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130.9 !!!!!!!!!!
norfolkluego - 19/3/11 at 09:20 PM

Just paid 130.9 for ordinary 95 RON cooking petrol and that was at Sainsbury's, god knows how much it is at other places


NeilP - 19/3/11 at 09:23 PM

131.9 at our cheapest......


big_wasa - 19/3/11 at 09:26 PM

131.09 here. Will be biking to work next week if the weather stays good.


bi22le - 19/3/11 at 09:26 PM

Have not seen it that low for a while. 134.9 for petrol in SE London.

I have diesel up to 142.9!

Its really starting to hurt, when are people going to start protesting. I need cheaper fuel!!

Biz


Gordy - 19/3/11 at 09:34 PM

Got caught short driving home in my Accord type r (98 ron) cost me £1.42 a litre


TimC - 19/3/11 at 09:35 PM

Saw 95RON at 137.9 in Coleford, Glos last night!


bob - 19/3/11 at 09:36 PM

£1.34.9 at a BP station local to me in Ashford/Sunbury, 2 miles up the road shell are selling at £1.29.9.

Cost me £49 to fill up a Nissan Note which does not have the biggest of tanks and i was not even empty, Ho hum.


David Jenkins - 19/3/11 at 09:39 PM

Last weekend I filled up 3 cars, my Focus, my wife's Matiz and the toy car - goodbye to £110


Antnicuk - 19/3/11 at 09:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
Last weekend I filled up 3 cars, my Focus, my wife's Matiz and the toy car - goodbye to £110



lucky you, it cost me £100 to fill my oil burning daily driver


A1 - 19/3/11 at 09:42 PM

you know what i dont get?

why is nobody doing anything? I remember when i was a lad, the truckers going on strike cause it hit 85p! there should be widespread chaos!

or is everybody believing its cause oil prices have risen and forgotten the fact that the government are taking probably the bad side of 60% straight away....(thats a rough figure)

I filled up the van the other day... £115.

its taking the pee


David Jenkins - 19/3/11 at 09:44 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Antnicuk
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
Last weekend I filled up 3 cars, my Focus, my wife's Matiz and the toy car - goodbye to £110



lucky you, it cost me £100 to fill my oil burning daily driver


Actually - I miscalculated - £60 for the Focus, £40 for the Matiz, and £25 for the toy = £125

What makes it worse is that me & the missus don't do a lot of miles between us (I'm ignoring the toy as it drinks petrol).

It's a worry.


[Edited on 19/3/11 by David Jenkins]


Gordy - 19/3/11 at 09:46 PM

Its really starting to hurt, when are people going to start protesting. I need cheaper fuel!!

Biz


Spot on, but need to get the haulage/transport guys onboard, to cause maximum disruption


norfolkluego - 19/3/11 at 09:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Gordy
Its really starting to hurt, when are people going to start protesting. I need cheaper fuel!!

Biz
Spot on, but need to get the haulage/transport guys onboard, to cause maximum disruption



He'd have a no fly zone if we all joined up!


SteveWalker - 19/3/11 at 10:00 PM

quote:
Originally posted by A1
is everybody believing its cause oil prices have risen and forgotten the fact that the government are taking probably the bad side of 60% straight away....(thats a rough figure)


Much more than that I think. On top of the VAT and the fuel duty, for any oil produced in or around the UK they take a large sum for the right to drill for oil in the first place, then a cut of the profits of each field, they take corporation tax (and don't allow losses elsewhere to be set against it and even more! Take a look at the HMRC's list of taxes at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/international/ns-fiscal2.htm


AndyW - 19/3/11 at 10:06 PM

I filled up the car on Thursday, £84 and 1 hour later car got totalled


norfolkluego - 19/3/11 at 10:18 PM

Watch this space for 'a spate of fuel thefts from cars', it happened around here in the cold weather just before Chistmas, people were having the central heating oil nicked out of the tank in the garden because the price had gone through the roof.


ashg - 19/3/11 at 11:06 PM

why don't we all just take our number plates off for a week. show the government that we comply because we want to. will show them how all their anpr crap doesn't work, for tax insurance etc etc. the whole system relys on them knowing who we are. I personally don't understand how in a democracy they can get away with such high taxes. the mass majority want fuel duty lowered


daviep - 20/3/11 at 01:11 AM

quote:
Originally posted by ashg
I personally don't understand how in a democracy they can get away with such high taxes. the mass majority want fuel duty lowered


Which tax would you like to see increased to compensate for a reduction in fuel duty?

