Fuel price discussion thread (was ‘chaos’)

tom_e · 26 Jun 2022 at 10:13

If we were still in the office 5 days a week I'd be looking at the thick end of £150 a week in fuel and be on the hunt for a new job.
I'm paid a decent wage but I still wouldn't want to be dropping £600 a month to get there and back.

[TW]Fox · 26 Jun 2022 at 10:39

tom_e said:
If we were still in the office 5 days a week I'd be looking at the thick end of £150 a week in fuel and be on the hunt for a new job.
I'm paid a decent wage but I still wouldn't want to be dropping £600 a month to get there and back.

Even at just £1 a litre you'd still be paying £300 a month just for fuel to commute.

Simon · 26 Jun 2022 at 12:02

tom_e said:
If we were still in the office 5 days a week I'd be looking at the thick end of £150 a week in fuel and be on the hunt for a new job.
I'm paid a decent wage but I still wouldn't want to be dropping £600 a month to get there and back.

Get a new car then

lordrobs · 26 Jun 2022 at 13:08

I've had to drop an email to work asking them to look into the fuel rates. I realise their hands are slightly tied by the HMRC rates and I don't want to be causing a fuss over a few quid but I'm now about £100 a month out of pocket to drive for my job

ianh · 26 Jun 2022 at 13:10

[TW]Fox said:
I'd be very surprised if many cars from 1994 did this. Neither my 1999 Mondeo or 2001 5 Series did, the first car I owned that did was a 2008 3 Series.

It was an M-Reg E38 740i but, as you said, there can't be many others of that age that do, I've just been lucky maybe? However my 1998 Mondeo ST24, with a retro-fitted Ghia X CC setup, definitely did so I'm not sure why your '99 Mondeo didn't.

dlockers · 26 Jun 2022 at 13:17

[TW]Fox said:
I'd be very surprised if many cars from 1994 did this. Neither my 1999 Mondeo or 2001 5 Series did, the first car I owned that did was a 2008 3 Series.

Some cars are just incredibly effective at engine braking. I was convinced my C180 had cruise with brake but it was just engine braking. Easy for folk to mix up l think.

Rroff · 26 Jun 2022 at 13:22

One of our drivers dropped some stuff off at a garden centre and they are not happy as they have to use regular, instead of red, diesel now for their forklifts and the current prices are close to putting them out of business apparent (not sure how much that is hyperbole) and they've had to sack one of their drivers as he was sneaking in a jerry can worth on the company fuel card every time he filled the van up.

Richie · 26 Jun 2022 at 13:42

I just had a look at my previous fuel cost since this time last year.

From June 2021 to Jan 2022 it went up 5% in the 7 months.

From Jan 2022 till now it has increased by 30% in 5 months.

[TW]Fox · 26 Jun 2022 at 15:12

ianh said:
It was an M-Reg E38 740i but, as you said, there can't be many others of that age that do, I've just been lucky maybe? However my 1998 Mondeo ST24, with a retro-fitted Ghia X CC setup, definitely did so I'm not sure why your '99 Mondeo didn't.

Neither of these cars had a cruise control system which used the brakes for anything at all. Pretty sure the first BMW fitted with this functionality was the E65 7 Series and then all new models since then.

I'm pretty sure any car that does do it will also have some form of stability control (as this is the method by which it can apply the brakes independent of the driver action on the pedal) which further rules out the Mk2 Mondeo which only had basic traction control which cut power when wheelspin was detected.

Tinders · 26 Jun 2022 at 15:43

lordrobs said:
I've had to drop an email to work asking them to look into the fuel rates. I realise their hands are slightly tied by the HMRC rates and I don't want to be causing a fuss over a few quid but I'm now about £100 a month out of pocket to drive for my job

Our place are making sure we aren’t out of pocket for travelling.

tom_e · 26 Jun 2022 at 15:46

Simon said:
Get a new car then

Why? I'm no longer commuting 5 days a week as said and with a 100 mile round trip I'd still be burning a decent wedge nevermind what ice car I had.

kona786 · 26 Jun 2022 at 16:34

My commute is a 25 mile round trip. 14 days per 4wks. I think I'm paying an extra 50 quid a month compared to this time last year. Sucks for sure but no where near as bad as it is others who travel further. My condolences for those paying a small mortgage worth a fuel per month.

lordrobs · 27 Jun 2022 at 16:43

After giving it some thought I've swapped my mileage rate around so rather than claiming business miles at HMRC rates I'll now put all the fuel for my company car through expenses and pay back private miles at the HMRC rate. As prices drop I'm sure there will be times that my applied pence per litre amount is more than the actual fuel cost but I can't see the deficit ever being as high as it is now (around 30 pence per litre!) and I have the benefit of my fuel cost now being calculated at a fixed 52.7 MPG which is right on the upper limits of what is actually achievable in my car (long term average on the trip computer is normally 46 to 47 mpg).

