Hello from England, I'm new to Fuelly!

[Duster2021]

Hello All,

I have just joined Fuelly today and hoping this will help me improve my MPG purely through the act of logging my information as well as seeing useful tips on the forum for similar cars with similar annual mileage.

I currently have a Vauxhall Corsa SE 2018 1.4L Petrol 5 Speed and have just ordered a new 2021 Dacia Duster Prestige TCe 100 Bi-Fuel to have more leg room, boot space and hopefully save some money in the making by utilising the LPG tank (Never used LPG before but my local filling station has a very low price constantly).

I am very patiently (More like very very impatiently) waiting for my collection date which is 22nd August 2021 or earlier, feeling like a kid at Christmas currently!

I have used MPG calculators in the past to figure out my fuel economy for my Corsa but never recorded it in full, I found the best I could push it too for a 250 mile week was 44 UK MPG (33 US MPG) at a cost of £45.93 ($63.90) although with average driving habits and routes I usually get about 36 UK MPG (30 US MPG) at a cost of £50.48 ($70.22).

I can see that my Duster should get me about 2 UK MPG better fuel economy from petrol which is negligible, but by using LPG I should get 35 UK MPG (29 US MPG) at a cost of only £18.73 ($26.03) due to the low price of LPG and if I assume through normal driving habits I expect the same 18% decrease in MPG I should be looking at around an average of 29 UK MPG (24 US MPG) at a cost of only £22.61 ($31.44)... Fingers crossed I should save around £1,430 ($1,985) per year following the same driving habits, maybe more if I can stick to a good maintenance schedule and driving economically.

Well, enough of me waffling on about MPG, I am happy to be join the Fuelly community. I look forward to reading helpful advice and hopefully being able to share my experiences good or bad to help others along their journey.

[JockoT]

Welcome to the forum. Funny you should be opting for bi-fuel. The last two times I have topped up the car on the other side of the island has been fuelling up with LPG.
The first time the lady asked me how to do it (couldn't help) and the second time the assistant was out helping the other driver. Maybe hire cars?

[Duster2021]

Originally Posted by JockoT

Welcome to the forum. Funny you should be opting for bi-fuel. The last two times I have topped up the car on the other side of the island has been fuelling up with LPG.
The first time the lady asked me how to do it (couldn't help) and the second time the assistant was out helping the other driver. Maybe hire cars?

Hi JockoT,

Possibly hire cars, maybe new car owners.

I can guarantee I’ll be asking the same thing in the next 2 weeks, I’m going to try and find a YouTube video on how to do it first I think.

Bi-Fuel seems like a great budget alternative to avoid diesel congestion charges and high toad tax and for those who either can’t afford the upfront cost of electric or aren’t ready to take the plunge yet.

I’ll be sharing all my costs/experiences down the line to see if it was the best decision or not.

[LDB]

Welcome, from Texas. This is a good forum with interesting discussions on various vehicles. Your new car sounds interesting. We don't have that in my suburb, that I'm aware of anyway. Looking forward to hearing more as you go along on your new adventure.

[Draigflag]

Welcome to fuelly, hope the wait for the new car isn't too long and painful. Have to ask though, if cost saving was a priority, why buy something brand new? Depreciation on an average new vehicle is usually £2000-£3000 per annum, often outweighing fuel saving potentials.

[Duster2021]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

Welcome to fuelly, hope the wait for the new car isn't too long and painful. Have to ask though, if cost saving was a priority, why buy something brand new? Depreciation on an average new vehicle is usually £2000-£3000 per annum, often outweighing fuel saving potentials.

Hi Draigflag,

Thanks, I managed to get hold of a digital owners manual so currently passing the time with a read up on recommended maintenance, break-in instructions and general use of the car.

That is a good question! It all boils down to reliability for me and the fact that I can never truly know how well the car has been treated before hand. My thinking is that if I buy this car from new and look after it with proactive maintenance and non-aggressive driving habits then it may last me long and save me money in the long run. But I suppose only time will tell.

In the past I have had many cars I thought would be reliable and ended up costing far more than they was worth from full engine blow outs to system wide electrical faults and when you only have proof of annual services and no way to prove the conditions of the car and/or driving habits it has been exposed to it's pretty much hit or miss to me as a non-export.

I like the cover of warranty for the first few years to cover any initial issues (Even though I have heard horror stories of things not being covered that really should be) and hoping if it last until the end of my 3 year PCP I would like to buy it outright at market value and keep it running as long as I viably can.

[Draigflag]

All valid points, I myself have bought new, nearly new, used, classic etc, some you win, some you loose. There are too many circumstances involved in car ownership, you can't tell if your maths paid off until the day you sell the car. My current cars for example lost £12000 in the first 4000 miles, and the other lost £30,000 in 42,000 miles. And that's why I bought them second hand. But then being the first owner and having a pristine car is in itself a joy and pleasure and a great feeling and is worth the loss for many.

[Duster2021]

Definitely is a nice feeling to have a new car but I have also owned some top spec second hand cars that I would not otherwise be able to afford within my price range which had it's own appeal.

I must say your Q7 is very nice and I have always wanted one my self, it must come in handy driving through the mountain roads of wales in comfort. How has your experience so far been with this car?

[Draigflag]

The Q7 has been a great car, the first car I feel I actually fit in properly without a compromised driving position as I'm tall. I don't have to worry about moving my seat forward when I'm carrying multiple passengers. It's a surprisingly good daily driver too, easy to get in and out, easy to drive with the auto box and visibility is good due to the raised height. Air suspension is useful depending on circumstances. The enormous boot is extremely useful for big shops. Downsides are, it's too big for most small towns here and doesn't fit in parking spaces. It's also expensive to run with £600 per annum road tax, £137 per fuel up and tyres are expensive too. It's only a short term car, I have two people interested in buying it already. It's a lot of car for not alot of money.