We need a new kitchen desperately. Our oven doesn't work. Our gas hob has 4 tiny burners. The extractor is next to useless. The new replacement fridge and freezer are standing in the middle of the room blocking cupboard access and removing use of the work surfaces for a whole wall. The hideous doors are hanging off too. And the tumble dryer is in a different room from the washing machine. Derek told us about a Kitchens Direct and how he'd negotiated them down to nearly half their original quote when they'd installed his kitchen. I went onto their website and found they'd a half price sale. Perfect! I even arranged Derek to come round and use his legal skills to negotiate down the ridiculous price we would no doubt be offered, to one we were prepared to pay.
A salesman drove through from Edinburgh and started badly. Thomas and Derek showed him our new long extension room saying it was perfect for a kitchen, and he started explaining why the current small kitchen would be a better choice. They stuck to their guns and I even, at one point, heard him more or less suggest 2 kitchens - the current one with the washing machine, sink, dishwasher and tumble drier - a kind of wet room, and the new one full of cupboards - not quite my idea of the optimum kitchen triangle. Eventually they beat him into submission - we could choose how many kitchens we needed and which room to use. Result!
Two hours of measuring ensued culminating in an announcement that our kitchen would cost £13k...in their January sale. Wow, a £26k kitchen! I only paid £28k for a 2 storey extension of 4-5 rooms in my old house 3 years ago - even allowing for inflation, kitchens, to my mind, should always cost less than house extensions (especially when the house extension actually included an Ikea kitchen and all the plumbing and gas for it!) Derek then explained how much he expected us to have to pay, given the price of his own kitchen from the same company last year. Miraculously the kitchen fell from £13k to £10.9k to £9.2k over the next 10 minutes and our reply, of course... on your bike, we can get a kitchen in Ikea for £3k and there is no one in the west of Scotland who'd dare to suggest it'd cost £6k to fit it. All in all a disappointing evening.
I'm away to compare Ikea kitchens and B&Q kitchens with MFI kitchens now!
Having checked these now I feel invigorated, and sure I can soon have a perfect new kitchen for much less than nine grand :-)
1 comment:
I guess Derek failed then ?
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