Neighbour of mine has a 57 plate Vectra estate,and like many,is hacked off with the rising cost of diesel on his company car.
Rising cost on a company car you say?
Well,he has to pay for private mileage,so he rung me today to ask if he could use veg oil in it,and what complications,if any,he would encounter.
Coupled with the fact he reckons he will be paying £4500 in tax for it next year,he needs to address all areas of cost associated with it.
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Should imagine a few very skilled chaps will be along in a moment to suggest that using veg oil in that car may well result in a further £4500 worth of fuel system replacements.
Hold on to your hat.
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If someone did that to one of my company cars, I wouldn't be a happy bunny and feel that the car, the company and the driver would be parting company.
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Company car and therefore nothing he can do apart from get rid of it and take an allowance.
Even if it could be run on veg oil he cannot do it as it's not his car and needs to be run on proper fuel.
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If we misfuel our diesel cars with petrol we are liable for cost of repair.... put veg oil in and I'd think the same might apply.
Still cannot see how his costs are rising apart from cost of fuel. BIK charges are as before. And being a diesel then personal mileage costs lower than a petrol. What am I missing?
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"Coupled with the fact he reckons he will be paying £4500"
My Mazda6 2.0d Sport HB was about £19200 last October. And not the lowest in terms of CO2 at 165g/km so that makes it 24% BIK. So I will pay tax on £4608 this year for benefit in kind. This is not £4608 but the tax on it. So for a higher rate tax payer this is £153pm in tax. For a lower rate tax payer then £77pm.
So your neighbour saying £4500 is worrying for the wrong reason. Get a car of his own and fuel cost is still an issue.
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I would say that your right,as I would interpret the £4500 is the BIK,as he says his tax code is going onto a minus.
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Ultimate folly to put vegetable oil anywhere near a common-rail diesel system.
Would possibly chance it on an old Lucas or Bosch rotary pump based system, but even then it can have a detrimental effect on the seals.
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If he's that worried he can't be a higher rate taxpayer, so the real cost for usage of the car's about £20pw. He has to pay for private fuel on top - RFL, insurance, servicing will be paid by company. What exactly does he want to reduce or think he's paying too much for? A phrase containing the words 'gift-horse' , 'looking' come to mind. No, putting SVO in the car wouldn't be that clever.
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With rapeseed at £1 a litre and soya at 90p a litre, it's not worth it. Gone are the days a few years ago when it was 28p a litre and adding just 1 part to 4 of diesel would make a saving of £14 per tank (at today's diesel prices).
Adding 1 part to 4 diesel today would save about £2.27 per tank.
Edited by Hamsafar on 14/05/2008 at 00:17
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To quote from the handbook:-
Fuel for diesel engines
Diesel engines must be operated only on commercially available diesel fuel meeting the specifications of DIN EN 590.
Since January 2004, some oil companies have mixed their diesel fuel with upto 5% Bio fuel (FAME = Fatty Acid Methyl Esters) like RME (Rape-Oil Methyl Ester). This is in accordance with the current DIN EN 590 and does not harm the fuel/injection system. The characteristics of a diesel fuel mixed up with 5% Bio fuel (FAME) do not differ from conventional diesel fuel and do not influence the vehicle?s driveability.
Important: Diesel fuel mixed with 5% FAME according to DIN EN 590 must not be confused with 100% Bio Diesel, which is not to be used in Vauxhall engines.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 14/05/2008 at 01:44
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Helmet, with regard to veg oil in a common rail engine, tell him to Google "Ring gumming", or read this:
snipurl.com/28rx7 [www_vegetableoildiesel_co_uk]
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Thanks for the link Rich,it has been sent on.
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