ATAG or Worcester boiler?

[bionichamster]

Looking to replace an old (non condensing) combi.
Have had four local fitters come round. Three have recommender a Worcester Bosch, one (the one I've used for servicing for last 8 yrs) has recommended an ATAG (said they used to recommend WB but had some yap about why they changed, 'taken for granted' or some such I didn't quite catch, but says ATAG quality is much better), one of the first three suggested a Baxi if I wanted something a bit cheaper than the WB.

If you look online you'll find enough info and good/bad/indifferent reviews to back up pretty much any decision about most boilers, I have no idea whether the WB is really good or just heavily marketed with perks for fitters so they like to fit them; the ATAG sounds great and looking in detail at Trustpilot ratings it's almost too good (98% are 4 or 5 stars!) but I have no idea about the reliability of trustpilot anyway, I rarely take too much notice of review sites but all the same.... Pretty much all of the rest of the manufacturers have considerably more 1 and 2 star reviews, too good to be true?

WB boilers full of plastic say the some technicians(or sales people) on some websites, ATAG brass and stainless.... Sounds convincing, but everything has plastic in it these days...

Both come with 10 year warranty/guaranteee or more, but how good is it?

Fitter 4 claims ATAG UK HQ just up the road so parts not an issue, but then they still have to get the parts from the Netherlands presumably, and it's not clear if the parts are even kept there; might just be an office with some phones for all I know!

Maybe the price will decide it for me, I expect to get the quotes next week

Honestly I have no idea, I've seen a few threads on here discussing merits or otherwise of different makes but some are quite old and new boilers come out regularly and one hopes improve on previous models so things may not stay the same.

Has anyone any experience of ATAG and getting them fixed? (or do they never need it )

Thanks

BH

[Laughton]

I'm assuming these are for gas whereas mine is oil so may well not be relevant but as to your question re

Both come with 10 year warranty/guaranteee or more, but how good is it?

?

My boiler came with a 10 year warranty but when I had it installed (3 years ago) the fitter, who has also serviced it pointed out that one of the conditions for extending the normal 5 year warranty to 10 years was that I had to get fairly expensive parts replaced at each service after the fifth year even though there might be nothing wrong with those parts. His experience was that it was much cheaper to have the boiler serviced every year, not to extend the warranty and to replace any parts as and when they needed it.

You might want to check what the conditions of the warranty are before making a decision.

[stewamax]

My daughter replaced a W-B combi (after poor experience with it) with an equivalent ATAG, and the ATAG has been problem free.
The only service issue is finding an ATAG-trained technician, whereas W-B have loads because W-B make it financially very worthwhile for them to install.
Worth looking also at Viessmann's Vitodens range. I bought one six years ago; they have a similar build quality to ATAG, and have the same problem in finding experienced technicians to install them.

A GasSafe friend who works for a large installer told me ruefully that "if it's not German, and not Dutch it's not any good". I will leave it to experts such as Mike4 to comment!

[Mike4]

My daughter replaced a W-B combi (after poor experience with it) with an equivalent ATAG, and the ATAG has been problem free.
The only service issue is finding an ATAG-trained technician, whereas W-B have loads because W-B make it financially very worthwhile for them to install.
Worth looking also at Viessmann's Vitodens range. I bought one six years ago; they have a similar build quality to ATAG, and have the same problem in finding experienced technicians to install them.

A GasSafe friend who works for a large installer told me ruefully that "if it's not German, and not Dutch it's not any good". I will leave it to experts such as Mike4 to comment!

I'm afraid to say my personal opinion diverges. Like Worcester, Viessmann seem to have managed to acquire an undeserved reputation for quality engineering. A reputation hard to understand when you are laying spanners on one of their products. ATAG otoh are a bit like the Bentleys of the boiler world. 'Over-engineered' if anything, understated and everything done right. Their problem is as previously identified, most run-of-the-mill gas bods have never seen one and (like me) will be feeling their way when they do.

Look at Vaillant for a 'Mercedes' boiler, Worcester, Viessmann, Baxi or Glow Worm for a Ford equivalent, and Ariston, Halstead or Ferroli if you want a Trabant...

[bionichamster]

Thanks All for your replies.

I like the idea of a Bentley of the boiler world, although in truth I've never liked Bentleys much, as for engineers well the company I use for servicing is the one offering the ATAG, it is local and has four or five, maybe more ,guys doing servicing and repairs so probably ok, but unfortunately the quote arrived today and looks like it has come with a Bentlyesque price tag, I may be opting for the WB 'Ford' option, but might ask about a Vailant

Never an easy thing to decide. I had Ferroli once and it gave many years of absolutely trouble free operation until I sold the flat; the only reason I had it fitted was it was the only one that my plumber could find tha had the dimensions of a small alcove that I wanted to hide it in. Admittedly it probably didn't get masses of use but all the same cost me nothing over about 8+ years (maybe more)

Cheers

BH

[BullDog]

Thanks All for your replies.

I like the idea of a Bentley of the boiler world, although in truth I've never liked Bentleys much, as for engineers well the company I use for servicing is the one offering the ATAG, it is local and has four or five, maybe more ,guys doing servicing and repairs so probably ok, but unfortunately the quote arrived today and looks like it has come with a Bentlyesque price tag, I may be opting for the WB 'Ford' option, but might ask about a Vailant

Never an easy thing to decide. I had Ferroli once and it gave many years of absolutely trouble free operation until I sold the flat; the only reason I had it fitted was it was the only one that my plumber could find tha had the dimensions of a small alcove that I wanted to hide it in. Admittedly it probably didn't get masses of use but all the same cost me nothing over about 8+ years (maybe more)

Cheers

BH

FWIW, our trusted boiler installer/servicing bloke only installs Baxi (the Ford option) or Vaillant (the Mercedes option). We have known him for nearly 40 years now and trust his judgement. As it happens he spends a lot of time removing WB boilers typically 9 to 11 years old and he keeps a selection of the parts that fail on the WB boilers in his van to show his clients. He mostly fits Baxi (with a 10 year warranty) but will fit Vaillant if the client prefers. I have to say, the failed parts he shows me every year when he services our boiler would put me off a WB. But I had already made up my mind I was a Vaillant customer years ago.

[Jam1]

We had a Vaillant fitted a couple of years ago. The plumber who serviced it this Spring said he much preferred them when repairs were needed - the W-B layout was more complex. No problems as yet but not half way through the 7 year warranty.