[AUDI] A8 Fuel consumtion woes - Already!

[glojo]

I think your brother needs to sit down and do some calculating.

How much per year would he spend on petrol for the car.

Now he has learnt a very cruel lesson regarding fuel consumption look VERY sensibly at the expected yearly fuel usage for the diesel Rememberr this will still be a thirsty beast so don't have rose tinted glasses.

Now you have the yearly figures take one from the other; work out how much hw would loose selling the petrol vehicle, then how much would he spend buying a diesel version??

I am no fan of LPG conversions, but it might be a consideration?

John

 

[Carrotchomper]

I've got one of those and easily get 25mph, often 26-27mph.

Motorways only I get 30-32mph.

Bloody hell, what's the point of having a Merc if it's THAT slow. How do you get anywhere?!?!

 

[MBManInKen]

Bloody hell, what's the point of having a Merc if it's THAT slow. How do you get anywhere?!?!

Thanks for pointing this dreadful error out , corrected now .

 

[Dieselman]

Not quite Tim , there are notional efficient sizes of pots for petrol and diesel engines .

True but both engines fall into the right category. 3.2 litres over six cylinders = 533cc per cyl
and 4.2 litres and 8 cylinders = 525cc per cyl.

Both are perfectly Ok for efficiency.

The additional losses timskemp refers to are the additional 2 cylinders creating more friction. This is a normal function of having a greater number of cylinders in any engine.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Cheers for the replies guys!

Forgive me for pointing out the obvious but of course it's worse than a CLK320! Did he do NO research at all before buying?? The car is considerably larger and the engine likewise.

Yes he did, as I have said, we knew it would be worst, but not as bad as its been!


He has a quote from the Greenfuel company:

Many thanks for your enquiry regarding the conversion of your Audi A8 4.2 quattro Saloon 4d 4172cc auto to LPG - your personal quotation reference is 91E220.

If you would like to go ahead with the conversion or have any questions, please call us on 0845 4900 189.

Fuel Savings

You will save £1,038.19 per year on Fuel Costs.

Using the official fuel consumption for your vehicle, and given your annual mileage of 12,000:

You currently spend £2,424.58 on petrol per year!

You will spend just £1,386.40 on LPG per year.

Best System for your Vehicle

We will only specify the best system for each individual car - we understand that your car is a very important investment.

Our quote is based on supplying a Greenfuel 86269 kit at £2,526.25 including VAT.

All our conversions are dual fuel - your existing petrol system is unaffected. Each system works in conjunction with your engine's management system to deliver the best performance, reliability and efficiency.

Best Installer for your Vehicle

Our network of over 35 workshops across the UK consists of only the UK LPG specialists. Each one is fully certified and LPGA approved, providing only the highest quality standard of fitting, meaning that you won't have any problems insuring your vehicle after it has been converted to LPG.

Fully Inclusive Package
• LPGA certificate (fully approved by top 20 insurance companies)
• Complimentary service check after 500-1000 miles
• LPG refuelling stations map
• Tyre-weld product to re-inflate a blown-out tyre
• Free 'hold-til-sold' advertising on our website should you wish to sell your vehicle
• Greenfuel Affinity Scheme - your choice of reward after every successful referral

Tackling Global Warming

By converting your vehicle to LPG, you will be reducing your CO2 and other toxic emissions. However, you can become carbon neutral by offsetting all of your CO2 emissions through our partner, Climate Care for £9.18 per year.

We are thinking of going down the LPG route, any comments people?

 

[A210AMG]

Hello

Are there any grants for LPG cars being converted now or is that long gone. Saving of £1000 a year sound good, but the kit costs £2500 it will take a while to pay for itself assuming you keep the car long enough??

Maybe worth waiting to see how its doing in a few more weeks time when the novelty of pressing 'go' eases off?

What is it doing to the gallon now?


If you decide to go LPG I would certainly get some more quotes also.


Cheers

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Hes hoping to keep the car for at least 4-5years, so It should pay for itself.

We are going to shop around 1st of course, anyone have any links?

Id forgot about the grants, will have to have a search.

 

[glojo]

We are thinking of going down the LPG route, any comments people?

Just remember your brother was disappointed by the figures that were presented to him when he first bought this car, you are now being put in the same situation. I'm sure an LPG conversion will save money, but when someone is trying to sell you something, the figures they produce might be a tad optomistic?

John

 

[Brett]

Can't comment on your brother's Audi, only on my personal experience of trading from a CLK320 to a CLK55.

My CLK320 Cab managed around a 22.8mpg average over the period I had it. I now have a CLK55 Cab and am sitting at 20.2mpg over the past 4k miles. The best I've managed is 28mpg on a long run (but it was so boring I almost fell asleep) and have had it down around 14mpg when having fun.

Get your brother to try putting a little less lead in his shoes when he gets up in the morning.

 

[neilrr]

A friend recently sold his 2001 S6 Avant 4.2 V8 & bought a 1991 300TE.

The Audi cost over £1,000 per month in petrol (1,200 miles per mth.), depreciation, insurance, parts & servicing - no car/lease payment in that figure either as he paid cash for it!

