below normal installers price on eBay. I also saved by contacting the
seller direct and negotiating the price outside of eBay. We split the eBay
selling charge between us!

--
Triff