Magnets or DIY kitchens?

[UTH]

bungle said:

Thanks. All very odd then. Without being able to plan my kitchen with them, I'm unlikely to be buying from them. Why on earth would you get rid of the old one before bringing in the new one??

Exactly, that's very strange indeed. Surely you'd turn the old one off when you have the new one ready to go live. This downtime must be costing them sales.

[paulrockliffe]

bungle said:

Thanks. All very odd then. Without being able to plan my kitchen with them, I'm unlikely to be buying from them. Why on earth would you get rid of the old one before bringing in the new one??

I would guess that it will minimise the number of people complaining that their half-finished design doesn't work with the new setup and perhaps there are technical reasons why they can't run both systems side by side until everyone has finished their plan. Does seem a bit odd though.

[Zoobeef]

Its interesting watching DIYs short video on how they are made. After all the panels are cut to size they are all put together by machine. The only bit done by hand is when the doors are put on.

[Catz]

UTH said:

bungle said:

Thanks. All very odd then. Without being able to plan my kitchen with them, I'm unlikely to be buying from them. Why on earth would you get rid of the old one before bringing in the new one??

Exactly, that's very strange indeed. Surely you'd turn the old one off when you have the new one ready to go live. This downtime must be costing them sales.

I had logged onto the old planner ages ago so can still use it.
They’ve had a fire in their paint workshop recently so that combined with Covid might mean they’re trying to play catch-up and delaying new customer’s deliberately. Who knows!

[fourstardan]

UTH said:

Based on the above, does that mean there is a cheaper option with DIY Kitchens where they arrive flat packed and I put them together? I'd be happy to do that if it was an option to save some cash.....

Yes do some googling you can even buy carcasses on eBay.

Better kitchens also did customised colours for carcasses, not sure if DIY do.

[kryten22uk]

So I got a quote from Magnet for units only (no worktops or fitting or appliances) for about 16 units mix of tall/wall/base, and they have come in at c£16k for a bespoke painted/lacquered true handleless finish.

I priced this up on BetterKitchens and on UnitsOnline, and both came out similarly at c£5k. DIYKitchens don't do true handleless kitchens - very odd as this is surely a big section of the market now?!

Anyways, can i take it from the prior comments that this is typical for a first price from Magnet to be so much higher? Are they likely to come down from £16k to £5k?! I'm not sure it's even worth the ask.

I subscribe to Which? and they tested kitchens, with Magnet coming out more sturdier/durable and a higher overall score for the units than DIYKitchens, so am happy that the product is ok (albeit DIYK came out much higher in customer service) and would take their product if the price was right.

[V8RX7]

kryten22uk said:

Anyways, can i take it from the prior comments that this is typical for a first price from Magnet to be so much higher? Are they likely to come down from £16k to £5k?! I'm not sure it's even worth the ask.

I subscribe to Which? and they tested kitchens, with Magnet coming out more sturdier/durable and a higher overall score for the units than DIYKitchens,

Unless you're buying 100 kitchens a year they won't come down much, if any.

I'd love to see a that test - could you post it up ?

[kryten22uk]

V8RX7 said:

Unless you're buying 100 kitchens a year they won't come down much, if any.

Really? I thought Magnet was all about discounts? Or was that just the other high street chains?

[V8RX7]

kryten22uk said:

V8RX7 said:

Unless you're buying 100 kitchens a year they won't come down much, if any.

Really? I thought Magnet was all about discounts? Or was that just the other high street chains?

They tend to have discounts built into the system depending on how much you buy

IE You might pay £10k, I might pay £9k, Wimpey Homes might pay £1.50 but after the quote they generally only discount further if they have to price match - and they won't match the internet nor do they consider various others as directly comparable - even when they are

EDIT - to be clear I'm talking about the original Magnet Trade branches, never even visited their Retail Showrooms (or if they still exist)

[UTH]

My DIY kitchen turned up on Weds evening.

So far I'm very impressed. One small thing was damaged, they already have a replacement on the way. Quality looks top notch, it looks like everything we ordered is here. So far so good!

[HolyMoly]

Haven't read through this thread entirely, but thought I'd chime in with my thoughts on my kitchen from DIY Kitchens.

In a word - disappointing. Have the in-frame Hemsley which I fitted myself so had a very up-close look at the cabinetry and it wasn't great. A few of the frames were attached crooked, the dovetail drawers were quite crudely machined and one of doors is completely out of line and can't be adjusted (bin drawer) so just have to live with it not lining up with the other run. Other issues like the door stops are really poor quality , the paint finish isn't great and the installation of the magic corner mechanism was really poorly done.