LPG and fags - a no-no
A quick thanks to TheSnark, otherwise I wouldn't be posting again. So, if it's crap, you know who to blame :)

The first part of the story is background for the (slightly) more interesting part, please jump to *****.

One of my many cars was a Daewoo Espero, 2litre automatic. It had quite a bit of poke in it, but by far its best feature was that it had been converted to LPG. Converted badly, I hasten to add.

Picking the car up was an adventure in itself - it was being sold as spares or repairs for £150 - and the hubby and I drove up to Hull (yes, I have been to Hull and back), tried to drive it back, the battery failed spectacularly, so we ended up sleeping in the car, buying a new battery the next morning and driving it back.

One new alternator later, we set about repairing the poorly installed and non-functional LPG kit and hey presto! One fully working car for the overall sum of £250. Result!

Driving around on 35p a litre was fantastic, but a few weeks later I was given a company van, so I let my brother-in-law (BIL) borrow it as he had found himself in a bit of a pickle car-wise.

He drove it around for a while (probably a good year) until the head gasket went. As it was still in my name, I put it up for sale at my father-in-law's (FIL) house (he has a drive unlike me).

******

So this P reg Daewoo Espero is now up for sale. The LPG kit is running fine, but no certificate. With a blown head gasket it is definitely a non-runner, and I make sure I put this in the ad. Also MOT but no tax.

A guy is interested, he comes to buy it whilst I am out, so FIL sold it for me. All is good, although I am slightly concerned to hear that he has tried to drive it down the road, then found he couldn't and had to wait for an hour for his mate to give him a tow.

Oh, well. The logbook has been sent off, so it's not my problem any more.

A few days later I get a call from this guy asking for a partial refund. Apparently, he had opened the bonnet to check how the engine was running, went inside to get a spanner (or something) and had returned to find the car ablaze!

The fire brigade turned up and put the car out but all that he had left has a smouldering shell of a car (for those of you unsure LPG burns a lot better than petrol).

I told him as the car was sold as seen, I wouldn't give him any money back and it had been running all fine before the head gasket went. His story sounded a bit strange anyway.

Three weeks later, I get a call from BIL. It turns out he and the guy who bought the car have a mutual friend. It transpires that after he bought the car, he got it home and sorted out the head gasket, getting it running.

Then for reasons unknown, he decided to fiddle about with the carbs - which is right where the LPG is fed into from the tank. This would be bad enough as escaping LPG measures about -40 celsius, but he was smoking a cigarette at the time!

Needless to say, he set the LPG alight and the whole thing burnt to a crisp, including his eyebrows and fringe. Silly sod was lucky he didn't seriously hurt himself.

Upon realising what a twat he'd been and the fire brigade (supposedly) charging him for being an idiot, he then phoned me to try and get some money back.

So what have we learnt boys and girls? Smoking is bad for you - especially when you're fucking around with an LPG system.
( VandenPlas can't think of anything clever - no change there!, Wed 28 Apr 2010, 15:12, 4 replies)

Snark just messaged me
And she said that your husband was messing about with the brother-in-law AND the guy that bought the car and the heat of their passion was what actually set the car ablaze.

Sorry to break it to you.
( BrokenCoccyx doesn't mind if you grope on, Wed 28 Apr 2010, 16:09, closed)

That
is getting really old now. Do you not have anything better to do with your time?
( VandenPlas can't think of anything clever - no change there!, Wed 28 Apr 2010, 16:23, closed)

You're right
I'm ashamed of myself. And yes, I do have better things to do, but can multi task.

I'm that kind of cool!
( BrokenCoccyx doesn't mind if you grope on, Wed 28 Apr 2010, 16:39, closed)

Yes, yes he did.
I read that also and he's a bad man.
(pissflaps. FSPW, Wed 28 Apr 2010, 16:48, closed)