New kitchen quote

A question about : New kitchen quote

We'll soon be moving to a new home and we're toying with the idea of replacing the kitchen. Last time round we used Kitchens Direct and, although the units are great and the final result was excellent, we had so much grief from them that we never ever want to go with a high pressure sales company again. Also, it felt like they were plucking numbers out of thin air and to this day I feel we were ripped off to the tune of Ј6000, which by the way only included three fitted appliances apart from the cabinets (one of them claimed to be 'free'!).

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience of John Lewis' kitchen service. Also, are Magnet any good?

We are seriously considering also getting quotes from local kitchen companies. We're moving to Basingstoke, does anyone have any recommendations?

Finally, our top budget including installation will be around Ј5k, to include oven, hob and possibly dishwasher. Would this amount get me a decent quality kitchen?

Thank you muchly

Best answers:

• Magnet are good, best value is magnet trade. You choose the kitchen from magnet trade showroom, they supply and you get a fitter in. Sweet talk or slip the salesman a tenner for the name of a good local fitter - they will know who regularly fits their kitchens.
  John Lewis kitchens will be more expensive, I doubt you'd get it all in for under 5k, but their service is excellent.
• I work for a marketing company that used to do work for Magnet.. (they swapped agencies as clients are want to do ) so you might think I had an axe to grind in dissing them.. BUT, seeing behind the scenes and how they improved the product a lot over last few years, I would say Magnet were well worth looking at.
  As I said, I don't have any tie with them (I did have 18 months ago, in a way) so this is impartial. We are looking at a new kitchen also and Magnet will probably be on the list for a quote at least.. they have good products.
  I also believe B&Q have pretty decent kitchens for a Ј5K budget level (btw: you can pay a lot more when you get excited by the appliances they can source, or more groovy work tops etc.. beware!).
  [agree with SilverCar's comment also - good point]
• We bought a really excellent kitchen from Wickes. This was a few years ago and it still looks stunning. We are moving soon and would not hesitate to go there again.
• Ive recently just purchased a kitchen from B&Q , well in december i paid for it but its only just arrived due 2 a fire, kitchen is of really good quality, worktops and units are very well built and sturdy, i got my kitchen in the sale with 15% off, this offer is currently back on , so i saved my self about Ј600, B&Q will also fit your kitchen.... but i was shocked to see that the cost of there fitting almost Ј2,500 was more than i had actually paid for my kitchen which was just under Ј2,000. Aslo i found B&Q customer services to be terrible to the point where i made a complaint against them, but once i did that i recieved a call from head office offering me compensation and since then i have to say its all been plain sailing and my new kitchen is lovely
• Thank you for your replies. Well it sounds like JL might be a bit beyond our reach but we might get a quote anyway. Wickes I hadn't even considered yet, it's a good idea. How was their customer service? How quickly did they deliver the units?
  B&Q units look nice enough and so do MFI's but for me customer service is a major issue and would not give business to another company that is useless at dealing with its customers - especially after they paid thousands! Kitchens Direct was a shocking enough experience. Sorry B&Q gave you grief, loopylass. Kitchens Direct made me loopy too
  For the people that have dealt with Magnet, do they do the high pressure salesperson routine, staying at your place for 6 hours, calling their managers to get a discount etc? I can appreciate that the units are good quality, but having been cornered by a sales guy like that before, I'd like to avoid the experience!
  Many thanks again guys, keep'em coming.
• Cristy, Why don't you measure your kitchen, draw a plan, and jot down ideas of what you require then go into your local Magnet branch and they will design the kitchen for you and show you samples of products and state that when they give you the price it must be their best offer with all discounts included, if your not happy with the price get up and walk out.
• Thank you for your replies.
  Jockettuk, I'd just rather avoid the hardsellers, with a little anklebiter I have very little time to waste in a day, even if it were for the sake of a bargain
  Tom_Jones, I intend to do that as soon as we've moved into our new home and can take accurate measurements! I think in a way it is better to go to a shop rather than having them come to your home, as you can get away more easily
• i purchased my kitchen from wickes five years ago and it still looks as good as new my friend got hers from mfi and is on her third set of doors both are the same age [i am not saying that mfi kitchens are worse you make up your
  own mind]
  if you take your measurements to wickes they plan it free
• I agree with Tom_Jones's approach.. get a plan together first before visiting a store, then you are in control and on thier patch, which actually gives you more control to leave when you want to.
  The Magnet web site did have a great kitchen planner on it (I would say that as we created it .. lol) but we don't run the site anymore so would have to check.. but it was a step-up from squared paper and cut-out units. Though that can work well and is still fun trying to work out where the fridge will go ;-)
  Good luck with it all.
• I used to work as a Sales Manager at MFI and If I was you I would go to the following:
  Sainsburys Homebase (keep an eye out for 10% off fridays)
  MFI - keep an eye out for 25% - 30% off all items, I will cover more later.
  B&Q.
  Get 3 plans done. Pick your best one and then ask them all to price based on that, they wont mind doing it as long as you have a list of what you need. Often refered to as a "Larry List".
  Play one against the other to get a good price.
