Most people choose to have combi boilers but there is a perception that they are expensive. This doesn’t have to be the case. In this guide, we will detail the best cheap combi boilers on the market in the UK right now and tell you everything you need to know about them.
If you are in the market for a new combi boiler but are worried about paying the earth for a decent one, this is the guide for you.
Over the next ten minutes or so, you will find out about all the best affordable combi boilers on the market in the UK right now. We will tell you how they perform, detail the warranties available and give a full and frank assessment of each.
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How Much Will You Have To Pay For An Affordable Combi Boiler?
In this guide, we will be sticking to the mid-range combi boilers. This means we are avoidable the budget range models which tend to have flimsy components and be unreliable. We will also skip the high-end models where you pay a premium for extras that aren’t really necessary for most people.
In our expert opinion, you can get a good quality combi boiler for something in the region of £1,000 these days. Of course, you have to factor in the cost of installation too and this isn’t cheap. Altogether, you are likely to find yourself paying our somewhere between £1,700 and £2,000.
This will depend on a number of factors including things like the size of your property, your preferred manufacturer, and whether your installation involves things like moving your boiler.
To get a sense of what you might have to pay, take a quick look at WARMZILLA. Fill in the form on their website (no personal information required) and they will give you their best quotes on a combi boiler to suit your property.
The Most Popular Cheap Combi Boilers
You should choose a new boiler on price alone, so it is worth familiarizing yourself with some of the most popular models to see what they have to offer.
In the UK right now, some of the best value combi boilers include:
- Baxi 600
- Ideal Logic Plus
- Worcester Bosch Greenstar I
- Worcester Bosch CDI Compact
- Vaillant EcoTec
- Potterton Titanium
If you look up these models independently, you will see that there are some significant differences in their prices. In this guide, our focus is affordability, so in the next section, we are going to highlight the two cheapest models; the Baxi 600 and the Ideal Logic Plus.
We will share our full and frank thoughts on both these models but would advise all readers to consider all of the models on our above list. While some may have higher upfront costs, they will often come with longer warranties and other benefits that ultimately could end up saving you more money.
For example, the Worcester Bosch models can come with warranties as long as ten years on sites like WARMZILLA.
#1 – Baxi 600
The Baxi 600 is a fairly new model to the market in the UK and it has a lot to offer. It is available in both 24kw and 30kw models and its compact design makes it ideal for flats and smaller properties where space is at a premium.
The dimensions of a Baxi 600 boiler are:
Width = 390mm
Height = 700mm
Depth = 285mm
This means it can fit in any kitchen cupboard and makes it comparable in size to the Worcester Bosch CDI Compact
Warranty
The length of warranty that a manufacturer offers is a clear indication of how reliable they think their boiler is.
A lot of cheap boilers only come with a 2-year warranty and that tells you that it will probably start going wrong not long after that. We always suggest a minimum of a 5-year warranty when buying a new boiler.
The good news is that the Baxi 600 comes with a whopping 7-year warranty. This is good but do bear in mind that you can get a 10-year warranty on some Worcester Bosch boilers.
Price
This is the key advantage that the Baxi 600 has over the equivalent Worcester Bosch models.
Boiler prices for 24kw-30kw powered models are usually in the region of £800-£1,300. But the Baxi 600 is available from just £750 for their 25kw model and the 30kw is around £850. This is a terrific price for a boiler of this quality.
Even on WARMZILLA, you will be paying a little more for a Worcester Bosch boiler. But with the extended warranty and other special deals, this can still level things out overall.
#2 – Ideal Logic Plus
Ideal Boilers are UK manufactured and held in pretty high regard. They are already knocking out more than10,000 quality units per year and their popularity is growing all the time.
Their most popular model by some way is the Ideal Logic Plus.
It brings all the quality of an Ideal boiler at a hugely affordable price and with a wider range of choice. This boiler is available at 24kw, 30kw and 35kw. If you need more power than that, you will need to opt for their Vogue model with is 40kw and also comes with a longer warranty but is a little more expensive.
Like the Baxi 600, the Ideal Logic Plus is also a compact boiler that comes in the following dimensions:
Width = 395mm
Height = 700mm
Depth = 278mm
This is slightly larger but will still fit in most cupboards and makes it an ideal size for smaller properties.
Warranty
Like the Baxi 600, the Ideal Logic Plus comes with a 7-year warranty which is a testament to how confident the manufacturer is in its performance.
Ideal Boilers also offer a 10-year warranty on their heat exchangers too. This is one of the most expensive parts to repair in a boiler, so that is a big bonus too.
As we noted before, longer warranties are available on Worcester Bosch models, so again you need to do the sums and work out if it makes more sense to pay a little more upfront for 3 more years peace of mind.
