Wanted - 1.9 TD with bosch pump for veggy duty

[krazy]

Hi,

I've got a 105 mile commute every day and I've always liked the idea of veggie burning. So it seems like I could do this with a bosch injected 1.9td from my research. I haven't found loads of good examples, I guess they are getting old now. But I did see this one, what do yo think:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/p ... 1240125624

I've been looking on ebay/autotrader so far. Any where else to browse?

Many Thanks

-Krazy

[rwb]

Looks very clean, very low mileage, and high spec.
Looks good.

Possibly something else to consider might be a Siemens HDi 90. Won't run on veg or even bio but it should average at least 50mpg (mine averaged 60mpg). The 1.9 will likely do low 40s on veg (mine did 46 on diesel). Therefore unless you're getting veg for under £1/litre the fossil diesel could work out cheaper. The HDi is also cheaper to tax (£135 vs £240 iirc) and likely cheaper to buy.

[gumby6371]

It does look in good condition and they are uber reliable and a good price if the engine is as sweet as the shiny bits.
My LX (non-aircon) gave me 36 to 37 round town with a heavy foot on a 50/50 veg/diesel mix but the GLX was 33 to 34 presumably due to the aircon (but the engine had seen better days). I never did consistent long runs so not sure on the 'extra-urban', I'd guess 55-60 at steady 'legal' speeds.
I personally think the XUD 90 is quicker off the mark than the HDI 90 but obviously not as smooth or refined but if serviced regularly it will run forever.

As RWB says tax is a good chunk more than a post 2000 HDI and you'll probably pay a few quid more on insurance so do the maths on the veg before you buy.

If you can source used veg its a no-brainer and you might struggle to get a HDI with that mileage (not taxi'd) in such good condition for that kind of money.
Prepared to twirl the spanners yourself? the XUD is a very straight forward engine to work on and plenty of knowledge on here for XUD or HDI engines.

Maybe wander over to the dealer if its local and moan about the tax, they might knock a few quid off, take it for a test drive and see what you think. The LX I sold a few weeks back would happily light the tyres up and take off like a stabbed rat, turbo kicks in around 1800rpm and pulls strongly to just over 3000, over 3000 your really just burning fuel and making noise but should hit the 100 mark comfortably (so I'm told ).

The only reason I made the move to HDI ownership was the chance of a cheap 2.2 otherwise I'd still be a happy XUD driver, horses for courses as they say.

[krazy]

Thanks for the insightful responses! Yes I need to look at the big picture financially as you say. There is also my time and hassle to figure in. It probably hinges on a good sources of SVO or WVO. More to think about . . .

[gumby6371]

Tesco do 10 litres for £10 svo, but I always ran pure diesel in the winter to avoid starting problems and straining fuel pump seals.
Check ebay for local wvo sellers and Google local bio sellers.

Always remember when running on veg if you get an audi/bmw riding your back bumper to drop a cog and boot it, they don't seem to like a face full of veggie smog! Worth owning just for that if you ask me!

[ally406]

Look into mis-fuel as well (fuel drained from cars that have been mis-fuelled). Mine runs on 80/20 WVO/mis-fuel all year round, starts dead easy even well under 0. Even if you blended with SVO you're still looking at around 80ppl. 45mpg shouldn't be too difficult on a longer run, although I've seen over 50. Dead easy to get more power from the XUD too without spending money on a remap or complicated tools.