petrol prices

TaLLyJ · 22 May 2008 at 10:39

I was seeing 1.28 everywhere yesterday... i saw a Shell station in Birmingham and topped it up at 1.23

Cost me £85 for a full tank... Bargain!!!

Bear · 22 May 2008 at 10:45

teaboy5 said:
Af ew years ago the yanks where paying about $1.50 a gallon. That has jumped to $3.90. Unlike ours which has jumped from around 79 to 115

Not a very big increase compared to the states.

Are you stupid or what ?? If you take like with like in the US it has gone from $1.50 to $3.90 where as in equivalent terms for us in the UK it would have gone up from $5.96 to $8.68 a US gallon. Yes in percentage terms it is a smaller increase for us but in real terms it is a financially larger increase for us over here.

Vans · 22 May 2008 at 10:55

£1:30 for soot in Pensylvania yesterday. Glad I didn't need to stop.

Also worth pointing out, someone said VAT is only paid once. In essence yes, in reality no. If I buy a second hand car part, it will have VAT added on to it.

melbourne720 · 22 May 2008 at 10:59

Bear said:
Are you stupid or what ?? If you take like with like in the US it has gone from $1.50 to $3.90 where as in equivalent terms for us in the UK it would have gone up from $5.96 to $8.68 a US gallon. Yes in percentage terms it is a smaller increase for us but in real terms it is a financially larger increase for us over here.

I think his point is that their economy is based around cheap petrol. Drive to the shops, drive to your friends house miles away, drive to the restaurant for lunch, not to mention their car's fuel economy.

Here petrol is expensive, ergo you buy a car with the fuel economy you can afford and you get paid in line with the countries living costs (inc petrol).

mehuk · 22 May 2008 at 11:06

i never fill my tank up - just because it burns more fuel for the wieght

i always try to have enough for my trip - the onboard computer helps for the calculations

lordrobs · 22 May 2008 at 12:03

Due to most of my mileage being work use I've got some figures in mind for when prices are going to start being a problem. Actually, not problem so much as unacceptable when I am only being paid xxp per mile for work use.

When super gets over 130p/l I'll swap to regular, when that gets to over 130p/l I'll swap cars with Jane and when it gets over 180p/l I'm afraid I can no longer justify doing any work mileage.... that is assuming my travel expenses don't rise in the mean time.

Overlag · 22 May 2008 at 12:14

im hatching a grand plan to build a tunnel under my local tescos (great escape style) and drill into the petrol tanks for free fuel...

...whos with me?

not really...... honest.....

Dogbreath · 22 May 2008 at 12:19

mehuk said:
i never fill my tank up - just because it burns more fuel for the wieght

Do you also avoid carrying passengers and luggage ect?

I filled up with Super unleaded from Sainsburys yesterday and I'm almost certain it was "only" £1.16/litre. I can remember getting a gallon for about £1.60 when I was 17

mehuk · 22 May 2008 at 12:21

Dogbreath said:
Do you also avoid carrying passengers and luggage ect?

I filled up with Super unleaded from Sainsburys yesterday and I'm almost certain it was "only" £1.16/litre. I can remember getting a gallon for about £1.60 when I was 17

sadly on my drive to work, i remove all non essential items from the boot - ie buggy etc

just in case

Overlag · 22 May 2008 at 12:22

mehuk said:
i never fill my tank up - just because it burns more fuel for the wieght

i always try to have enough for my trip - the onboard computer helps for the calculations

that probably is a false economy at the moment.

you don't fill up to save a few pennies in MPG, then because you have to put in half a tank a week, the price goes up and you've lost your savings already?

The fuel still in my tank costs 1.10p, it would now cost 1.19p.... I'm glad i filled up

Firestar_3x · 22 May 2008 at 12:23

£1.18 for Vpower atm, whilst its far from ideal it's not changed how i use the car, its going to take a huge rise to make me think twice about getting a tin box.

Third Opinion · 22 May 2008 at 13:03

I have taking to driving "Miss Daisy" style. Get a few more mpg. This is beginning to hurt a lot now.

Bear · 22 May 2008 at 13:27

melbourne720 said:
I think his point is that their economy is based around cheap petrol. Drive to the shops, drive to your friends house miles away, drive to the restaurant for lunch, not to mention their car's fuel economy.

Here petrol is expensive, ergo you buy a car with the fuel economy you can afford and you get paid in line with the countries living costs (inc petrol).

