Petrol Vs Diesel Vs LPG

Happy_Shrimper

did some calculations last night on Petrol V Diesel V LPG as I am looking to change my aging 406 diesel.

Based on 30000 per year which I do and petrol at 93.9, diesel at 95.9 LPG at 48.9

2.0 Petrol @ 32 MPG = £3999 per annum in fuel - 13.33 per mile
2.0 diesel @ 42 MPG = £3108 per annum in fuel - 10.36 per mile
2.0 LPG @ 28 MPG = £2376 per annum in fuel - 7.92p per mile

LPG would be a bit more as I haven't accounted for petrol consumption on starting, but still gives a good idea of cost savings!

Over petrol, an LPG conversion would pay for itself within a year if it cost around £1500 to convert and presumably add value to re-sale too.

Just though I would share my findings with MSE'rs.

Any thoughts, flaws in my calcs?

HS

Ted_Hutchinson

You may find the comments at Honest John interesting.

I find my fuel consumption while towing depressing so although I only do fraction of your annual mileage I'd like to do something to reduce the cost of long trips with the Caravan.

chrisw

No flaws, but the diesel consumption is very high compared with newer cars. If you do 30k per year, I assume they are fairly long journeys. I have a new Passat 2.0 TDI which will easily average over 60mpg on longish journeys, dropping to around 50mpg on short local journeys.

This puts it similar to or cheaper than the LPG option.

I bought it to tow my caravan, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. However, I gather the towing mpg drops sharply to around the 30's which is similar to what I was getting with my 1.8 petrol 406 when towing.

ooo000ooo

Comparing my 2.0 petrol car since it's conversion to lpg, running on petrol i get approx 30mpg, running on lpg i get the equivalent of approx 48 mpg. The diesel version of the same car gets approx 36mpg. As long as the tax on lpg stays low i'll be quids in but if i was to buy another car i'd go for diesel as it's a nicer drive and, over here, lpg isn't at every petrol station.

valmiki

don't forget, LPG may involve an increase in insurance premiums, eg. NU didn't exactly quote me happy, their policy is to put the policy into the next higher group. mine went from grop 15 to group 16). also, they won't cover the installation itself, so just make sure you check everything when informing your insurer.

didn't bother me in the slightest, I still converted to lpg!

if you have sat-nav, the you can download a list of all LPG stations in the UK which is fairly up-to-date. also use petrolprices.com if you know the areas you're going to be in. Cheapest stations tend to be Morrisons, at 39.9p a litre.

remember, at some point, LPG duty will inevitably increase to match the equivalent in petrol. the question is, how much will you save by that time? I think the high cost of conversion puts a lot of people off, so I think i'll be quids in, in the long term.

If, when you come to sell, LPG is still cheap, the conversion you have had done to your car may be worth £500 extra on top of the value of your car, maybe not. See how it goes...

Make sure whoever you get to do the conversion, is certified by LGPA, and get a copy of the certificate. Your insurers may request it.

I had the latest Romano multi-point sequential system fitted, Euro VI compliant. No complaints from me, car runs smooth as before! just costs less. The kit cost me £1400+VAT to have fitted by a reputable fitter, and had the 77l tank fitted in the wheel well.

Some users of LPG recommend that you add redex fuel cleaner (or similar) to your petrol tank, to stop the injectors getting bunged up from lack of use, but I don't think this applies so much to the newer systems.

[would you believe I only picked up my car from the fitters yesterday?! today is the first full day of using it on LPG!]

readup on as much as you can, I think it will dispel many of the myths of LPG, they don't apply any more. My fitter arranged a connection point at the bottom of my bumper on the rear, no big hole on the side like the older ones. very discreet!

the LPG gauges to show how much fuel is in the tanks is notoriously inaccurate, it goes with the territory, something to do with the huge pressures inside the tank.

I could go on, but I may be talking about stuff you already know about, so I'll stop.

I only wish I'd had mine done years ago, i could have been quids in (big money) by now!

p.s. no congestion charge I think? I don't live in London, but if you do then more savings to be made...

Murphy_The_Cat

But I think that LPG cars are still a no-no on the Chunnel.

Just for Info.

MTC