Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: BridgeyBoy on 22 December 2012, 00:18:23
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Im loving my PFL Omega 3.0 Elite. Smooth, comfy, reliable and.....thirsty! Wife only really using it for short journeys and school runs and its showing a paltry 16mpg average. We need our own oil refinery! So, put up with the bills or get shut and get a 1.6 Eurobox??? I love big, comfy cars but just not well suited for the short journey running around we now do since we stopped fostering.... When we were paid for mileage!
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Yeah it's definitely a concern, for most of us I guess :(
Once I get Christmas out of the way I'll have to make a decision too. At this stage I'm considering lpg, and I also need to spend a few quid getting the car up to scratch ( bodywork wise mainly ).
The problem is - is it worth spending money like this on a ten year old car? I think so personally as I couldn't currently afford anything else that would give me the benefits of the Omega. SWMBO will probably need convincing though :-\
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dont bother with lpg , its rapidly caching petrol up . will be going up in price again soon ;)
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dont bother with lpg , its rapidly caching petrol up . will be going up in price again soon ;)
Oh dear, really? If that's the case :-X
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dont bother with lpg , its rapidly caching petrol up . will be going up in price again soon ;)
I wondered why petrol had come down 2p in one week :-X
I would consider a small diesel for short town work :)
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dont bother with lpg , its rapidly caching petrol up . will be going up in price again soon ;)
The duty differential between petrol and LPG has been closing gradually. That said, the government did extend the pledge not to reduce it by more than 1p per year until 2016 so it's still cheaper ;)
Anyway, LPG price is linked to wholesale gas price and with Shale Gas collection there's every chance the prices could go down a little ;)
LPG prices always rise for the winter too ;)
But, after all that, the saving on a v6 omega is still about 1/3rd, the same as it has been for the last 4-5 years ;)
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I wondered why petrol had come down 2p in one week :-X
I would consider a small diesel for short town work :)
In effect though that would be running two cars. Whilst an attractive prospect, surely it wouldn't be cost effective?
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I don use the Omega anymore, I get the train to work so it just doesnt make sense to keep it. Just running around the shops costs the wife (me!) 20 quid every few days. Its eye watering! Looking at possibly a Mk1 Laguna 1.9 Dti. Had one a few years ago and it was great on fuel and bulletproof. Also had later Mk2 Lagunas but quality had nose-dived by then. Mk1 1.9 Dti can be had for buttons with less than 100k on them.
Will be sad to see the Omega go though...
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dont bother with lpg , its rapidly caching petrol up . will be going up in price again soon ;)
Sorry .. absolute rubbish.... :(
I have records over 40,000 miles and 4 years, so can show you any time sector you wish ...
On petrol my estimated fuel costs are around 25 pence per mile
On LPG it is actually costing me 15 pence per mile
That's a saving of 10 pence every mile or 38%
Look at it another way ..
Working the following prices, Petrol 132.9 Diesel 141.9 LPG 73.68 all pence/litre
it's the equivalent of around 43 mpg against diesel price, or 40mpg against petrol ... :)
and just how many 3.2 V6's get that sort of economy ?? :) :) :)
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On those statistcs you supply, entwood...looking good. ;)
But can you give an idea of the total cost to supply and install LPG. I have two estates...2.5 and 2.6, both Elites 2000 and 2001. Can a different tank be fitted, instead of the cylinder I have seen fitted to saloons on here. Sure I saw on here about dumping the spare wheel and using the well ???
Price against value of car is not really a consideration in this case, as I intend to keep both cars until they drop. :y
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dont bother with lpg , its rapidly caching petrol up . will be going up in price again soon ;)
i'd be interested in the basis of that statement Mr Fish?
while the price has undeniable rissen, the proportionate saving is still significant over petrol, generally under 80p a litre round here, and although not as efficient as petrol, lpg offers a saving that allows me to drive my omega as i wish, otherwise it would be long gone, or i'd be late...alot!
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for a salooon with cylinder tank your looking around £650-£700 for DIY install.
professionally anything from £1100 to 2.5k depending on which kit/tank/installer.
but pick your installer very very carefully.
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Unleaded=£1.30 p/litre LPG=81.2 so yes prices are the same ::) ::) ::) ::) :y :y
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lpg offers a saving that allows me to drive my omega as i wish, otherwise it would be long gone, or i'd be late...alot!
;D ;D
Be nice to actually drive the Omega, rather than coax it everywhere, like Miss Daisy :-X
dont bother with lpg , its rapidly caching petrol up . will be going up in price again soon ;)
Sorry .. absolute rubbish.... :(
I have records over 40,000 miles and 4 years, so can show you any time sector you wish ...
On petrol my estimated fuel costs are around 25 pence per mile
On LPG it is actually costing me 15 pence per mile
That's a saving of 10 pence every mile or 38%
Look at it another way ..