I understand what you are saying and partially agree but he wasnt making that point at all. He said

Not a very big increase compared to the states

When comparing the price increase of a US gallon to a UK litre. What I am saying is if you compare like with like the price differential isnt as big as he makes out, quite the opposite in fact if you look at the real amount of money and not just percentages.

OllyM · 22 May 2008 at 13:42

If fuel prices keep going up as they have been, I'm going to struggle to justify my fuel spend - so it's back to looking at diesels probably

ZoomZ · 22 May 2008 at 14:42

melbourne720 said:
Florida is lovely, love the keys

Have a read of this:-

http://www.petrolprices.com/fuel-tax.html

Make sure you're sitting down, and not of a nervous disposition, when you read how much tax we pay on petrol.

The Keys are very nice and i try to get down there every couple years or so .

Those taxes are crazy man .

I could not imagine having my 2 cars in the UK .

One gets 10-12mpg city and the other is at 17-18mpg city .

Right now i spend about $60.00 a week on fuel in the dodge magnum and i leave my corvette parked at my shop and will only be driving it on the weekends now .

Overlag · 22 May 2008 at 14:57

OllyM said:
If fuel prices keep going up as they have been, I'm going to struggle to justify my fuel spend - so it's back to looking at diesels probably

pay for a new car thats gona take a few years to "earn its money back?"

no thanks

melbourne720 · 22 May 2008 at 15:24

Bear said:
I understand what you are saying and partially agree but he wasnt making that point at all. He said

When comparing the price increase of a US gallon to a UK litre. What I am saying is if you compare like with like the price differential isnt as big as he makes out, quite the opposite in fact if you look at the real amount of money and not just percentages.

Understood, fair point. It is interesting though how different economies relationship with fuel is effected by these pseudo-speculative price rises.

ZoomZ said:
The Keys are very nice and i try to get down there every couple years or so .

<OT>
I'll go back one day. Some of the best steaks I have ever had, and certainly the best fish, was in Florida.
</OT>

ZoomZ said:
Those taxes are crazy man .

That just about sums it up.

My 3lt BMW also requires £400 ($700-800) a year road tax.

ZoomZ said:
I could not imagine having my 2 cars in the UK .

One gets 10-12mpg city and the other is at 17-18mpg city .

Mine does 20mpg around town, and that's considered pretty bad.

ZoomZ said:
Right now i spend about $60.00 a week on fuel in the dodge magnum and i leave my corvette parked at my shop and will only be driving it on the weekends now .

I imagine the corvette sounds a lot better than most cars over here though

<OT>
Depending on what you do for a living in the UK, you could clean up financially here. I know as an IT contractor I get a lot more here than I would in the US. Plus we don't have to spend out on health insurance.

How much are houses over there at the moment? Saw on a property show that they are dirt cheap since the credit crunch.
</OT>

Scottland · 22 May 2008 at 15:46

I've now decided to give up the commute via car and take the train. It'll eat an extra ~20mins of my day getting to and from the station - not wholly due to petrol prices now, but I'll save in the car park fees and reduced mileage in the car.

This way I'll only have to fill up about once a month hopefully, so will be somewhat shielded from further increases (which would have forced me to take the train anyway).

ZoomZ · 22 May 2008 at 16:12

melbourne720 said:
My 3lt BMW also requires £400 ($700-800) a year road tax.

I imagine the corvette sounds a lot better than most cars over here though

<OT>
Depending on what you do for a living in the UK, you could clean up financially here. I know as an IT contractor I get a lot more here than I would in the US. Plus we don't have to spend out on health insurance.

How much are houses over there at the moment? Saw on a property show that they are dirt cheap since the credit crunch.
</OT>

We pay a 7% sales tax when the car is bought and it cost me $75.00 a year to register both cars , thats it , no other costs.

The vette does sound pretty good imo

http://catchcans.com/videos/ZoomZ 408 C5.wmv

The housing market is stupid right now and its because of the 5-7 years of a housing boom that lead to a $150.000.00 house going up to 325-350k and now that the market is settling down a 150k house is now worth 250k and ppl are crying about it :rolleyes:

I bought a house for 180k and by the time it was built a year later , it was worth 260k , so i actualy made $80.000.00 the day i moved into the house .

A lot of ppl made a lot of money

Dave85 · 22 May 2008 at 16:19

Booner! said:
What the hell do you drive!

yeh really need to finish my new sig, it's a v8 caddy bud, set myself a limit of keeping it untill fuel hits 1.70 a litre then I will do the sums again and convince myself its worth it. allthough looking at 68 mustang fastbacks just now