£3000 budget - 15k - 18k a year Diesel or Petrol ?

bigjl

neilmcl wrote: »

Speaking of Japanese cars, what about a Yaris

Has this latest DM been PPRd or have the pairs been deleted?

dlm

Look into LPG Vehicles. Don't beleive the tales of this and that. You need to find one with a quality LPG installation and not a budget one. So research your kits!! Make sure a car with 260bhp has a kit that is over 260bhp (many buy cheap kits, so loose power)

You will get equivilent mpg to a small engined car. The thirstiest I have owned is a Jepp G/Cherokee which is popping 40mpg. Best was Mercedes E-Class which was 65mpg - if you prefer money, then Merc would do London to Cornwall £25, Jeep does it £35

Merc went like stink on LPG as it had a good BRC kit, Jeep has a good 'cheaper' kit so not quite as pokey.

There are also other benefits over diesel - cities are considering congestion charging. LPG is exempt - so won't make a difference to you. You can also get into London with no issues if you see a deal going on there.

LPG would be my choice. If you really want a diesel - look at the PT cruiser CRD. Do around 40mpg, has Mercedes engine (vito/c-class 2.2) chain drive and as they were designed as a van, huge load area na d flat floor with removable seats.

londonTiger

there are a few lpg vans sold on autotrader - some claim to be factory fitted.

paying for an lpg install will set you back a big chunk of OPs budget. But buying a already converted one would be more moneysaving.

bigjl

You could get Berlingos with LPG factory fitted a few years ago.

Though as lots were used by Couriers to avoid the Congestion Charge at the time then they are likely all dead now, as the CC exemption was stopped after a few years.

There is the option of finding a decent 1.4i Berlingo and converting it yourself as they sell them new in LPG form in Europe.

I don't know if you would need FlashLube or if the head is capable of running without it.

londonTiger

bigjl wrote: »

You could get Berlingos with LPG factory fitted a few years ago.

Though as lots were used by Couriers to avoid the Congestion Charge at the time then they are likely all dead now, as the CC exemption was stopped after a few years.

There is the option of finding a decent 1.4i Berlingo and converting it yourself as they sell them new in LPG form in Europe.

I don't know if you would need FlashLube or if the head is capable of running without it.

thre are a few in auto trader near me but they are surprisingly cheap, like £1400ish and they're french and I dont want to spend any money on a french van and find it goes pop.

bigjl

londonTiger wrote: »

thre are a few in auto trader near me but they are surprisingly cheap, like £1400ish and they're french and I dont want to spend any money on a french van and find it goes pop.

What makes you think French Vans go pop?

Some of these vans did 200k hard courier miles in their first 3 or 4 years on the road.

Funny how so many people have no problems whatsoever with French cars but then you find loads of people who have significant problems with 2.0 BMW diesel camchains, 1 Series brake problems (vacuum and hydraulic issues both side stepped by BMW) and VAG 2.0 Diesel engines with oil pump failure.

All cars breakdown, anybody that thinks otherwise is deluded.

I suppose you think the new Citan van is better than a Kangoo?

londonTiger

bigjl wrote: »

What makes you think French Vans go pop?

Some of these vans did 200k hard courier miles in their first 3 or 4 years on the road.

Funny how so many people have no problems whatsoever with French cars but then you find loads of people who have significant problems with 2.0 BMW diesel camchains, 1 Series brake problems (vacuum and hydraulic issues both side stepped by BMW) and VAG 2.0 Diesel engines with oil pump failure.

All cars breakdown, anybody that thinks otherwise is deluded.

I suppose you think the new Citan van is better than a Kangoo?

plenty of people on here who have serious prbl;ems with peugeot/citroen vehicles. Included a peugeot on here very recently that died at 50K and the dealer says tough luck cos it's outside warranty.

motorguy

bigjl wrote: »

You could get Berlingos with LPG factory fitted a few years ago.

Though as lots were used by Couriers to avoid the Congestion Charge at the time then they are likely all dead now, as the CC exemption was stopped after a few years.

There is the option of finding a decent 1.4i Berlingo and converting it yourself as they sell them new in LPG form in Europe.

I don't know if you would need FlashLube or if the head is capable of running without it.

I had one of those! Great little van.