Courtesy car

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The Harbour Trading Company in Bray has just launched a gas-powered courtesy car service for customers converting their cars from petrol to autogas. The company operates a registered Autogas conversion centre and filling station on their premises near the well- known Harbour Bar in Bray. Up and coming local model Holly Keating and David Conroy, local Flogas representative, were on hand to help owners Paul and Nessa Duffy promote the new service.

Nessa Duffy said, “Because we are a well-known LP Gas distributor in the local area, once petrol costs began to rise, we started to receive a steady stream of enquiries from people looking for fuel for their gas-powered cars. There was also many interested in finding out about converting their petrol cars to Autogas. It was due to this demand that we decided to set up our own Autogas conversion and filling centre at our premises here in Bray last year and it’s been doing very well since then.”

“We currently offer Flogas autogas for 0.85c a litre, compared to petrol which is averaging €1.58c a litre. Most of our conversion customers are heavy petrol users like taxi drivers, who have seen the benefits of switching to autogas in terms of fuel costs. A conversion usually takes a couple of days but they don’t want to be off the road for that length of time so the gas-powered courtesy car is the ideal solution. We only book in one customer at a time so it is always available,” she continued.

Converting a taxi costs between €900-€1,500 and the average price for a 4 cylinder engine is €1,000, including VAT. Taxi drivers have reported recouping this cost in a matter of months. Dublin taxi driver John Martin recently converted his 2.4 Hyundai Sonata from petrol to autogas. John said, “I now get 250km on €28.00 of Autogas whereas beforehand I would be spending €50.00. That’s a saving of 44% for me, so I’m delighted. There’s also been no change in performance or handling at all.”

Paul Duffy warned that anyone interested in converting their car should check that those doing the work are fully certified to do so. Paul said, “As a registered Autogas conversion centre and outlet with the Irish LP Gas Association, it means that we are fully insured to carry out conversions. If your car is not fitted with the correct car kit by an experienced mechanic, it can damage the engine, increase gas consumption, cause power loss and even affect your car insurance as many insurers need a garage certificate.”

Harbour Trading Company was set up in Bray over 30 years ago. It distributes Flogas bottled for both domestic and commercial customers to a wide Flogas dealer network throughout the east coast . It also supplies gas cookers, Flogas superser heaters, patio heaters and other products.

The added value of LP Gas as an automotive fuel is that it generates considerably fewer emissions than other fossil fuels, contributing to the protection of the environment and human health while also helping to mitigate the threat of climate change. It’s also cheaper than diesel and petrol.