Before I spent $2400 I would want to be sure the car would be fixed. As the car is out of warranty, it’s seven years old, I wouldn’t expect Kia to come to your rescue and pay the full cost of repairs, but I would expect them to take a kindly view and pay for part of the cost. Go back to the dealer, and to Kia head office, and put your case.

It does affect the warranty in as much as the carmaker’s warranty would no longer cover the engine and anything affected by the installation of the system. If you wanted a warranty on those components you would need to buy a warranty from the LPG system installer. As a general rule a vehicle uses around 20 per cent more LPG than it does petrol, but the extra fuel is offset by the lower price of LPG. EMR have a sequential vapour-injection system that is said to work well, and the tank goes in the storage cavity in the rear, so there is minimal impact on the boot space.

The Grand Carnival will seat eight, with space left over for luggage, but it's a big vehicle and that counts against it in terms of fuel consumption and agility. Having one with stability control would help keep it under control in an emergency, so I would suggest you go with the later model to ensure you get that feature. Should you decide the 2009 model is too much of a stretch, I wouldn't be too concerned about buying an ex-rental car; they have relatively low kilometres and are not the typical cars that are rented by people who beat them up. Even so, I would check them carefully, just to be sure you're not getting that one lemon that has been abused.