Introduction: Bought CL500 with 38000 and converted it to LPG

Wessel

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Hi
I am a teacher and feel that I should not be able to afford a car like this. I bought a 2007 CL500 with 38000 miles for £12000. It is costing me £250 per month. I then broke the second cardinal rule: I converted it to LPG. I have seen some comments showing disgust for such a decision.

The reason I did this was that I had a Lexus LS400 for 10 years converted to LGP and never had 1 problem.

My merc is running 200miles for £20 so even a teacher can now afford and enjoy the luxury and quality of such a vehicle. I have done about 3000 miles without a problem and are loving every moment. I usually keep my vehicles at least 10 years but this one might be even longer!

Wessel
 

A.J.

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Hi Wessel, welcome to the forum. For me that is the first conversion of a CL500 I have heard of but there may well be more out there. Good on you. :)
 

LostKiwi

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Hi and welcome!
I've had a few LPG converted cars (and also a CNG converted one back in the 80s) and have found the LPG makes them far more affordable to run.

For me the biggest downside is the lack of filling stations within sensible driving distance.
Other than that there are significant benefits.

The latest LPG developments look very interesting - direct LPG injection (with no vapouriser) in particular looks very promising with increased power and economy over both LPG and petrol.
 

Craiglxviii

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I'd love to know how big your fuel wessel (see what I did there?) is!!!
 

Naraic

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Hi
I am a teacher and feel that I should not be able to afford a car like this. I bought a 2007 CL500 with 38000 miles for £12000. It is costing me £250 per month. I then broke the second cardinal rule: I converted it to LPG. I have seen some comments showing disgust for such a decision.

The reason I did this was that I had a Lexus LS400 for 10 years converted to LGP and never had 1 problem.

My merc is running 200miles for £20 so even a teacher can now afford and enjoy the luxury and quality of such a vehicle. I have done about 3000 miles without a problem and are loving every moment. I usually keep my vehicles at least 10 years but this one might be even longer!

Wessel

Tell us more. Where is the tank. Who did the conversion..how much did it cost. That sort of thing.
 

davemercedes

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Hmm... If only diesel engines could be converted to LPG...
 

turbopete

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apparently they can be, it cuts fuel consumption a little and boosts power slightly. not huge amounts though. mainly its used on trucks in the USA
 

LostKiwi

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Converting diesels to LPG is one of the suggestions for Sadiq Khan Toxic Tax for London.
 

John Laidlaw

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Welcome...whatever floats your boat, we're all different !
 

V6Matty

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Very interesting and can't blame you for doing it, I'd certainly consider a LPG conversion on a CL have your cake and eat it, really interested to hear all the details about the car too.
 

bembo449

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well owning a CL run on LPG is better than not owning one at all ! thow I don't think I could ever consider doing that to my CL , reason being that I just don't do enough miles for the LPG system to pay for itself , I probably use around 70 pounds a month on average so hardly wallet busting
 

Steve@Avantgarde

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Welcome to the forums! Glad you are enjoying your car.

The big question I have with LPG is, if it is so efficient and cost effective to run, why dont car manufacturers develop it?
 

LostKiwi

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Welcome to the forums! Glad you are enjoying your car.

The big question I have with LPG is, if it is so efficient and cost effective to run, why dont car manufacturers develop it?

Saab, Vauxhall, Volvo, Fiat all produce bit fuel cars.
Due to the lack of infrastructure (LPG filling stations) and a general mistrust of a diffetent fuel in the the eyes of the public it never caught on. There are a lot of myths preached about LPG which also has hasn't helped.
 
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Wessel

Wessel

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I'd love to know how big your fuel wessel (see what I did there?) is!!!
I have a 70l lpg tank in the spare wheel space. I get 250miles on £25 when driving sensibly.
 
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Wessel

Wessel

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Tell us more. Where is the tank. Who did the conversion..how much did it cost. That sort of thing.
I did the conversion in Wolverhampton at Nationwide. It cost me £1400. As it was the first they did, it had a few issues. They struggled to connect the temperature sensor that switches on the LPG in the correct pipe. My LPG is still only switching on when the car is fully heated up. It is irritating for short distances but long distance it does not make a difference.
 
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Wessel

Wessel

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Welcome to the forums! Glad you are enjoying your car.

The big question I have with LPG is, if it is so efficient and cost effective to run, why dont car manufacturers develop it?
I had a Lexus ls400 before. I converted it and drove the car for 6 years without a problem at 200miles £23's. The great thing is that if you want to, you can still just switch over to petrol. I do not find a difference between petrol and gas though as with these big engine, I never use all the power anyway.
 
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Wessel

Wessel

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Saab, Vauxhall, Volvo, Fiat all produce bit fuel cars.
Due to the lack of infrastructure (LPG filling stations) and a general mistrust of a different fuel in the the eyes of the public it never caught on. There are a lot of myths preached about LPG which also has hasn't helped.
I have a lpg station less than a mile away and they sell LPG for 44p per litre. I never drive more than 100 miles away so can always refill at my lpg station on return. I do find that there is more than enough LPG station on main roads. You just need to plan your trip and write down the post codes of all of them.
 

LostKiwi

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I have a lpg station less than a mile away and they sell LPG for 44p per litre. I never drive more than 100 miles away so can always refill at my lpg station on return. I do find that there is more than enough LPG station on main roads. You just need to plan your trip and write down the post codes of all of them.
I had an LPG Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado (3.4V6) - it was a lovely car and converted to LPG was really cheap to run (cheaper than the diesels). The only issue I had was my nearest LPG station was half an hour away and on my daily commute there was no LPG station on my route. If there had been I'd probably have been inclined to keep it.
It wasn't an issue before I moved house as I had loads of LPG stations conveniently located on my commute.
 


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