Are heating system repairs quicker (or cheaper) if you supply your own parts?

It may be possible to supply your own parts but you need to understand the ramifications of doing so

We are a 24 hour company and we will always do our best to get your heating system up and running as soon as we can in the event of a breakdown. Sometimes, however, delays can be caused by factors outside of our control such as part availability. Parts may have to be ordered in, especially more specialist items, and this can mean a day or two’s delay on the repair – especially if it falls on a weekend.

We understand that it can be difficult to manage with a compromised heating system, even for a short period, if you have children or vulnerable people in your home (for example) and you need it resolving as soon as possible so sometimes people ask us if it can be done faster if they source the part themselves. The answer to that is ‘possibly’ but there are a number of issues you need to be aware of before going down that route.

We can fit third party parts if you want us to, however we will always insist that you sign a disclaimer before we would do so because of the following reasons:

• We cannot guarantee the quality and the source of the part. click for more details
  We only supply original manufacturer parts from reputable and trusted suppliers. Often the quickest and cheapest way for individuals to get hold of these parts is to buy non-genuine parts from selling sites such as eBay. While they may be fine, you do take a chance with them and we can’t be held responsible should the part fail or cause bigger issues with your boiler further down the line. This would mean that further fixes for the same issue would all be chargeable
  
  
• You may be invalidating any manufacturer warranty. click for more details
  Most new boilers have generous warranties of up to 10 years but you must meet a number of conditions for these to remain valid, such as regular servicing. If you start putting in non-genuine parts from non-recognised suppliers this would almost certainly invalidate your warranty, even if a fault developed that was not linked to that particular part
  
  
• It would fall outside the scope of any insurance cover. click for more details
  If your boiler repair is being done through an insurance claim, that would not cover the cost of any part you buy privately so you may be paying out unnecessarily for the sake of waiting a little bit longer
  
  
• You don’t have the knowledge and expertise that a heating engineer does. click for more details
  While you may know a bit about plumbing and heating or have the name of the part you need to find, you won’t have the in depth working knowledge of boilers that an engineer does. It’s very easy to get a part number slightly wrong or not realise that something that works in one type of boiler won’t work in another or just simply order the wrong item. That could actually cause even further delays if we have to go ahead and re-order because it’s not right

Because of all the above we really do recommend that we look after the whole repair; sourcing the parts, installing them and fixing the issue. However, you are the customer and ultimately it is your choice. If you’re happy to accept the above and sign the disclaimer then we will do it; your engineer will explain all the potential ramifications to you.

Happily, we can usually get parts pretty quickly and it’s often only when the weather is especially cold so demand is high or when parts are quite specialist that we experience these delays. In the meantime you can try to stay warm by following these tips. If cost is the issue, the old adage ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ has a lot of truth in it and the long term costs can be much higher if it doesn’t perform as it should.

If you do have an issue with your boiler and wish to discuss your options please give us a call on 0333 577 0151 or complete the form here on the right.