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What to check before buying used CNG vehicle?
Hi Folks,
Great stuff in these forums!
My question may be addressed elsewhere, but I've looked quite a bit and not seen anything specific on this topic. We've considered CNG for a number of years, but this is the first time we've shopped for cars when a (used) dedicated or bi-fuel car was locally available from a variety of sources. We just lost our smaller/higher-mileage car to a gross under estimate of how much space another driver needed to make a left turn in front of us (we arrived at their right-front bumper--fortunately having braked enough to avoid serious injuries--but the car's a loss). Family finances won't really allow us to look at new cars at this point, so the gleaming new Honda GX's at the local dealership are out. But, there's a fair number of used ones available here along the Wasatch Front (for you non-locals, that's the chain of cities to the N & S of Salt Lake--along the west slope of the Wasatch Mountains). And, there appears to be good options for fill-ups even for longer trips within state.
Although I'm a bit concerned about people saying that the pumps are often not working--older posts are the only ones I've seen, so I'm hoping things are better of late. In any case, driving range is not a big deal; if we want to go far, we'd likely drive the minivan (plain old gasoline) anyway. For around town, short trips, CNG sounds great.
So, the heart of the matter:
o How often are the public pumps not working (in the last while)?
o I see that the GX has had problems with the CV transmission. Is that something to get checked? Can it be checked?
o Worn/bad injectors?
o What's the story on tank expiration?
o Some kind of in-tank valve that requires a $7K tank replacement?
o What other parts I'm not used to thinking about in a gasoline power-train should I have looked at before I commit to buy?
o Is there a list I haven't found of shops that have trained CNG mechanics?
There's one particular outfit who apparently sells cars with salvage titles, mostly. Would there be anything special to be concerned about there (beyond the usual issues with poor repairs and bent frames)? I'm guessing a state tax credit isn't likely to be available with a salvage title?
Thanks for anything anyone can suggest. (And if you can point me to threads which address some of these concerns, I'll be happy to do more reading.)
John
Great stuff in these forums!
My question may be addressed elsewhere, but I've looked quite a bit and not seen anything specific on this topic. We've considered CNG for a number of years, but this is the first time we've shopped for cars when a (used) dedicated or bi-fuel car was locally available from a variety of sources. We just lost our smaller/higher-mileage car to a gross under estimate of how much space another driver needed to make a left turn in front of us (we arrived at their right-front bumper--fortunately having braked enough to avoid serious injuries--but the car's a loss). Family finances won't really allow us to look at new cars at this point, so the gleaming new Honda GX's at the local dealership are out. But, there's a fair number of used ones available here along the Wasatch Front (for you non-locals, that's the chain of cities to the N & S of Salt Lake--along the west slope of the Wasatch Mountains). And, there appears to be good options for fill-ups even for longer trips within state.
Although I'm a bit concerned about people saying that the pumps are often not working--older posts are the only ones I've seen, so I'm hoping things are better of late. In any case, driving range is not a big deal; if we want to go far, we'd likely drive the minivan (plain old gasoline) anyway. For around town, short trips, CNG sounds great.
So, the heart of the matter:
o How often are the public pumps not working (in the last while)?
o I see that the GX has had problems with the CV transmission. Is that something to get checked? Can it be checked?
o Worn/bad injectors?
o What's the story on tank expiration?
o Some kind of in-tank valve that requires a $7K tank replacement?
o What other parts I'm not used to thinking about in a gasoline power-train should I have looked at before I commit to buy?
o Is there a list I haven't found of shops that have trained CNG mechanics?
There's one particular outfit who apparently sells cars with salvage titles, mostly. Would there be anything special to be concerned about there (beyond the usual issues with poor repairs and bent frames)? I'm guessing a state tax credit isn't likely to be available with a salvage title?
Thanks for anything anyone can suggest. (And if you can point me to threads which address some of these concerns, I'll be happy to do more reading.)
John
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