Working the following prices, Petrol 132.9 Diesel 141.9 LPG 73.68 all pence/litre
it's the equivalent of around 43 mpg against diesel price, or 40mpg against petrol ... :)
and just how many 3.2 V6's get that sort of economy ?? :) :) :)
Thanks for that - definitely more encouraging :y
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Everyone at sometime thinks of getting rid of their Omega to replace it with something else, perhaps more economical. .
My questions have been though..
How much am I going to be paying out for this new car?
Will I have the space I have now?
Comfort level & safety?
In my view by spending out £1000 on my own car (which I will be doing rather soon) I have a car that ticks all my boxes. What better car can you get for that money?
The other thing people forget is how much money this forum saves you. Other car clubs seriously will not save you the same.
As for LPG I think it's essential.
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The other thing people forget is how much money this forum saves you. Other car clubs seriously will not save you the same.
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Indeed. The standard answer for most requests for help on the Merc forum is ...... ''get your car on Star (MB's Tech II) and get the codes read.''
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Everyone at sometime thinks of getting rid of their Omega to replace it with something else, perhaps more economical. .
My questions have been though..
How much am I going to be paying out for this new car?
Will I have the space I have now?
Comfort level & safety?
In my view by spending out £1000 on my own car (which I will be doing rather soon) I have a car that ticks all my boxes. What better car can you get for that money?
The other thing people forget is how much money this forum saves you. Other car clubs seriously will not save you the same.
As for LPG I think it's essential.
Yes, can't argue with any of that. My sentiments exactly.
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Yep. Fuel costs might be high on an Omega, but the hidden costs of maintaining the car are pretty minimal in comparison to other cars that might look more attractive on the fuel front.
We have some excellent parts suppliers here on OOF, so parts costs are about as low as they're going to be for any car.
Omegas are pretty solid on the whole, so little need for them anyway.
Dealer level diagnostics is available cheap and, as a bonus, we know how to interpret it!
The level of help and advice available here is second to none.
You don't have to tie up your life savings in a fast-depreciating car to drive something decent. (look what it'd cost to by a decent modern diesel with Omega comfort and performance and tell me that's worth saving a few MPG).
If you're just looking at the numbers on the petrol pump you're not looking at the whole picture.
.. and as for LPG, There are always nay-sayers. I remember when I converted my car I kept getting told that there was no point and that the bubble was about to burst, etc. 70k miles later, who's the mug paying £1.30+/L? Not me. The payback is so quick that it doesn't really matter what the long term outlook is for LPG.
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One thing that hasnt been mentioned is availability. I dont know anywhere around here that has LPG but perthaps I havnt been looking .Is it readily available especially in country areas?
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One thing that hasnt been mentioned is availability. I dont know anywhere around here that has LPG but perthaps I havnt been looking .Is it readily available especially in country areas?
In 4 1/2 years of LPG ownership, I've had no problems at all .. all it takes is a little research before going somewhere new .. and I've been to France every year on LPG as well ...:)
The worst place I've found is Northern Scotland, around Elgin .. and even there I found some within 10 miles .. OK .. more expensive than I usually pay, the savings only worked out at 7p a mile against the petrol cost .. but it was still a saving .. :)
Nearest to you on a very quick check, Lympne, Canterbury, Maidstone, Faversham, Sheerness, quite a few more as well... :)
http://www.getlpg.org.uk/stations/kent
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I don't know around you, but we have a place that sells calor gas which sell LPG. ... also an air conditioning place. .. so worth having a look ;)
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Thanks Entwood the Lympne garage has closed down and therefore the nearest is approx 20 miles away
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The adsa in high wycom ::)be was selling lpg at 69.7p today. Oh how i wish i'd converted mine, it would have paid for itself even with the conservative mileage i do. We need an oof lpg meet!
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Interesting few points raised about cost of ownership and savings to be made on buying another smaller, cheaper to run car. Made me reconsider the ‘true’ cost of ownership in terms wider than just fuel consumption.
When I wrote my original post, I was thinking – buy a cheap runabout diesel, half our weekly fuel bill and bobs your uncle, this time next year I’ll be a millionaire. Anyway, I’m in work today with no intention of actually doing anything ;) so I’ve just been calculating the figures on a spreadsheet for;
Option 1 : Keep the Omega and keep filling her up!
Option 2 : Sell the Omega, buy a cheap diesel and retire early with the money I save!
Option 3 : Sell or trade the Omega and buy a newer, super-efficient diesel on finance
And the winner is…… Option 1!
Even when you look at just the financial side, it doesn’t really make sense to sell the Omega. By the time I have put in a good few hundred quid to change (even to a cheap, old diesel) and got my wife through her manual test (auto only at the minute) I can save money …..the problem is, the saving is a about a paltry £6 to £7 per week….!!! Ok, I get about £30 a month in my pocket but I lose my full leather heated seats and about 100 BHP!!
So, the Omega gets a reprieve for another year I think!
Now just need to tax it next month and buy 4 new tyres…. Merry Christmas!