The mass majority probably want to pay no tax, have a good health system, have a good education system, have good infrastructure. Unfortunately you can't have it all ways and taxes are required to pay for these things.

You may not believe it but taxes in the UK are very moderate compared to many countries, check out Denmark or Norway if you don't believe me.

Britain is not a prison, people can leave at any time they like. Try living and working in a developing country if you don't want to pay high taxes.

Davie


norfolkluego - 20/3/11 at 01:58 AM

Most of us don't like being taxed but we accept them, the difference in fuel duty is uthat it's ridiculously high and doesn't take into account peoples personal circumstances or ability to pay, using your argument why not put petrol up to £50 per gallon and fill the govermemts coffers. Those of us who live in rural areas have little or no access to public transport, we just feel like an easy target as we have no choice but drive, the great and the good in London do have a choice. Do we feel p*ssed on by the metropolitan centric government, too right we do.

[Edited on 20/3/11 by norfolkluego]


Daddylonglegs - 20/3/11 at 07:16 AM

Popcorn anyone?


daviep - 20/3/11 at 07:34 AM

Again it all comes down to the choice which we make on how we choose to live our lives, if you desperately want to use public transport move to a town which has adequate links to where you want to go. By choosing to live in a rural area you must accept that some of the convieniences of city life will have to be sacrificed.

Again I ask the question how should the government make up the shortfall if fuel duty was reduced? I'm sure I don't want it on income tax!

I also live rural.


cliftyhanger - 20/3/11 at 07:36 AM

I very much doubt this is th eend of th efuel price rises either. As a commodity gets in higher demand, people have to pay more for it. OK the costs will probably fall back at some point, but we are going to have to grasp the idea life is going to get far more expensive.
We have had 10-15 years of easy living as a result of a boyant world economy, china suppressing prices and our government selling just about everything they could. Now there is little left to sell, cgina has got into a rather strong position to raise prices should it want to, and the rest of the world economy has gone belly up.
Its just going to be the lean years for a bit. We need to hope the bankers stay in this country and keep making massive money and big bonuses ( IIRC something like 25% of income tax is paid by 1% of the population )
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/8321369/Top-1-of-workers-pay-quarter-of-all-income-tax.html


daviep - 20/3/11 at 07:38 AM

quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
I very much doubt this is th eend of th efuel price rises either. As a commodity gets in higher demand, people have to pay more for it. OK the costs will probably fall back at some point, but we are going to have to grasp the idea life is going to get far more expensive.
We have had 10-15 years of easy living as a result of a boyant world economy, china suppressing prices and our government selling just about everything they could. Now there is little left to sell, cgina has got into a rather strong position to raise prices should it want to, and the rest of the world economy has gone belly up.
Its just going to be the lean years for a bit. We need to hope the bankers stay in this country and keep making massive money and big bonuses ( IIRC something like 25% of income tax is paid by 1% of the population )
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/8321369/Top-1-of-workers-pay-quarter-of-all-income-tax.html


At least one other person seems to have a grasp on how things are going to pan out instead of the stick your head in the sand mentality which pervades the country.


Macbeast - 20/3/11 at 08:33 AM

Those of you who live in rural areas probably don't pay over the odds for insurance and council tax. It's not all wonderful living in the city. Public transport is not free either - £ £4.00 to go one stop on the tube.


BenB - 20/3/11 at 08:48 AM

quote:
Originally posted by norfolkluego
Watch this space for 'a spate of fuel thefts from cars', it happened around here in the cold weather just before Chistmas, people were having the central heating oil nicked out of the tank in the garden because the price had gone through the roof.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12786483 !!!


