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Sept 26, 2016 23:24:12 GMT
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So at some point in the near future we are moving offices to the city centre and I will loose my parking space. I want to replace the Skoda anyway as I don't really care for it & have been using it as a van. This leaves me with a few options 1) Walk to work - this is Sheffield and everything is up hill & I work shifts  2) Cycle to work - this is Sheffield and everything is up hill & I work shifts 3) Get the bus - Erm just no. 4) Park for free just up the road - this is Sheffield and everything is up hill, I work shifts & the nearest place is where they filmed this is England 5) Buy a hybrid - Thinking Honda CR-Z, Lexus CT220 or Lexus GS430H (that would bankrupt me at some point) 6) Buy a LPG converted car 7) Buy a car I want and convert to LPG 8) Buy a car I want and pay £800 a year to park in the centre 9) Buy a moped and fall off it (this has been proven to be true btw lol) Now the only realistic options are 5,6 & 7 I dislike Hybrids, I wont let them out at junctions because they are generally driven by smug people of a certain age who drive at 25mph so the engine never kicks in - that is my personal gripe with them. However they could make sense as it's £100 a year to park in the centre. Always liked the CR-Z (even though it should have been fitted with the Civic Type R engine & not been hybrid lol), love big Lexus's & the CT could be made to look ok. Downside is I don't really want to spend £5k+ on a car to go to work in. So the other option is a LPG converted car. I like the idea of being able to have a E39 or Forester, my concern is when I mentioned it to a mate (mechanic) he didnt seem too positive about LPG. Anyone had/have experience of LPG or Hybrid that can offer me some advice? I only live about 2 miles from work, but tbh I'm to lazy to walk/cylce, also need to get little un to nursery. I have the mk2 for fun when it's on the road & the Golf Plus for when we all need to go somewhere together. If you made it this far, thank you for reading through my brain fart. Ta      |
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Last Edit: Sept 26, 2016 23:40:23 GMT by joem83
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berendd
Europe
why do I need 3 keys for one car?
Posts: 1,449
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Sept 27, 2016 7:19:51 GMT
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I've converted my Mercedes E420 (4,2 liter V8) to LPG last year, since then I've driven 60.000kms in it.
bought the car for 1250€, conversion was 1800€ (had it done as it needs a certificate in this country but would rather have done it myself as it wasn't the best of work)
fuel use is about 7kms to the liter and LPG costs 0,50€ in the Netherlands
total spent so far:
4280€ on fuel (approximately)
3050€ on the car
some general maintenance but nothing mayor, most things would have needed done on petrol as well, only LPG related issue was coilpacks, changed about 8 of them which works out to about €280,-
so totally 7610€ for 60.000kms = 12,6ct/km
where the petrol version would have cost:
11250 in fuel
1250 for the car
=21ct/km
this excludes general maintenance, tax and insurance which is roughly the same for both options
For the conversion, make sure the car runs well on petrol and don't buy a modern as it means fiddling with lots of sensors.
hope this helps..
and what about an electric bicycle/scooter of some sort?
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MiataMark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,971
Club RR Member Number: 29
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LPG vs HybridMiataMark
@garra
Club Retro Rides Member 29
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Sept 27, 2016 7:37:31 GMT
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Go LPG, mainly because I don't like the supposed clean running claims of hybrids <rant> that ignore how the electricity is generated in the first place (for plug-ins), and the pollution caused by making them, e.g. batteries </rant>. Another downside for hybrids I've read about is that in winter they end up running the engine to warm the car interior up.
What about getting something like a Smart car, cheap to run, tax and insure?
* yes I know it's easier to control pollution at a power station and it stops other pollutants ,e.g. diesel particles etc.
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1990 Mazda MX-52012 BMW 118i (170bhp) - white appliance 2011 Land Rover Freelander 2 TD4 2003 Land Rover Discovery II TD52007 Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon JTDm
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Sept 27, 2016 8:36:34 GMT
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I converted a Volvo 240 to LPG many years ago and was brilliant. Running costs were a fraction of petrol (at the time LPG was 26p litre), engine oil stayed yellow, MOT emissions were very low, insurer didn't add any loading, no difference in performance, slightly less economy but not really noticeable. MitaMark has a valid idea - small car as a run around. I have a Smart Fortwo (450 model) and love it. You can get diesel models but petrol give good economy. VED is £30 pa. I'm an old fogie so insurance is around £150 pa fully comp with protected no claims, parts are cheap - even from main agent (Mercedes). More room inside than you'd expect - always surprised people how generous the drivers position is compared to other cars. Passenger seat fold flat to extend load area. I have managed to get 3 full bails of hay inside (2 in boot and one on passenger side)  |
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alx
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 367
Club RR Member Number: 21
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LPG vs Hybridalx
@alx
Club Retro Rides Member 21
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Sept 27, 2016 9:41:14 GMT
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I would let this out of a side road. Always thought these should have been the new crx. I had a mk2 1.6i-16. Do that.......none of this is based on sound reasoning or economy or ease, but just do that ^^^ ☺ AL. |
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Last Edit: Sept 27, 2016 9:47:43 GMT by alx
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Sept 27, 2016 11:56:52 GMT
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I'd still do #1/2 tbh!
