LPG cars

beentheredonethatstilhere

We are thinking of buying an LPG car to help combat petrol costs.

Is there anything we should look out for specifically? Are they expensive to fix if they go wrong? How likely are they to go wrong?

Many thanks for any information.

beentheredonethatstilhere

Sorry bumping this :money:

Tucker

Buying one secondhand is more of a gamble as many are being sold because there are engine or LPG problems. Ask yourself why someone would sell one that's running fine with current petrol prices?

You are probably best converting a good quality, low mileage used car that you intend to keep for 4+ years.

The car itself has to be mechanically maintained (petrol engine servicing etc) just the same. Provided it is, there's little difference if it's been professionally converted and set up using a good quality kit.

The LPG kit is just a bolt on system. Generally there's not a great deal to it and it's more likely that normal mechanical issues with the petrol engine cause a problem.


If you convert one yourself it will normally come with a 2 or 3 year warranty.

forgotmyname

Price is slowly creeping up, We were in cornwall the last time fuel was this expensive.

Small petrol stations charging £1.20+ for petrol. I was buying LPG for 38p - 45p a litre.

Its 61p+ now.

Buy carefully checkout LPG cars on ebay so many have misfires or wont run properly,
Main reason for selling them?

Hammyman

If its been converted, try and get one with a LPGA safety certificate. Makes insuring them a lot easier.

petrolhead69

avoid aftermarket converted 5 cylinder volvos as they are prone to valve seat recession on lpg.
lpg bmw 740 I had was one of the best cars I ever had,wish I'd kept it and just fixed the other problems with it (the car was falling apart around, the lpg conversion, engine and gas kit were still perfect at 203k miles)

Mcfi5dhc

I have an MGZR which is converted to LPG

I agree with pretty much everything that has been posted above

I would say it is far better to have a petrol car converted rather than buy one already converted. I have heard a few stories about cheap conversions which simply don't last (you simply don't know where the kit has come from). I would emphasise what Hammyman said, though I would increase it to say forget about any conversion that isn't LPGA - you will find it a nightmare to insure.

The price of the gas is creeping up, but you'll find it is always about half of petrol. When petrol drops, so does gas.

There are no real issues with it - you won't notice any difference driving etc. An LPG service every 12,000 is required (mine is £28 so not wallet breaking) - avoid this at your peril though.

Can't really comment on how expensive they are to fix - mine has only done about 50,000 miles without any issues so far.

Don't worry about people grumbling about no LPG stations, theres at least 1500 in UK. I have only ever been without gas for a few miles at the end of a motorway run, and the car just flips to petrol.

Good luck

PS what car have you got now? And how old?

Tucker

Creeping up?? So what, LPG is more economical now than when it first started off.

Yes it goes up and down like petrol does, but as has been stated it has consistently been about half of petrol or slightly under half.

When petrol was last at £1.18 in July 2008, LPG around here peaked at 54p. Petrol dropped to about 90 and LPG reduced to 41p. At no point has it been any different. I have all the stats based on Asda's petrol price compared to my 2 local independent LPG suppliers since late 2007, so these figures are not based on a faded memory.

When LPG very first kicked off it was a little under 30p compared to 65p for petrol. Hence, if we are now saving 50 to 65p a litre, then it's more cost effective than when you were saving less than 40p a litre??

Current prices in Bury / Bolton is 53p to 56p from NON forcourt sources and 60 to 62p from a forcourt supplier. Petrol has now just dropped from 1.22 to 1.15p, so I suspect the LPG price will be a few pence down next fill up.

Arfa__

Check out some of the Vauxhall and Ford cars from the 2000-2006 ish era which had LPG factory fitted. You know these will be decent, if in need of service. You often see cases where they don't switch to gas, or keep switching back to petrol, but it usually just a case of them needing a good service or some underlying problem that isn't very noticeable on petrol (o2/lamda/temp sensors dicky, egv valve, coil pack, plugs etc).

Avoid Jap cars, as these often can't handle the LPG well and need flash lube to keep valves good and ensure reliable running, which is just more cost.

You will need to be a big savvy on where you fill up, some remote places don't have anywhere and most motorway services charge a bomb (likewise for petrol). Also hunt down a local Flogas depo or similar distributor, these are often the cheapest. Note, these aren't listed on https://www.petrolprices.com.

Head over to the https://www.lpgforum.co.uk for more discussion.

forgotmyname

I was in cornwall in aug 2008 when prices were peaking, Still paying 45p a litre, Under 40p at morrisions/asda at bristol.

The duty on lpg has increased more than petrol. Only a few p but not as cheap as it was.

beentheredonethatstilhere

Wow! thanks for all the tips guys.

We have an x reg Renault Grand Espace at the moment. We have decided to buy something and then get it converted. DH is keeping an eye on the local auction house site to see what comes up.