Danozeman - 20/3/11 at 09:00 AM

It wont end in fuel taxes. Its all paying for the extra people we have let into our country, a war thats not ours to fight and all the money they send to other countries to help them out. Which you can garantee they wont do the same for us when something happens here.

Last time there was fuel blockades etc it was mainly truckers who did it. The majority of them have fuel cards now which you get a lower fuel price with so costs them less so they dont car as much.

My tin top now costs me 89 quid to fill the tank.

Would you believe i have to do a fuel comsumption test on a vehicle at work tomorrow because the blokes complaining it doesnt go as far on a tenner worth of diesel as it used to!!


zilspeed - 20/3/11 at 09:12 AM

There are two things which I do to help.

1)Drive less.
2)Use different fuel

My local supplier is now up to 99p a litre for biodiesel.
I don't grudge him it.

Car share.
I currently car share with one person going to work.
At the start of april, another member is joining our local scheme.
It will mean I have to do the 40 mile round trip to work 1 week in 3.
I cover the costs for my week, they cover the costs for their weeks.

Take these 2 measures together.
If I do a week at pump prices based on pump prices it costs me £31.
So, if I do the 4 ish weeks of a month it costs me £120.

Now, with my two saving measures.

A week on biodiesel costs £22.47.
I drive 1 week in 3, so the 4 weekly period costs me £29.88
We'll call that £30,

If you're still with me.
I've saved £90 a month by choosing to take two measures.
Different fuel.
Different driving pattern.

Those two things I did there were my choice.
None of the two of them are hard work and because everyone benefits, the other two guys want to be part of the scheme too.
None of the other two actually live any closer to me than 3 miles away, but it's worth the little effort for all of us one week in 3 to pick some guys up to be a passenger FREE OF CHARGE for the other two.


bj928 - 20/3/11 at 10:13 AM

hopefully i'll be back in America within 3 weeks, just worked out its 55p a litre over there in North Dakota where i'm based, and the US government takes taxes from that, so just shows how low we could have it and still give the govenment money, if they kick some of the illigal imigrantes out and stopped giving them houses, cars, food, clothes, and money, stopped wandering into countries with millitry force, and looked after their own people, we might not need to pay so much tax, but i can't complain, i don't pay income tax as i am in a loop hole, also don't smoke, and don't drink, so its only fair i pay some tax, so fuel is how i pay it, still to expensive though.


cliftyhanger - 20/3/11 at 10:13 AM

sensible move^

We have to sort ourselves out and start cutting the coat accordingly. It won't be easy, and I suspect there will be a load more suggestions about money being squandered overseas and on immigrants. Sadly not enough posts about how lazy a vast number of the Uk population is, expecting everything to be done for them.
Pensions will be another biggie soon. People just don't get it. If you work for 40 years, and then expect to retire and live off a pension for the next 25 years, then assuming you want/ need half your working income as a pension (many expect more) then you need to be putting nearly a third of you income into pension provision. (figures all at todays rates, so the assumption is made that future growth of saved money is equal to increases in living costs, about right in general unless you are lucky)

Scary!

Now, I need to dig out that LPG conversion from the shed and see how well it will fit my car


zilspeed - 20/3/11 at 04:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
Now, I need to dig out that LPG conversion from the shed and see how well it will fit my car



At 76p a litre ?

It's borderline worth it.
Fair enough if you have a huge tank.
Otherwise, you'll get bored of filling up every 3 days.

My old bus goes the thick end of a fortnight between fills these days.


daviep - 20/3/11 at 04:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by bj928
hopefully i'll be back in America within 3 weeks, just worked out its 55p a litre over there in North Dakota where i'm based, and the US government takes taxes from that, so just shows how low we could have it and still give the govenment money, if they kick some of the illigal imigrantes out and stopped giving them houses, cars, food, clothes, and money, stopped wandering into countries with millitry force, and looked after their own people, we might not need to pay so much tax, but i can't complain, i don't pay income tax as i am in a loop hole, also don't smoke, and don't drink, so its only fair i pay some tax, so fuel is how i pay it, still to expensive though.


The US isn't exactly renowned for the robustness of it's health care system though is it? You just can't have it all ways and like Britain times are going to get very hard in the US in the coming years.

