A vehicle heater with a pot-shaped, double-jacketed heat exchanger and a burner for the fuel to be burned extending into the heat exchanger coaxially to an axis of the heat exchanger. The burner has a combustion chamber with a flame sensor disposed within it. A side channel fan is provided for feeding combustion air into the combustion chamber. The burner has a glow plug positioned to be swept by a small partial flow of the combustion air for igniting the fuel. The axis of the heat exchanger and an axis of the fan intersect each other approximately at right angles. The heat exchanger has a central opening closed by a one-part angle flange with a angle flange first leg and with a angle flange second leg extending approximately at right angles to the angle flange first leg. The angle flange first leg is located in a plane extending approximately in parallel to the axis of the heat exchanger and the angle flange second leg is located in a plane directed at right angles thereto. The angle flange second leg directly coveting the central opening of the heat exchanger.