The gearboxes have a known weakness & last about 75K miles.

A very expensive toy which brought him to the brink of losing his license. He prefers the 300TE incidentally, & paid for the Merc in 3 mths with the savings he's made. The 300TE hasn't cost a penny in repairs.

 

[timskemp]

We are thinking of going down the LPG route, any comments people?

According the the figures above it will be 2.5 yrs before it pays back and you break even. If I wanted to keep the car I'd live with the fuel consumption. Don't forget that you may invalidate any Audi warranty that's on the car, and you can't use the channel tunnel afterwards.

If his mileage is low then I would say it's not worth it, enjoy the car until you're bored with it then buy something with a silly diesel (or in a few years hybrid) engine in it.

 

[fredfloggle]

Indeed there are, however to move an object through the air at a speed has a requirement for power that is proportional to the size of the object. And bigger needs more power, so even if the engine is efficient, it still needs to generate that power by burning fuel...

Yer cannae change the laws of fizzicks!

And you cannot over-simplify them either Tim ! It is a lot more complicated than Big Box /Little Box . And it is not proportional either , parabolic more like .

There are situations were a big engine will provide better fuel economy than a small one .

 

[fredfloggle]

True but both engines fall into the right category. 3.2 litres over six cylinders = 533cc per cyl
and 4.2 litres and 8 cylinders = 525cc per cyl.

Both are perfectly Ok for efficiency.

The additional losses timskemp refers to are the additional 2 cylinders creating more friction. This is a normal function of having a greater number of cylinders in any engine.

I'm glad you got what I meant !

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Breakeven point will be two years if simply based upon the cost of installation. But there are other costs that need to be factored in too.

• LPG system service - the system itself will need to be serviced by a specialist, I doubt an Audi dealer (or 'ordinary' garage) would do it.
• Repairs - If there's a warranty on the rest of the car, it may be affected if the car is modified by adding LPG, and hence expensive repairs may come from the wallet rather than the warranty.
• Extra depreciation - I personally wouldn't buy a car of that age, type, or value with an LPG conversion. If he ends up keeping it 5 years then this may be less of an issue - and may actually make the car more attractive the longer he keeps.

From my experience, the older the car, the lower it's value, and the higher the mileage the owner will do, the more worthwhile it is to do an LPG conversion. But it sounds like none of that applies in this situation - 12,000 miles pa probably won't justify it.

 

[fuzzer]

From a personal experence , i would never touch an LPG car. Just my 2p's worth. He might find it hard to sell once the government get their wicked way and shove the tax up on it.

 

[nickg]

Tough decision really:

1) stick with what he's got and live with the extra fuel costs.
2) sell on straight away and take a big hit upfront on the changeover cost. Only worth doing once he is ABSOLUTELY convinced that he wants an A8 diesel and is certain that the fuel consumption of that car is, in reality, what he assumes it will be. There is no point changing car only to be disappointed in a few weeks/months again.
3) convert to LPG. Perhaps the best of both worlds - better mpg on the car he wants. Risks have been detailed already but maybe LPG is worth a closer look these days. Surely it can only become more popular over the next few years and when he comes to trade the car in 4/5 years it might be a positive feature.

 

[MBManInKen]

I'm with Fuzzer, wouldn't touch an lpg car. It's not just the channel tunnel either where they are banned. Many indoor parkings and some ferries for example don't accept them.

I can't help but being baffled by it all: what exactly did he expect when buying a V8 other than higher fuel consumption??

On top of that, I don't know if he has a very heavy foot, but
his consumption figures look awful compared to my 5L V8.

If he's not willing to foot the fuel bill, is he going to be unwilling to pay the higher service costs as well? If so, he'll eventually reduce it to a heap of problems.

End of rant.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Same price as i was quoted for the 7 Series to LPG.

I'm still thinking it over - i got price down to £2,000 by going to a local installer.....

but i am still wary whether its a good idea....

 

[SilverSaloon]

Id forgot about the grants, will have to have a search.

Grants are over.

 

[ceejaySL]

I have had both old style A8 and current styly.

Old model - 2.8 V6 and avaeraged at 23-25 mpg. Driven pretty hard, and I drove around about 30 000 miles per year at that time.

New model - 3.0 tdi quattro - average of 32 mpg in mixed and spirited driving. Driving around 45000 miles per year with it. Best was 39 mpg on tour to alps - constant 135 km/hr all the way. Worst was just around 29 mpg on lots of london driving.

Bear in mind its old aluminium coke cans so is not much heavier than the A6......

The 4.2 V8 is addictive - but seriously the 3.0 tdi aint far behind for everyday motoring. Also the residuals are strong on the TDI as against the petrol models.

Best of all, sevice cost are really good. Old model 10000/20000 alternating big and little services around £120/180 each. (be more now - 5 years ago.) New one has its tell you what I need and it worked out around £650 for 42000 miles....

I have no experience of LPG but wonder when the tax will rise. As with Diesels probably just after they become poular. And of course what would happen when you are looking for lpg sites to fill up......

Hope its helps