Davie


nitram38 - 20/3/11 at 05:01 PM

I bought a smart car. 60 ish to the gallon, halfed my petrol bill. Still have my family tintop


cliftyhanger - 20/3/11 at 05:03 PM

quote:
Originally posted by zilspeed
quote:
Originally posted by cliftyhanger
Now, I need to dig out that LPG conversion from the shed and see how well it will fit my car



At 76p a litre ?

It's borderline worth it.
Fair enough if you have a huge tank.
Otherwise, you'll get bored of filling up every 3 days.

My old bus goes the thick end of a fortnight between fills these days.


The family bus is LPG, fill once a week.
My everyday is a Triumph Toledo (doubles as the road rally car too )
Car averages 30mpg on petrol reckon that'll drop to 24 on gas.
76p against 131p?

adds up to £300+ a year. And the way it is going the savings may well get bigger. Plus there is an LPG station with 2 miles of my house, so that makes it bearable, otherwise you are correct, LPG can be a pain.


Jon Ison - 20/3/11 at 05:04 PM

Just filled van, 65p, that's lpg for you.


norfolkluego - 20/3/11 at 07:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by daviep
Again it all comes down to the choice which we make on how we choose to live our lives, if you desperately want to use public transport move to a town which has adequate links to where you want to go. By choosing to live in a rural area you must accept that some of the convieniences of city life will have to be sacrificed.

Again I ask the question how should the government make up the shortfall if fuel duty was reduced? I'm sure I don't want it on income tax!

I also live rural.


'if you desperately want to use public transport move to a town which has adequate links '

I'm sorry but as over simplification goes that's a whopper.

Many of the people who live around here are retired, usually from agriculture or something similar, they don't have massive pensions like those poor downtrodden bankers, most of them couldn't afford to move to Norwich let alone any other city, besides why should they be driven from their homes to pay for the mistakes of others. Most local shops have gone the way of local Post Offices, the ones that are left are stupidly expensive, for most of these people driving is not a luxury it's the only way to get about, there are no other options. The Westminster mob who've barely had a proper job between them (all parties that is) don't understand ( or maybe don't care) the effect their policies have on 'ordinary' people.


daviep - 20/3/11 at 11:15 PM

quote:
Originally posted by norfolkluego
quote:
Originally posted by daviep
Again it all comes down to the choice which we make on how we choose to live our lives, if you desperately want to use public transport move to a town which has adequate links to where you want to go. By choosing to live in a rural area you must accept that some of the convieniences of city life will have to be sacrificed.

Again I ask the question how should the government make up the shortfall if fuel duty was reduced? I'm sure I don't want it on income tax!

I also live rural.


'if you desperately want to use public transport move to a town which has adequate links '

I'm sorry but as over simplification goes that's a whopper.

Many of the people who live around here are retired, usually from agriculture or something similar, they don't have massive pensions like those poor downtrodden bankers, most of them couldn't afford to move to Norwich let alone any other city, besides why should they be driven from their homes to pay for the mistakes of others. Most local shops have gone the way of local Post Offices, the ones that are left are stupidly expensive, for most of these people driving is not a luxury it's the only way to get about, there are no other options. The Westminster mob who've barely had a proper job between them (all parties that is) don't understand ( or maybe don't care) the effect their policies have on 'ordinary' people.


I'm big into simplification, anything financial is very simple, can I afford it? yes or no. If I can't afford it but I genuinely need it then I need to sacrifice a luxury to free up some money. If this is impossible then I'm living outside my means and need to evaluate my lifestyle.

For refrence I regard: holidays, broadband , mobile phones, ipod/ipads, computers, televisions, sky TV, cars, magazines, telephone, designer clothes, fast food as luxury items that are not essential.

With regard to the lack of local shops this is the case country wide because we as a nation voted with our feet and choose supermarkets instead of our local shop, again we chose this path we were not forced down it.

I'm sorry if things are tough for some people at the moment but it is pointless compalining about it, best bet is to look after ourselves and make responsible choices in life.

Davie


Dangle_kt - 20/3/11 at 11:39 PM

I took a job that is 37 miles away after I got made redundant.

