Might need to switch to a diesel - what's what these days?

iaind · 21 Oct 2012 at 11:40

Interesting, maybe worth some more investigation. He said himself that he's not an LPG guy but that was his view. Guessing I'd be looking at about 1500 for the conversion?

[TW]Fox · 21 Oct 2012 at 11:47

iaind said:
Considered that a few times, it's about 60 quid return iirc. But I'm nowhere near the station in Exeter so by the time I park down there I'm only about a tender better off

30 quid to park!? Surely not.

Dale V · 21 Oct 2012 at 11:47

iaind said:
Interesting, maybe worth some more investigation. He said himself that he's not an LPG guy but that was his view. Guessing I'd be looking at about 1500 for the conversion?

LPG conversion prices vary, there are individual installers that take 4-5 days and charge 1500 plus and then there are one day installers who have around 6 guys working on the car that will do it for about 1k.

I went to one of the one day installers as they got good revievs on Lexus owners club. The lexus cost £1100, the audi cost £1000

iaind · 21 Oct 2012 at 11:52

[TW]Fox;23001827 said:
30 quid to park!? Surely not.

Something like £10 per day down at St Davids isnt it?

Seeing as you're here.. I know you probably loathe the 1 series diesels, but do you know if a 120D/118D (circa 05) would be a bad idea in terms of running costs? And would I be able to get a decent enough warranty from BMW to cover the potential big bills? The BMW warranty site wants a PIN from an invitation letter to give me a price

[TW]Fox · 21 Oct 2012 at 11:56

If it wants a pin it means the car you have found is only just out of warranty. If the car is under 60k irrespective of age you can get the decently priced warranty. It's 30 to 40 quid a month for a 1 depending on cover.

25k a year in a 1 Series though, no thanks! What about an A4 1.9?

iaind · 21 Oct 2012 at 12:02

[TW]Fox;23001877 said:
If it wants a pin it means the car you have found is only just out of warranty. If the car is under 60k irrespective of age you can get the decently priced warranty. It's 30 to 40 quid a month for a 1 depending on cover.

25k a year in a 1 Series though, no thanks! What about an A4 1.9?

The site here asks for a PIN before asking for any vehicle details? Dont think I'd be looking at anything under 60k though for my money so it might rule that out entirely anyway so I'd probably look at third party warranty.

Moving up to something more "executive" is of course an option - 320D, A4, C class etc. My only concern is the cost of repairs/servicing etc so was trying to stick with mid size hatches, but its a valid point - would I want to do 25k in any of those cars?

If I was looking at the A4 I'd probably want the 2.0 rather than the 1.9 - the ubiquitous 2.0 S-Line is in budget.

[TW]Fox · 21 Oct 2012 at 12:18

It asks for a pin incase you have one, you can get a quote without one.

You are right be be concerned about running costs but there is nothing about a 1 series that makes it exempt from the costs associated with the next class up.

iaind · 21 Oct 2012 at 12:22

[TW]Fox;23001998 said:
It asks for a pin incase you have one, you can get a quote without one.

You are right be be concerned about running costs but there is nothing about a 1 series that makes it exempt from the costs associated with the next class up.

Aah I should have tried it without!

Yeah I guess you're right with the 1 series, it's probably less applicable with the other cars on the list. Dad recently got a brand new 318D (old shape, one of the runout special edition models) and its much nicer than I expected, not as clattery or gutless as I anticipated. He's getting 60mpg on a run too

iaind · 21 Oct 2012 at 15:15

Dale V said:
LPG conversion prices vary, there are individual installers that take 4-5 days and charge 1500 plus and then there are one day installers who have around 6 guys working on the car that will do it for about 1k.

I went to one of the one day installers as they got good revievs on Lexus owners club. The lexus cost £1100, the audi cost £1000

Just been having lunch with my dad and talking this over - come to the conclusion that this may well be the most sensible solution. I know the car I've got know, I know it's history and most importantly I like it. It's in great condition, so why should I spend £4000 to downgrade everything except fuel economy when I can spend £1500 to get the fuel economy I need? At 30mpg and 1500 to convert, break even is 15k miles - so 6-9 months depending on usage. It'll probably even add £500 to the value of the car too

Seems like a no brainer really. I'll head over to the owners club, but have you got any links for the companies you used or good details?

Dale V · 21 Oct 2012 at 15:46

Bear in mind you will NOT get the same MPG as pertol due to LPG, factor around 10% less and you wont go far wrong when calculating the savings.

I used www.leedslpg.co.uk as they had good press on the owners club. Various LPG forums dont favour these "one day wonders" over independant guys who take 4 days etc, as they believe they cant possibly do a thorough job in just 1 day. But like I say they have around 6 guys working on various parts of the car, ive had no issues, being a mechanic i've had a good look over it myself and its spot on, 2 year warranty too.

iaind · 21 Oct 2012 at 15:57

Dale V said:
Bear in mind you will NOT get the same MPG as pertol due to LPG, factor around 10% less and you wont go far wrong when calculating the savings.

I used www.leedslpg.co.uk as they had good press on the owners club. Various LPG forums dont favour these "one day wonders" over independant guys who take 4 days etc, as they believe they cant possibly do a thorough job in just 1 day. But like I say they have around 6 guys working on various parts of the car, ive had no issues, being a mechanic i've had a good look over it myself and its spot on, 2 year warranty too.

Thanks, miles from me but it's a starting point. They advertise 3 on the front page, which did you use?

rodenal · 21 Oct 2012 at 16:03

If you'll keep the car king enough for the lpg to come out at cost plus then go for it, otherwise I wouldn't personally bother.

I like my civic, does everything I ask of it without fuss and hasn't really missed a beat in the time I've had it, well kitted out too in EX spec. The flip side o is that parts are expensive, its not fantastic on fuel (easy 45mpg though), the paint is terrible and the ride will be too firm for some.

Id explore the train option though, id certainly rather get the train every day than face winter traffic etc

Dale V · 21 Oct 2012 at 16:05

I went for the standard conversion. They, themselves reccomended it as they'd had good results on previous Lexus conversions, so seemed pointless to pay extra.

iaind · 21 Oct 2012 at 16:09

Dale V said:
I went for the standard conversion. They, themselves reccomended it as they'd had good results on previous Lexus conversions, so seemed pointless to pay extra.

Sounds good to me. I might be tempted to just go ahead and do it now - even with my current mileage it will break even pretty quickly anyway and my bonus will cover the cost