brooks

Need to buy my wife a secondhand car.
Was thinking of a diesel Mondeo but someone at work is trying to get rid of a 2001 Vectra 2.2 petrol with 76k on it.

Is this worthy of an LPG conversion?
Pros/cons of LPG?
Does it reduce or extend the life of an engine?
Does it run more or less smoothly?
How do I find a Governement approved fitter?
How much is it likely to cost?

Thanks in advance!!

Simon

EvoBarry

Is this worthy of an LPG conversion?

Depends how long you're likely to keep it.

Pros/cons of LPG?

Cleaner fuel, cheaper, better for the engine, higher octane.

Costly fitment, lose boot space/sparewheel space, not as widely stocked as petrol (atho this is getting better)

Does it reduce or extend the life of an engine?

Extends life, its a cleaner, hotter burn so far less carbon deposits left inside the engine, which extends the working life of oil etc.

Does it run more or less smoothly?

More smoothly in my experience, depends on how well setup it was.

How do I find a Governement approved fitter?

I think there is a website listing them.

How much is it likely to cost?

For a Vectra, anything from a grand upwards at a guess.

MAC76

I think the LPG route is a good one to take, i have had two lpg cars and they have both run fine. There are quite a few different systems available and from my experience you get what you pay for! One thing i would say tho is its very expensive when it goes wrong allthough you would be covered by a warranty for 12 months from new. It always made me smile when i filled up at 36p a litre and everyone else was paying 80p

David Lock

Another option might be to consider a diesel and get a bio diesel conversion of which there are a couple of types. Lots of info on Google.

brooks

Thanks all. :O)

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

IMO you need to be doing a high annual milage to see some saving in overall cost (i.e cost of conversion + cost of fuel compared to sticking with petrol and cost of petrol). Also depends on how long you intend to keep the car

With small engined cars, it will take longer and more miles before you see any benefit in your wallet.

Bigger engined cars see the advantage in a shorter space of time, thanks to their gas guzzling antics

So get the calculator out

Flatcapdriver

You have several avenues to explore. I presume that it's a petrol vehicle you're talking about? If so, it's reasonably straight forward although you need to pick your conversion with care given the amount of cowboys about who spout all sorts of crap about the cost savings. Try the LPGA website for starters.

You shouldn't notice any decrease in power or performance but you will notice a reduction in running costs of around 35% which is not as high as some will claim but more realistic. The Government will increas duty by 1ppl for the next few years but at current levels of 4.5ppl compared to around 50ppl for petrol it is quite reasonable to expect stable duty levels for a number of years to come, especially when you conside HMG's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol.

If it's diesel, then finding the right conversion is almost impossible with all sorts of wild claims being made but if you're interested then I could put you in touch with the right people.