I cant afford to buy a new fuel efficient car.

Mine does 35mpg if I drive it careful, and its only a old T reg brava, nothing flash or fast.

if the fuel prices end up the way the papers are talking about at £2 per litre, then I will have to spend A QUARTER of my wage, just to get to work.

Now however simple your view on life is, financial or otherwise - that is a pretty painful thing to absorb.

Yes it is doable - but I'm already pretty tight. No holiday for 5 years, rarely eat out/drink - my only luxery is the kit and that is getting sold soon, and was funded when I had a company car, higher wage yadda yadda.

The tax is based on %, the governement couldn't have factored in the middle east difficulties/japan into their tax sums - so your arguement is rubbish. The governement is making more than it thought it would. Period.

It could cut some slack - the 1p fuel rise for example - and it could do more, by stablising the price through a more sophisicated calculation than a % increase as the taxation. When fuel prices are high, take less % but the same overall cash value, and when prices are low, bump up the % so the income stays flat.

Simples.


A1 - 21/3/11 at 12:55 AM

i dont grudge the fuel companies taking my money, but its the fact the government are raping us...
we could cut the dole money we give out by a huge amount, and that would take into account a huge cut in fuel duty...


Bare - 21/3/11 at 03:04 AM

A couple of Observations:
The vaunted British "educational system" is becoming a widespread Joke, at least outside of the UK.
It's been reduced to a degree mill for third world 'foreign' students who pay large.
The medical system is in poor condition, far worse than acknowledged and British dental remains as the laughing stock of the western world.
There's No being too smug.. you are getting appallingly Poor return for your taxation.
Interestingly , recently read a report that suggested world oil prices are almost doubled over the actual delivered prices by 'Futures Speculation' A semi recent and clearly growing trend.
Somebody is making Good Coin:-) Unlikely it's going to reverse.. realistically it will double.. soon enough.

Best buy some Good shoes, move next door to your workplace and /or buy a decent bicycle.
As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, buying fuel will become a... far greater.... burden, like it or not.


tony-devon - 21/3/11 at 08:21 AM

round here its 132 and 142 petrol and diesel respectively

soon I wont be able to afford to travel to work, its getting that simple, cuts in wages, cuts in hours, rent gone up, all household bills gone up, food, car insurance, water gas etc etc etc etc

after paying everything, each week I currently have £4 left spare!

Im hoping my job goes down the pan to be honest, will be better off on benefits for a while, maybe do some free training courses or something? never claimed a penny in my life, but sick of working for nothing.

theres no work round this area, anything that you do find is only seasonal, council tax is high, water rates are one of the highest in the country, and as its a tourist area the local places are expensive, even if I could afford to go out.

just about every job is minimum wage, skilled jobs are even crap money, a mate of mine is coded welder, a place was advertising for skilled welders and sheet metal workers, wage according to experience etc etc, wage on offer was £7.01 per hour.

over the last 2 years I have applied for either extra jobs, part time, or full time replacement jobs, ideally ones with overtime opportunity etc, last count was 280 job apllications in 26 months, of them, I got 7 replies, during a chat at the 3 interviews I managed to get, I was told that basically I was either too qualified, or found that that wage wouldnt support my living, it would appear that theres some sort of pressure on companies to employ people that are unemployed?

recently a tesco store opened up, 400 jobs apparantly, well 250 went to staff from the other tesco stores, that left 150, and they were applied for by in excess of 3000 people!

on Friday another large company in the town went downhill, thats another 250 people unemployed, sadly most are of older years, worked in that factory for many years and dont know any other skills

too many people in this country are now just existing.

fuel prices arent the total problem, but for many people like me, they are just about the final nail in the coffin


Mr Whippy - 21/3/11 at 09:13 AM

I just use a motor bike, costs me £10 a week to go to work and if I used the 125 which really I could no problem it would be less than £8, to use the car it cost me £50! Also changes a 1 1/2 hour car journey to just 20 mins.

Cars are too big an inefficient. I’ve never seen so many bikes being used as last year and already there’s heap this year to as folk are just fed up with the traffic jams. Also you can get 8 motorbikes parked in the same space as one car!



