Posted 28 November 2023

Worcester Bosch boiler repair

Our Worcester Bosch combi boiler is now 5 years old and so the warranty has expired. Normally we join British Gas Homecare but they are quite expensive so I am thinking of paying for an adhoc repair when the boiler breaks down.

Will a local gas engineer be good enough to fix this boiler from your own experience? British Gas also offer a one off repair cost, but I don't know how value this is and how quickly they can come as they aren't the fastest responder.

Worcester Bosch themselves will give you a list of accredited engineers, but I have a feeling they are for install rather than repair and being able to install a boiler is a completely different skill to being able to repair a boiler.

What has your experience in terms of the best way for boiler repair?
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  1. newbie68's avatar
    Until I found one person who services correctly, every other service I have had has done nothing more than a gas safety check and inspection (they called it a service).

    If you're bothering to service your boiler find someone who actually services it as it should be done. If your paying a special £49 boiler service you are wasting yout time and money.
    windym's avatar
    Agreed. Our service usually takes about an hour and a half. The nozzle is changed and everything internally is physically checked. It is oil, so the tank and supply are given the once over but this does include replacing the oil level gauge.
  2. wpj's avatar
    They usually have 7/10 year if it has been serviced regularly.

    Ours is now 8 years and the condensate pump had gone at the last service a few weeks ago, so this was replaced without charge (and they didn't charge for the service!).
  3. George200191's avatar
    My Worcester boiler is 10years old and are local engineer said could go for another 2. Hopefully longer 
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    I have had boilers that lasted 11 years but that is because a lot of parts have been replaced in it!
  4. sidhoooooo's avatar
    I went for a boiler services from a local company highly rated, very professional, everything done on line etc, until I ended up calling an manufacturer approved engineer, who showed me a number of areas on the boiler that had not been opened to be serviced properly ( the screws within the boiler had as alignment paint, the manufacturer engineer, stated it would be nearer impossible with 8 different screws so they lined up with the factory paint, therefore the screws had never been removed)
    Additionally all boilers have programmes and nuances in their settings a manufacturer approved service engineer, would likely have seen faults a number of times therefore a quicker fix ( I have another story about this) (edited)
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    i have had several boilers serviced by british gas as they are under the homecare agreement. it is only a few times that I have seen them open up the boiler and do anything, most of the time it is just a visual inspection and some readings. a service often doesn't include opening the boiler as there is no need a lot of the time unless the boiler is broke.

    i have had service done and then a week or so later the boiler broke, so i don't rate boiler service as from my experience, it isn't what people think it is.
  5. Gj9382's avatar
    WB boilers are popular and as such, any engineer worth his salt will know how to service and repair one.

    BG plans, IMO, are a waste of money. Find a local independent and get it serviced by them.

    Same goes for your car.
  6. JimboParrot's avatar
    Have you had it serviced every year?
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    no it hasn't been serviced and there isn't anything wrong with it. however, from my experience of combi boilers, they tend to start having problems when they get beyond 5 years, generally most problems start between 6 to 7 years.

    this is the first boiler we have had where we had a filter installed, so that should make it last longer, so i am hoping it will be trouble free for at least 7 years.
  7. HonourableGentleman's avatar
    I used a local company for installation and they've serviced it every year since then with zero issues.
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    i find that boiler service don't tend to be complicated as the engineer follows steps, and a lot of them don't actually do much more than a visual inspection.

    install again is following steps, but if the boiler develops a fault it becomes more difficult to work out what is the problem unless the boiler self diagnose. maybe worcester bosch boiler does?
  8. Uridium's avatar
    Check your warranty, my 3 year old Worcester Bosch has a 10yr warranty (as long as its serviced yearly)
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    ours is 5 years. we had the option to pay for 10 years but i didn't think it was value as we don't tend to get the boiler serviced annually.
  9. JimboParrot's avatar
    The warranties can vary according to the installer's accreditation. I have a Vaillant and that has 10 years' cover, but not all do.
  10. JimboParrot's avatar
    I can't believe you've never had it serviced. Mine is done every year and the amount of 'stuff' the Magna Clean captures is quite surprising. You are extremely lucky you've not had any issues.

    Out of interest, how often do you have your car serviced and oil changed etc?
    mutley1's avatar
    Author
    I have had experience of many boilers over the years from new, so I was confident there wasn't going to be any problem in the first 3 years, but I did take a punt for the last 2 years.

    It is getting towards the more risky age now, hence my question.

    We get the car serviced every year because my husband insists on it but when I had my own car, I never got it serviced and only got it fixed when it broke. And to be honest, never had a real problem with the car. My parents were the same, never serviced their car and never had any problems.

    We would top up the oil level and water level ourselves.
  11. TheUrbis's avatar
    My WB is now 17 years old. Serviced annually, never had an issue.

    People that don't service things confuse me.
  12. HellriderUKDeals69's avatar
    I have my Baxi boiler serviced every year (around £90) as it's a mandatory requirement for the Home Emergency cover add-on for a small additional cost (it was around £35 or something on top of Contents cover insurance).

    The Home emergency cover provides for up to £1000 labour+costs in case of boiler breakdown with no call out charges or excess. (edited)
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