14 Aug 08
LPG saves a bundle
You can't pump it direct into the existing tank, so you need a second one, along with a feed to the engine. The regular petrol tank stays (diesels can't be converted) and the engine can still run on regular unleaded if you get caught short.
The conversion costs anything from £1,500 to £2,500, so you need to be in it for the long haul, but the savings will come. For example, over 10,000 miles in a petrol car normally doing 35mpg, you can expect to save yourself £600. That takes into account the fact you'll use roughly a fifth more. You'll also do well at resale time.
Second-hand LPG cars run from a few hundred quid to £35,000 for a V8 Hummer, but you'll need to check the converter was approved by the LPG Association to avoid the worst bodge jobs. The most desirable are the manufacturer conversions carried out by Vauxhall, Volvo, Rover/MG and Ford in the early part of this decade.
But getting a conversion done can be more cost-effective, as city broker Simon Wright found when he was researching buying his second-hand Jeep Cherokee V8. 'The converted ones had about a four grand premium, so I bought mine for eight grand and got a conversion done in Essex for £2,500,' he says. 'That was October last year and it's already paid for itself.'