  With MFI always ask to see what their back pocket deals are. You will see it flash up on the screen, if they tab past it they are not offering them to you. Often they are a free dishwasher or extra 5% off. Some sale people offer you this as an incentive to comit on the day or have finance. Dont take either. Make sure if you do buy from MFI you have a clubcard as you get a few hundred quid of deals. You moan about the delivery price and say you will collect from store rather than pay delivery.(obviously you wont but helps them to remove the Ј30-Ј60) Also read the charter that they want you to sign and cross out bits you dont agree with. One final thing is if you delivery comes and there are a couple of things missing dont refuse the delivery as they often courier down the missing bits. Also sign boxes look ok but contents unchecked to cover you for damage. Plus dont book your fitter until 3-4 weeks after you have your first delivery or make sure he wont charge you if he has to come back and fit some stuff.
  Scoobyz
  PS dont feel pressured into buying when they say offer ends wednesday as there is always a new offer. Dont buy when its bogof as they double prices and deal isnt as good.
• Anybody have any luck with the tips and save some cash ?
• I am in the process of buying a kitchen. I had an good idea of what we wanted then went to Magnet - what a load of c**p. They kept trying to add more and more cupboards, in their eyes if there was any wall space it must have a cupboard.Under duress they quoted for what I wanted.
  B&Q and MFI were great, both quoted for qhat I wanted, gave subtle suggestions to improve design with pros and cons of each item then let me decide.
  I ended up playing them off each other and ended getting Units, including plinth lighting, free fridge, free dishwasher and free delivery from MFI, the worktops and splash backs are coming from B&Q with a 20% discount.
  The magnet cost of my basic kitchen was £4000.(not including fitting,fridge, dishwasher) my actual cost is £2500(OH will fit)
  Look around and don't be afraid to walk away.
  Heard good news about Howdens and have now set up an account(wish i new about them before, just tell them you are renovating a buy to let and you can get a trade account and they might suggest a fitter)
• I have a B & Q kitchen which is fine but I hear Ikea are great. Might be worth trying them
• ive just had an mfi kitchen fitted and they said it would take one week but it has taken two and its still not finished the first fitters were hopeless the worktop round the sink area was fitted on a slope quarter of inch out they spent three days making plastering work then fitted cupboards on wet plaster wall didnt even screw them in either so now they have begun to blow, they sink was like a waterfall last weekend when they put the wrong fittings on and glued it, they didnt have a workbench so used my washer to build base units with no dust sheet on it(it is now very scrached on top) they didnt cover anything only floor and used my ceramic cooker to put tools on including drill and mallet(it is very scratched too), they removed the plinth heater i already had and all the pipes are now damaged and it is left still leaking in a corner because it cannot be fitted back were they planned as they planned it to be under a fridge/freezer which is not possible nor would it fit anyway! (we are arguing to get plumber bill paid to have it either relocated or capped of)they also planned to fit to shelfs was of which was over my microwave which again is not possible because it needs ventalation above it so another impossible idea (bad planning)they broke my back gate left a mess everywhere and just did a number two which stank the house out day after day where we were meant to wash up too, we had no cooker or water downstairs for a week etc etc when i complained i had to wait days before someone else could come round and patch things up and the next fitters were great i wish we'd been given them from the start very professional they really worked hard and were a total contrast,the first lot had no respect for our home at all and seemed to be just creating more jobs,charging us extra and expecting cash in hand only plus they were banging and drilling until 8.15 pm one night (and we have a two and four year old to put to bed!)and 6.30ish the other nights so we didnt get a very professional service at all they'd turn up when they felt like it eg 10.15am first day go for long dinner over an hour and the kitchen was an empty shell for four days totally gutted and no progression being made apart from plastering walls this is our experiance obviously and we were unfortunate but i felt i should post my experiance as a warning so you know that even some mfi fitters can be of poor standard so be careful and keep a diary/photos if like us you experience behaviour like above. good luck!!! you'll need it!!! i never want a new kitchen ever ever ever ever again!! the shop doesnt seem that bothered either and the kitchen has cost around £5000! i am also left with an mfi laminate floor as well that noone will fit now without another bill because it was in the first fitter contract so when we asked for refund the shop says it is over seven days so we cant have one!! Most Frustrating Incident ever!
• We bought our kitchen from B & Q, which cost us 3K including appliances, great service which included all the planning etc and we got a local fitter to fit it and do the plumbing, then used a local electrican to do the electrics,and it cost us approx 4 K , and would have cost 5K if we used B & Q fitters!
• I would recommend Howdens (as I've asid on other posts) but it is Trade On;y, however if you have a relative/friend with a Trade Account Id recommend them.
  I would always advise buying your appliances independently, and arranigng fitting yourself if finances are an issue. I got a fab Range Cooker (RRP Ј1,299) FOR Ј610 including delivery from Ebay as an ex-display. Obviously there is some risk attached to buying off Ebay, but I have personally found goods to be very good and they are just ordinary businesses who use ebay as an alternative to a webpage.
  I can recommend a few sellers that I've used on a regular basis for your washer/dishwasher/oven if you want to PM me.
  The big firms often charge as much for fitting as for the actual kitchen! I would advise getting a local joiner to fit it. I paid Ј380 for 2 men to spend 2 days fitting my kicthen (although didn't include electrics or plumbing gas cooker (these were an additional Ј120)
  B&Q are very reasonable and you get a lot for your money, although I can't comment on quality as I never bought from there in the end, got it from Howdens