Latest Petrol Rises : How are you coping?

tomstickland

THXbob wrote: »

I don't have any option than to use my car (2.9 VR6 Corrado). Can't afford another car so at this rate my monthly fuel bill will be more than my mortgage.
Bob

You could afford another car if you really had to. Sell the Corrado, buy a small diesel hatch. What you probably mean is that in balance of costs and desires etc you can still afford to run the car you'd like.

For example, if I had to, I would sell my car or take it off the road and spend a few hundred on a 106 Diesel or similar small car. As it is, it's slightly cheaper to keep the current car and drive it carefully.

Crabman

Hi peeps, I've moved this thread over to the Motoring Board

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Chuzzle

Idiophreak - I know what you mean about not being able to go out and being restricted to the house. I have 2 kids to occupy and would like to take out for the odd day out here and there but just cannot justify the petrol costs. DH has to drive to work everyday - due to a near fatal moped accident 20 odd years ago his balance is not good for him to cycle to work and the road is a major busy road (A140). No public transport stops near enough to his place of work for him. Although his round trip is only 16 miles a day it all adds up. We have an automatic car not sure that I can do the overrun thingy in that but will mention it to DH. DH has now mentioned that if petrol goes up to £1.50/£2 litre by the end of this year as expected he will quit his job (that he loves) and find a job within walking/cycling distance and will probably mean a pay cut as well. I fortunately work 10mins walk from our home.

We walk/cycle as much as possible and live very close to the town centre and shops. But I feel as though we are being "controlled" by the government in a very unfair way.

We have 3 petrol stations in the town (Shell, Morrisons & Esso), Esso is always the most expensive Shell and Morrison are the same one will rise in the morning and by lunchtime the other has matched!

AdrianHi

THXbob wrote: »

I filled up with petrol at the weekend and it was just shy of £75!!!! I'm currently doing a 62 mile round trip to work through the Peak District so I don't have any option than to use my car (2.9 VR6 Corrado). Can't afford another car so at this rate my monthly fuel bill will be more than my mortgage.

Bob

You could either buy something very cheap as suggested earlier or lease a cheap economical car. As an example 1.2 Corsa can be leased for around 130-140 a month on 2 months lease cost up front + 35 monthly payments, do the sums, the fuel saving might cover the lease payment. You cannot buy and sell a Corsa 36 months later and get it that cheap by the way, even with the 0% finance deals on offer.

Your biggest problem will be finding someone willing to buy a 2.9 VR6 off you in the current climate.

mary43

Due to workshop alterations my OH isn't working at the moment so doesn't need to use the car on a daily basis and since the petrol costs have risen we've not used the car more than once a week - if that.
I have a bus pass (thankfully) and can get to see my mother in a care home some miles away (have to pay part of the journey as bus pass doesn't cover National Express coach) for a lot less than we would have to pay using the car.
The nearest large town means a 40 mile round trip to go to cheaper shops for things like paint etc. but we bought some locally a few weeks ago. Bit more expensive but would have cost us more to go to a bigger store and buy a cheaper brand.
We're due for a visit to MIL in a fortnight -that'll be a long journey so OH has been buying petrol a little bit each week rather than fork out a big amount when we go.

The increase means we shop in town - good for our little town shops and a lot more convenient to us.

tomstickland

I don't really understand the level of despondancy on this thread TBH. You can still go out. Just do it less, drive with fuel economy in mind, and plan a bit more carefully. With a 20% increase if you go out 20% less often or 20% less further, or 10% less often with a 10% increase in mpg etc.

If prices double, then things will be a lot more desparate.

BillScarab

mary43 wrote: »

We're due for a visit to MIL in a fortnight -that'll be a long journey so OH has been buying petrol a little bit each week rather than fork out a big amount when we go.

But surely you're going to end up wasting petrol with lots of trips to the garage? You'd be better filling up now, the price is more likely to go up more than come down the way things are at the moment.

thor

sparrer wrote: »

Unfortunately public transport isn't a possibility as I don't have a railway station nearby, and she doesn't have a bus stop. Oh, the joys of living in the country!

Oh, the joys of living under a Labour government :mad:

I don't understand how people can think that cutting taxes on fuel is the answer to all our problems. It will only be a minor fix at best. Oil is running out and the cost will only rise(the rises in recent years has dwarfed the increases in fuel duty which has been very small). The days of cheap commodities are over and ultimately we will have to find alternative energy sources(I wish they would hurry up with nuclear fusion). We should now be conserving energy and recycling(as well as cycling where possible) cause in the not too distant future we will be doing so out of neccessity.

Pound

Here's how I'm coping:

sparrer

thor wrote: »

I don't understand how people can think that cutting taxes on fuel is the answer to all our problems. It will only be a minor fix at best. Oil is running out and the cost will only rise(the rises in recent years has dwarfed the increases in fuel duty which has been very small). The days of cheap commodities are over and ultimately we will have to find alternative energy sources(I wish they would hurry up with nuclear fusion). We should now be conserving energy and recycling(as well as cycling where possible) cause in the not too distant future we will be doing so out of neccessity.

I agree that cutting tax on fuel is not the answer. I do however think that this government is taking the mickey by putting petol prices up 3 times in one week. I am reliant on my car as there is little transport in this area. As I said, I have cut back drastically and other than the minthly trips to visit my relative I use less than 1 gallon of petrol a week. As for conserving/recycling, I had my ch on for 5 evenings over the winter, making use instead of hot water bottles, jumpers and blankets, and am very much in favour of recycling everything possible as evidenced by my 3/4 empty wheelie bin every fortinght..