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Have been offered a good 1.8 Mondeo estate 2002 vintage. I was thinking about having it converted to LPG. Anyone any idea how much an approved conversion to LPG would cost? Can it be dual fuel? Thanks
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Dont consider conversions unless you fancy a shed load of trouble. IF you want LPG then get a car that was made dual fuel on the production line.
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If your willing to do the work yourself you can do the conversion for about £300 to £400. If your getting a garage to do it i guess it would be well over a grand.
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with retro fitted conversions if carried out correctly. I converted my Range Rover using a sequential injection system which cost £1200 in parts alone. I'm fortunate to be able to fit it myself but had to get it certified by an approved installer.
The mondeo will be duel fuel. Also, the best tank to get is the donut type as you lose less space. Just chuck a can of tyreweld in the boot for emergencies.
The advice from BRs on fuel usage and mileage is spot on. Unless you cover a lot of miles or intend keeping the vehicle for years then don't bother. You won't recoup the investment. As you can imagine on my Rangie the savings are massive.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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Caution: Sharp learning curve ahead! Exercise extreme caution!
Seriously, expect 1000-1800 notes, depending on installer, and (mainly) size & shape of tank. Personally, avoid the donut shaped ones that sit where the spare wheel goes. they aint that big and they cost plenty.
before you do this, figure out your annual mileage. then estimate fuel consumption for year. be slightly pessimistic. then petrol cost based on todays price for that year. now look at lpg costs. most large places seem to be @40ppl, but it varies a lot. I see it at 34ppl. calculate fuel cost on this new figure, then add @ 15%. If you can save the cost of a conversion in about 12-14 months, then it looks like it might be a goer.
However, if you are a light driver, 40-50 miles per week, then walk away from it.
WTM
BTW,yes, it should be dual fuel
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I converted my 1997 2.0 Primera a few years ago. It was fantastic during the fuel crisis a few years ago as I could fill up at my local Autogas supplier and bypass all the garage queues.
It ran well enough: probably a tad quieter than on petrol with a little bit less power. Fuel economy was great - never less than 28 mpg despite very enthusiastic driving, at around half the cost of petrol. The only major problem was that it wasn't happy with the air conditioning switched on during idling. I think that later system may have sorted out this problem.
However, the main problem is the amount of space taken up by the fuel tank: it took up half the boot. Still, the Mondeo Estate has a cavernous load space and I guess there is room to spare.
You need to look at the location of your local LPG stations: there is no point in saving money fuel if you have to waste time (and fuel) driving out of your way to fill up each week. Despite the number of LPG stations increasing during the 3 years I had my car, none of the fuel stations directly on my route from Cheshire to Liverpool had an LPG pump. This became more and more irritating and I was delighted to trade it in for a ubiquitous turbodiesel in 2003.
I think the jury may be out on whether cars with LPG have better or worse engine wear. The LPG installers claim that it is better - well they would say that. My friends from Ghana say that many cars there run on LPG with few long term problems.
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Our neighbour had an R Reg Escort on LPG. There was a little retrofitted button with a light on and when pushed, switched to petrol instantly. (How that worked I do not know).
He said at the time he'd do it again. He's had a new Mondeo for 6 months now and not done anything yet!
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Adam
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He's hada new Mondeo for 6 months now and not done anything yet!
Possibly because of warranty implications on a brand new motor?
WTM
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All very interesting and useful - thanks. I was ging to get a tank fitted at home. Seems I can buy gas at 29p/litre. I do about 20,000 miles a year and will keep the car for 4 years. See some nice Vectra dual fuel cars in the trader and ebay too.
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I thought about this a while ago and priced up a conversion done by specialists locally.
The intial cost was something like £1800. Bear in mind that the LPG system may need it's own servicing (so I was told), which may not cost that much but adds to the overall cost. I worked out that it would take me about 20,000 miles to break even and then probably expect to pay, for fuel about 60% that of normal petrol so instead of my yearly fuel bill being £1000 for example, it would be £600.
This was on a MK 2 Mondeo 2.0 BTW
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Have a look at this site:
www.lpgforum.co.uk/
You will find answers to most of your questions there. I am also looking at getting an LPG vehicle so have been doing quite a bit of homework on it. For the long term owner it seems to offer big benefits especially at UK fuel prices. The downside is the size of the tank in the boot and the extra weight of it.
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