Price
Ideal also manages to price the Logic Plus model around the same area as the Baxi 600. You will pay £750 for their 24kw model and this will rise around £100 for each step up after that.
This is a hugely competitive price for what is an extremely good boiler.
Should You Choose The Baxi 600 Or The Ideal Logic Plus?
This is the $64,000 question and in all honesty, we trust both brands and both models equally.
These are two extremely impressive boilers and it is difficult to put a hair between them on the build, warranty, price, size, or output.
You will be pretty safe with either but do get some quotes in before making a decision. And when you do, bear in mind that a slightly more expensive Worcester Bosch boiler does come with a longer warranty and a better all-round reputation.
What You Will Pay For Other Combi Boilers
If you aren’t keen on either of our two recommended cheap combi boilers, how should you make your choice?
There are a few major considerations you will need to weigh up, including what size property you have and what powered boiler you need.
But there are two major considerations that everyone buying a boiler needs to keep in mind:
- Warranty
Warranties are key in a new boiler, not least because they are an indication of how long a manufacturer expects their product to last.
We would advise all readers to avoid any boiler that comes with a warranty of less than 5-years. Boilers are expensive to repair and you could end up spending a small fortune to keep your boiler running without a good warranty.
While 5-years in the minimum length for a boiler warranty, it is well worth looking for longer. Lots of boilers come with a 7-year warranty these days and, if you shop around, you can even find some 10-year warranties too.
For example, if you buy a Worcester Bosch boiler through WARMZILLA, you can get a 10-year warranty deal on some of the best boilers on the market right now. This represents excellent value for money.
- Brand
The brand of boiler you choose to buy will have a bearing on the price but it will also indicate the quality of boiler you can expect to buy.
Worcester Bosch boilers tend to be more expensive than the likes of Ideal and Baxi, but this is because of their deserved reputation for quality and reliability.
Our advice would be to avoid unknown brands and stick to the brands with the best reputation. Do some research and take the advice of experts, such as ourselves, on which brands are best.
The Best LPG & Gas Combi Boilers Brands
The best affordable LPG & Gas combi boilers brands are:
- Baxi
- Ideal Boilers
- Vaillant
- Potterton
- Worcester Bosch
The majority of LPG and Gas combi boilers will be in the 24kw-30kw range and this should be more than sufficient to heat most flats, apartments, and houses up to 3 bedrooms.
As we mentioned above, there are a huge number of different cost factors, but a quality combi boiler is likely to set you back between £1,7000 and £2,000 including installation costs. If you want to get a quality combi boiler for less, our advice is to make sure one of your quotes is from WARMZILLA.
The Best Oil Combi Boilers Brands
The oil boiler market is a bit different from LPG and Gas boilers. Our advice would be to stick to the following brands:
- Grant
- Worcester Bosch
- Warmflow
The price of an oil-powered boiler is even harder to estimate. A cheap combi oil boiler could be as cheap as £1,200. Like gas combi boilers, expensive ones can be upwards of £2,000.
The key again is to make sure you get plenty of quotes to ensure you are getting the best value for money.
Where To Buy Cheap Combi Boilers
Combi boilers are available from leading national stores that offer plumbing and heating supplies. Thisincludes the likes of:
- Screwfix
- B&Q
- Plumbase
- Plumb Center
- Grahams
But our honest advice would be to avoid these. Your local boiler installation company is likely to be able to get you much lower prices than you will pay from a retailer and they will factor in installation costs too.
But be sure to check out WARMZILLA too. The online boiler installation market is a relatively new one but it has really shaken up the sector thanks to its ability to offer the lowest prices and some great special deals.
WARMZILLA is the pick of the bunch for us and they can offer you astonishingly low prices and terrific deals on a wide range of high-quality combi boilers from all the top manufacturers.
How To Pay For Your Boiler
You have two main options when buying a new boiler.
You can either pay your installer in full on completion on the installation. Some may ask for an upfront deposit to cover the cost of the unit.
Or you can take out a finance deal to spread your payments over a longer period. Not all of your local installers will be able to offer this. But the likes of WARMZILLA offer terrific finance deals, often with 0% APR.
Summary
Choosing the cheapest combi boiler can be a big gamble since they are not always the best value for money option.
In this guide, we have reviewed the two top affordable combi boilers on the market right now, But we have also explained why you might save more money in the long run by spending a little more on a combi boiler with a long warranty from a reputable manufacturer.
We have recommended WARMZILLA as the best place to get a great deal on a cheap combi boiler and explained what they have to offer.
Are you looking for a new combi boiler? Do you have any questions we haven’t addressed in this guide? Any recommendations for our readers that we haven’t touched on? We always welcome input from all our readers, so please do share yours with us today using the comment box below.