[Edited on 21/3/11 by Mr Whippy]


tony-devon - 21/3/11 at 09:27 AM

Im the same, I ride a bike every day, snow delayed me, but didnt stop me LOL, couldnt afford a 125, so ended up with a 600 diversion, but they are pretty economical £10 does the weeks 135 mile commute

however we still need a car for my wife to take daughter to school and various activities, thats a turbo diesel and always returns in excess of 40mpg.

we got really lucky with the car, was dirt cheap, and hopefully will last longer than the 6-12 months that most of our cars last.

its that old catch 22 situation, never got enough money to buy a decent car, but end up scrapping the car and trying to find another cheapy every year thats got some MOT LOL


Mr Whippy - 21/3/11 at 12:03 PM

^ buy an old nissan, seriously they cost naff all and just keep going. I got 5 years use out a £250 one and it never failed an MOT but got bored with it as there was nothing to do with it but drive and clean it so scrapped it! then bought another one and it too never has any issues just mad


bi22le - 8/1/16 at 07:43 PM

Just stumbelled across this.

Enjoy it while it lasts peeps


Andybarbet - 8/1/16 at 08:04 PM

Crazy, that's when we mothballed our 2nd car (Seat Cordoba Coupe) & I ended up cycling my commute for 3 + years, last month I finally put it back on the road so I can commute in warmth this year.

We also ended up selling our beloved Saab 95 2.3 litre petrol as i was managing 25mpg which was crippling with the cost of unleaded, replaced it with a diesel Meriva, I still really missed the Saab but my Cordoba coupe puts a smile on my face each morning.

I bet the less than £1 per litre won't last though.


sdh2903 - 8/1/16 at 08:33 PM

The forecast is oil will dip another 20-30% yet. Doesn't necessarily equate to cheaper fuel tho.


Simon - 8/1/16 at 09:49 PM

I think most oil producing countries have cottoned onto the fact that places like the US have shale oil and could do fracking along with the rest of the world, which only happens if crude price high enough. If they keep prices low, they'll keep on selling and make shale/fracking too expensive.

Just replaced my Grand Espace after 7 1/2 years (had two) with a 2004 Rover 75 2.5 V6 and I'm loving being back in a Rover

ATB

Simon


morcus - 9/1/16 at 06:50 PM

Does anyone else think that cheaper fuel and car tax changing to be based on car value and not emissions mean the return of big engine cheap cars?


David Jenkins - 9/1/16 at 07:09 PM

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm just grateful that petrol is cheap. If I buy another car (and I plan to soon) I will still be looking for something that gives me good mpg. I'll take any savings as a short-term bonus (as I'm sure it's going to be).

I'm sure that this low oil price is political - I'm fairly sure that the USA is trying to undercut Russia and the Middle East, trying to mess up their economies. But this is entirely my own opinion!



[Edited on 9/1/16 by David Jenkins]


coozer - 10/1/16 at 10:33 AM

Just filled up with diesel for 99.7 at the Asdas... I do not expect it to last as I reckon the gov will whack fuel duty come march...

And I still wonder why the engine in my old (96) 106 gave me 85mpg yet new cars are know where near that..


Slimy38 - 10/1/16 at 10:49 AM

quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm just grateful that petrol is cheap. If I buy another car (and I plan to soon) I will still be looking for something that gives me good mpg. I'll take any savings as a short-term bonus (as I'm sure it's going to be).



Not me, I've given up trying to get good MPG. Any car can do good MPG if you drive at 55 and control the throttle well. Conversely the most efficient cars can become gas guzzlers if you have a bit of fun.

I will save more money by going for a cheaper car that no-one wants, rather than going for a premium price fuel efficient car. Even the move from diesel to petrol will save me a huge chunk of money, both from car purchase and from maintenance costs.


coozer - 10/1/16 at 11:30 AM

Correcto, dude at work sneers down his nose at my dobbie calling it an ice cream van... He claims I'm wasting money on road tax cause his brand new Audi is £40 a year... Useless turd doesn't realise how many years road tax I can get for what he's paying to buy his piece of crap.. He got very upset when I said it was the shape of a shed

My next purchase will be the newest plate I can get for £2k and if it does 40+ mpg I'm very happy!