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Sept 27, 2016 19:27:36 GMT
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Thanks for all the feedback chaps. I must admit economy isnt the main focus with this, I just want to drive to work and not pay for parking lol. The hybrids kinda appeal as £0-£20 road tax & annual fuel bill would be half, still don't like hybrids though lol, but paying road tax on 2-3 cars is getting exspensive (£245 + £145 atm then £220 when Golf is working). So tempeted to buy a massive American pickup with LPG and take up 1 & 1/2 spaces of the works car park just to annoy them (work will give me a "Green" parking space lol) Main worry with LPG is the amount of them for sale that have dead engines. none of this is based on sound reasoning or economy or ease, but just do that ^^^ ☺ That is generally how I pick a car lol |
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Last Edit: Sept 27, 2016 19:36:03 GMT by joem83
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Sept 27, 2016 19:31:49 GMT
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Nah, my commute atm is 12 mins (total for the day), cycling would be about 45mins total (15min in, 30min out) walking would be 1 hour 15min total (30min in, 45min out) It's bad enough finishing work at 10pm without the thought of a 45min walk home, up hill in the rain. |
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Sept 27, 2016 19:45:43 GMT
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you said 2 miles? how slow do you ride?!
you should easily do it faster than in a car if it takes 12 min to drive.
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Sept 27, 2016 20:14:26 GMT
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you said 2 miles? how slow do you ride?! you should easily do it faster than in a car if it takes 12 min to drive. *edit, just checked and new house is 2.5-2.8 miles, old house was bang on 2 It's 5 years since my first & last attempt to ride to work, I made it 100m before I got a puncture lol I'm not really suited to 2 wheels tbh, although if it was that or the bus then it would be something with 2 wheels. No it's just under 6 mins each way to work (never have to commute in rush hour), 10 mins mid day is the longest. Made it in 5 mins in my old Hilux including stopping for a couple of red lights, I was running late though & I am pretty sure that without running lights I couldnt do it much quicker lol. |
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Last Edit: Sept 27, 2016 20:25:05 GMT by joem83
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Sept 27, 2016 20:25:34 GMT
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How much could it hurt coming off at top speed, No Idea why but this seem's a bit of fun eriderbikes.com/e-rider-new-model-15/Lexus Ct200h Would be my Choice if it had to be a hybrid. if you go The Lpg route then you may aswell get something 8+ cylinders and wafty |
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Sept 27, 2016 21:36:05 GMT
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Sept 28, 2016 10:37:23 GMT
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Lpg all the way for me, speak to someone who knows what they are talking about reconverted vehicles - for most people it's just pub talk and 90% of it is curse word.
We've run lpg since the early 90s when it was 19.9ppl so know most of the drawbacks. The only issues attributable to lpg use age in that time that we have had are due to running vehicles intended for leaded fuel on lpg without using a valvesaver fluid.
Modern vehicles need a modern conversion solution, you can't just bung a mixer system on and expect it to work. Modern systems also need servicing and calibrating once in a while the service interval will vary depending on what it kit it is, you can DIY it as most of the software and leads are available if you are confident you know what you are doing.
Get the biggest tank you possibly can that isn't going to interfere with your use of the vehicle.
I can recommend a localish installer who will happily chat about lpg options and costs on a specific vehicle. If you are buying a ready converted vehicle have a look at the quality of the conversion, just because it's logged as lpg on the v5 or comes with an LPGA certificate doesn't mean jack IMO.
There's quite a few lpg stations in Sheffield so refuelling out of hours isn't an issue.
Sheffield council also used to run a discount scheme where you could park an lpg vehicle for free for a yearly payment. This was 10 years ago so it might have changed but worth looking up.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,309
Club RR Member Number: 170
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LPG vs HybridChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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dodgerover covers most of the points TBH! IMO LPG is a good way to go but it does pay to be thorough! We've run LPG cars for about the last decade and now we just sold the final LPG car of ours. That said, I would check a few things: -Make sure the engine is tip top - Slight misfire on petrol? That will be worse on LPG. Iffy Cooling system? LPG will show that up as a weakness (unless it is Direct Injection most systems need the coolant to heat up the LPG, with the 'tapping in' done to varying standards and some supplied parts just being curse word (I've have 3 T-Piece joiners go on me over the years (and the rest weep), so I now controversially don't bother with them!) -Find someone decent to do an LPG conversion. There are plenty of certified cowboys out there, and I mean ones who can issue certificates! Personally, I wouldn't buy a converted car as you are potentially buying someone else's mess and the cost to rectify it full can end up being as much in money and more in time than installing a new system from the off. I've done it once and TBH while I admit it did see a hard life it was a nightmare to maintain! Other cars which saw a similar life were fine in comparison and converted by ourselves ; I used to fit them for a living many moons ago. If you get a modern I would not even think about converting it without Flashlube (or buy a modern without it), and if the valves need adjusting I'd definitely get that done! LPG has zero lubricating properties, even compared to Unleaded, so again this will show up a flaw and potentially burn out valves. The last car I sold had a new head at 209k and did 60k on the system (a Mondeo 1.8 Mk3). Admittedly the rebuilt head (bar the metal all 16 valves had to be changed (exhaust valves were all burned out for the best part and the inlet valves were pitted) was fine and on the car when I sold it this week at 325k. As for costs they were the following: Mondeo 2.0 = 13p/mile (remember petrol was over £1.30/litre!) Mondeo 3.0 V6 = 14p/mile today I reckon Mondeo 1.8 = 10p/mile All were on sequential LPG system.
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Last Edit: Oct 13, 2016 7:58:16 GMT by ChasR
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Oct 17, 2016 21:53:10 GMT
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Thanks chaps, holiding fire on this as the boss is trying to get us parking at new offices. Can have whatever in that case & I will be extra upset that I got rid of my GTI nearly 2 years ago when we were supposed to be moving lol
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Last Edit: Oct 18, 2016 0:11:46 GMT by joem83
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