So you have me to thank when fuel prices drop through the floor on 2nd September the day after HMRC set their next rate

Doobedoo · 27 Jun 2022 at 17:30

If everybody went on a stay at home protest I wonder how long it would take for someone to sort this mess out. Imagine the whole country on a self imposed lockdown until fuel returns to at least £1.50 a litre. Never going to happen obviously, people can’t seem to stick together for a common cause, but I’d imagine it’ll be pretty effective.

Richie · 27 Jun 2022 at 18:28

Doobedoo said:
If everybody went on a stay at home protest I wonder how long it would take for someone to sort this mess out. Imagine the whole country on a self imposed lockdown until fuel returns to at least £1.50 a litre. Never going to happen obviously, people can’t seem to stick together for a common cause, but I’d imagine it’ll be pretty effective.

You say people can't stick together for a common cause? How would people earn a living that cannot work from home?

More details needed in your proposal really

Tinders · 27 Jun 2022 at 18:35

lordrobs said:
After giving it some thought I've swapped my mileage rate around so rather than claiming business miles at HMRC rates I'll now put all the fuel for my company car through expenses and pay back private miles at the HMRC rate. As prices drop I'm sure there will be times that my applied pence per litre amount is more than the actual fuel cost but I can't see the deficit ever being as high as it is now (around 30 pence per litre!) and I have the benefit of my fuel cost now being calculated at a fixed 52.7 MPG which is right on the upper limits of what is actually achievable in my car (long term average on the trip computer is normally 46 to 47 mpg).

So you have me to thank when fuel prices drop through the floor on 2nd September the day after HMRC set their next rate

That’s a fair system and one we used to adopt, we had a fuel card where all the fuel was put on that and we just paid the company back our private miles every month. Nice fair system.

Uther · 27 Jun 2022 at 18:52

Doobedoo said:
If everybody went on a stay at home protest I wonder how long it would take for someone to sort this mess out. Imagine the whole country on a self imposed lockdown until fuel returns to at least £1.50 a litre. Never going to happen obviously, people can’t seem to stick together for a common cause, but I’d imagine it’ll be pretty effective.

How much will you be paying them to do that? 80% of their wages worked quite well last time but it's going to cost you quite a lot.

Doobedoo · 27 Jun 2022 at 19:07

Why would I be paying someone to stay at home yet alone millions?

Look it’s a tongue in cheek proposal at best. You, along with your fellow man take one for the team making some sacrifice for the greater good. Take a weeks holiday, play with your kids, smell the flowers while the Government excretes a brick. We want a return back to sensible levels or else. It’s a game of bluff.

The other hand continue to bend over and be grateful you no longer require lube.

muon · 27 Jun 2022 at 19:53

Doobedoo said:
Why would I be paying someone to stay at home yet alone millions?

Look it’s a tongue in cheek proposal at best. You, along with your fellow man take one for the team making some sacrifice for the greater good. Take a weeks holiday, play with your kids, smell the flowers while the Government excretes a brick. We want a return back to sensible levels or else. It’s a game of bluff.

The other hand continue to bend over and be grateful you no longer require lube.

Take a week's holiday and stay at home? You realise that holiday isn't free right?

I don't get how it is tongue in cheek.

Doobedoo · 27 Jun 2022 at 21:19

muon said:
Take a week's holiday and stay at home? You realise that holiday isn't free right?

I don't get how it is tongue in cheek.

Holiday is earned through time at work it’s a legal requirement for your employer based on your contract.

Your missing the point though. It’s the same as the RMT. The union provides strength through numbers because one person on their own is weak, many people together is much stronger, therefore more able to force the government to do what they need to do.

Having the mentality of Oliver gets you nowhere or nothing please sir can I have some more. Hitting them where it hurts as a collective force will get the job done. They work on our behalf they just need reminding of their place in this world.