Andybarbet - 10/1/16 at 01:59 PM

Yep, my Cordoba coupe is 17 years old, I paid £2500 for it ten+ years ago, still going strong so it's staying with me, only pay running costs now, no monthly payments on finance etc.

Makes sense to me.


Irony - 11/1/16 at 09:22 AM

I drive a 2004 SEAT ibiza 1.4mpi and it costs nearly nothing. All my co-workers take the micky with their AUDI's and BMW's which are bought on finance and they loose more money in 6 months than I paid for my car. I don't need to look cool driving to work nor does it need to look cool in the works car park.


hughpinder - 11/1/16 at 11:02 AM

Just come back from New Zealand - Diesel is $1.05/l (45p) there! You do pay a separate mileage tax that works out to about £0.04p/mile on top though, but that doesn't encourage you to get a small engined diesel. Petrol was about 80p/l, with no mileage tax.

I was quite amazed by the age of a lot of cars still apparently being driven daily - several MGB GTs and loads of older cars (especially around Napier - part of the art deco city thing). If you are into old trucks/buses/cars, there were loads of restorable ones parked up in peoples gardens/fields etc

Hugh


craig1410 - 11/1/16 at 11:21 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Irony
I drive a 2004 SEAT ibiza 1.4mpi and it costs nearly nothing. All my co-workers take the micky with their AUDI's and BMW's which are bought on finance and they loose more money in 6 months than I paid for my car. I don't need to look cool driving to work nor does it need to look cool in the works car park.


To be fair, I don't think it's all about looking cool. All due respect to your 12 year old Ibiza but I'm sure it doesn't compare in terms of driving enjoyment to a new(er) executive saloon. Then there are things like safety where the larger, newer car will generally always be better.

Last time petrol prices were high, back in 2008, I got rid of my 4 year old SEAT Leon Cupra and bought a new Toyota Aygo for about £7.5k and put 90k miles on it over the next 5 years. I saved a small fortune through a combination of 3 years of warrantied MOT-less driving (got a new engine in that time) and low fuel consumption and low insurance/tax costs. However, although it could be fun to drive at times, it was not that much fun on my 115 mile motorway commute each day due to lack of comforts, general noise and the feeling of vulnerability driving at motorway speeds amongst HGVs and larger cars. This was especially so on the M80 in the dark and rain with heavy surface water where I felt the need to slow down but nobody else did. It was pretty scary at times.

So, since my engine was showing signs of stress again and winter 2013 was approaching, I decided to trade the car in against a 2nd hand BMW 535d (2009 on a 58 plate). I got something like £2500 trade in for my Aygo and added about £13k to that to secure the BMW. Bear in mind this is a £45k car new but I got it for about a third of that price with just over 70k miles on it and still feeling like new. The difference in driving experience between the Aygo and the BMW was incredible and well worth the investment. Would I have bought it new? Certainly not! But as a 2nd hand car with hopefully many years of useful life it was a great buy. I've had it for 2.5 years now and still love the car as much as I did at the start. It has been kind to me so far in terms of maintenance/repair costs and long may that continue. I've probably lost £4 to £4.5k in depreciation but I get 40 MPG from a very fast, comfortable and safe car so that to me is well worth paying. I can't see me every going back to a lesser car.

Not saying all this to blow my own trumpet or anything like that, I'm just pointing out that you don't need to go to extremes when buying a car, there is always a middle ground depending on your needs or wishes. That said, I realise there are those who can come across as a bit too smug when they have a brand new BMW/Audi which "only costs £350 a month" or whatever when they've not factored in the deposit nor the balloon payment and the fact the car will never be theirs etc. On the other hand, it does make you feel a bit special when driving a car such as a 5 series as it just eats up the miles beautifully and perhaps that emotion comes across as smugness sometimes when it's intended more as genuine satisfaction.

Linky: http://www.meerkats.uk.com/log-book/2013/10/18/bmw-535d-replaces-toyota-aygo



[Edited on 11/1/2016 by craig1410]


coyoteboy - 11/1/16 at 01:03 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Irony
I drive a 2004 SEAT ibiza 1.4mpi and it costs nearly nothing. All my co-workers take the micky with their AUDI's and BMW's which are bought on finance and they loose more money in 6 months than I paid for my car. I don't need to look cool driving to work nor does it need to look cool in the works car park.


I appreciate the sentiment, and I have a knackered old diesel estate that I use to do workhorse things like tip runs or long distance trips to places I don't know with dodgy roads. But commuting in a nice, fast, comfy warm car is orders of magnitude nicer and I don't care about traffic when I'm sat in my 370Z getting 20mpg. That said, I bought that as an immaculate high mileage Cat D for half the going price so I can't really claim the same argument I guess.


mcerd1 - 11/1/16 at 01:13 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coozer
And I still wonder why the engine in my old (96) 106 gave me 85mpg yet new cars are know where near that..


the old NA 1.5 diesel tuned for very little power in a car that weights not much over 800kg with skinny tyres and a while not perfectly aerodynamic it does have a small frontal area...

my old (92) 106 only gave me 37-45mpg normally (country roads, depending on how heavy my foot was) but could top 65mpg on the motorway - and that was a 954cc petrol with 4 gears and a single choke carb! (also used to pass MOT's with 0.1% CO and 3ppm HC - my modern catalysed cars can match that!)

unfortunately most folk these days won't buy a car with minimal safety features and strength, with next to no sound proofing (inc. thinner glass and trim that doesn't cover all the metal inside)
and most folk want an engine with enough power to give you a 0-60 time nearer 10 seconds than 20 while still needing to pass the new emissions laws....

all that just makes the cars bigger, heavier and less fuel efficient - working against the improvements that can be made elsewhere - so the car makers deliberately make them safer with more features and refinement on each new model to keep folk buying and that means they can only normally squeeze few % better fuel economy out of them (and sometimes that improvement is only on paper rather than the real world) - the alternative being to use fancy materials and make them much more expensive....


Irony - 11/1/16 at 05:13 PM

I can't believe anyone is touting safety as a factor on Locostbuilders. I'd quite like to see the safety rating on a locost.

Don't get me wrong I've owned nice cars. The best car I owned was a mk4 Golf GTTDI Anniversary Edition. I put 140K on it before I had to swap it for a safe baby hauler. I am just out of that phase in my life now. I see daily drivers as a mode of transport. I just want cars that are reliable and safe for mine and my partners cars. But I also want to spend as little as possible. I can spend that money on days out with my boy and holidays. Some things are just more important to me.

Theres a guy in my office, earns a lot less than I do and he's just leased a VW sirocco for £300 a month. Its a nice car, fast and economical. But at the end of the day its just traffic.

Each to their own I suppose.


craig1410 - 11/1/16 at 05:30 PM

Re safety, I think the difference is that we generally don't commute 20k miles a year in our locosts in peak traffic hours.

I agree about priorities, my kids are aged 22, 19 and 17 so do their own thing most of the time but if having a nice car meant I couldn't afford family holiday then I'd probably choose the holiday. However, in our case the holiday usually starts with the drive to Manchester or Newcastle airport to avoid the silly Scottish airport surcharges and the family are all in 100% agreement that the 5-series is a more pleasant way to get family and luggage to the airport than any of our previous cars. The fact that I got the 535 for well under the price of a new Ford Focus makes it incredible value for money.

What's more important to me these days is time! I don't want to be spending time keeping an old car running. I've been there and done that many times over the years and I'm glad I don't have to deal with that any more. I still do the maintenance on my 535 but so far that's mainly oil and various filters. I replaced the brake discs and pads but that shouldn't need done again during my ownership. Service costs for the BMW are surprisingly inexpensive given the type of car it is and it's so well engineered that it's a pleasure to work on.

My intention is to keep the 535 for a few more years and then replace it with another 3 or 4 year old car before it starts to go wrong. For me, that's the sweet-spot in good value motoring. Your mileage may vary as they say. (literally in this case...)