How much extra are you spending on petrol?

S

Shawady

Registered User
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I'm lucky I work close to home but have noticed I am spending €35 a week on petrol whereas last year I might have got away with €25. Doesn't sound like a lot but it is an extra €500 a year.
There must be people that spend a lot more on petrol and are feeling the recent price increases.
 
Have a diesal which takes the sting a little bit out of it, drive around 5-600 miles a week and would out approx 40 litres a week in, so it's proably costing me €4-€500 a year.

It's easily solved, just takes the new Govt to reduce taxes on fuel, even if it were only a temporary measure until oil drops down to a particuler price per barrel
 
Not so much in the last year, but in the last 2 years our car fuel spending is up about 35% per month.
Average 2 years was about 102.9:
Average today is about 149.9:

One reason is taxation; I believe that in the infinite stupidity of government about 14c per liter have been added through carbon taxes, excise duty and VAT in the last 2 years.
Second reason is inflation created by monetary policies of central banks around the world.
Third reason is decreased supply of oil due to unrest in Libya especially.
 

Yeah, Diesel makes a big difference alright.

As for a temporary reduction in taxes on fuel, why not make it a permanent reduction? Government already takes about 70% of the money you hand over at a petrol station which is a scandalously high amount.
 

I have read that Libya supplies less than 2% of the current world oil supplies. The other oil producing countries could easily replace this deficit.
 
It now takes about €80 to fill my car and I get 400KMs to the tank, almost 20MPG, lucky I dont drive to work
 
Westie123 said:
I have read that Libya supplies less than 2% of the current world oil supplies. The other oil producing countries could easily replace this deficit.
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Libya may only supply 2% of the worlds oil supply, but it supplies over 20% of Irelands oil supply.
[broken link removed]
 
Due partly to the large increases in fuel costs, I decided to take up cycling to work 2-3 times a week. My drive to work is 17 miles one way (takes 30 minutes), whilst my cycle route is 11 miles (takes 40-45 minutes) one way. I generally get 350-375 miles out of a tank of fuel, which costs me about €55 at the moment so I calculate that I am saving a tank of fuel every 3 to 4 weeks. I bought a good bike (GT) second hand for €280 and I believe I am already looking at savings even considering that (I got the bike at the end of August).

I have also stopped unnecessary journeys, walk the 2 miles to my friends house and shop a lot closer to home. If my parents didn't live 280 miles a way up North, might even consider dropping the car altogether!
 
I now do 100 kph on the Motorway instead of 120 kph. Due to this, the rise is negligible; I get more out of each litre. If on a single lane road, I keep to whatever the limit is though ... there's nothing more annoying than people driving under the limit on same when conditions are perfect.

I believe they've introduced a revised temporary speed limit in Spain?
 
Westie123 said:
The other oil producing countries could easily replace this deficit.
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What are you basing this assumption on? Jim Rogers, an international commodity investor, has in recent weeks repeatedly said that the likes of Saudi Arabia are not able to ramp up production significantly enough. And this is becoming ever more evident with OPEC delaying a decision on actually increasing production, rather than just saying they are in favour of doing so.

Petermack said:
Libya may only supply 2% of the worlds oil supply, but it supplies over 20% of Irelands oil supply.
[broken link removed]
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting Petermack, very interesting figure. I'm glad I filled up the oil tank 4 weeks ago.
 
WicklowMan said:
I now do 100 kph on the Motorway instead of 120 kph.
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Does this make a difference?
I remember hearing before that not having the radio on saves approx 2% on the petrol bill.

Any other tips to get more miles per litre?
 
Not sure about the radio, but defo the aircon is one to turn off. Really though the savings are in driving style, not doing hard acceleration & braking etc.
Someone doing 100KPH on motorway though while economical is very annoying for richer motorists who dont care about petrol costs
 

It shouldn't be a problem, unless they are doing 100 KM/H in the overtaking lane. That really annoys me.
 
Shawady said:
Does this make a difference?
I remember hearing before that not having the radio on saves approx 2% on the petrol bill.

Any other tips to get more miles per litre?
Click to expand...

It is well known that accelaration wastes petrol.

I have an instant fuel usage indicator on the car.

Cruising at 100km/h uses about 8l/100km. When I put the foot down to go to 120km/hr, this goes up to 9 or 10l/100km.

I do very little motorway driving, so it doesn't affect my overall bill, but it could for some people.

My monthly fuel bill has gone from 65 a month a year ago to about 75 now.
 
Yeah, Diesel makes a big difference alright.
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Does it?

I've noticed that as fuel prices rise, the percentage difference between petrol and diesel is reducing.
 
Generally you will get a lot more miles per gallon (or kilometers per litre) from diesel.
 
Shawady said:
Any other tips to get more miles per litre?
Click to expand...

Taking off the roof bars, when not needed, is something I have long believed to be true, but am not sure if there's any basis for this.

Something about them increasing wind drag which reduces fuel economy ?

Getting my 10yo son to cycle 10 minutes to the library, instead of being driven, is another way to reduce fuel usage . He still considers this to be some form of abuse .
 
On my local TV news here in the English Midlands there was a report of a petrol station charging 139.9p per litre for unleaded and 147.9p per litre for diesel. (Prices are in sterling.)

Fortunately, that is in the North of the county and we live about 40 miles south.
 
I noticed a woman in a BMW beside me at the traffic lights switching on her engine just as the lights were about to change to green. I remember reading somewhere that switching off your engine at the traffic lights then switching them back on again when you are ready to move actually causes you to use more petrol. Is this true?

In my case I now try to do as many things on the one trip rather than spread them out over a few days such as shopping, banking, visiting etc. On the other days I busy myself with chores around the house/garden so I don't need to start my car at all on some days.

For those people living in satellite towns who work in the city I can only imagine how much this is going to add to their annual outgoings.
 

This is part of the "Efficient Dynamics" technology in new BMWs. I think new Volvos have the same auto start stop system in some of their new cars. Basically, if the car is at stand still and the clutch pedal is not engaged then the engine stops. As soon as you press down the clutch the engine starts again. I wouldn't do this on a normal car, as they use a specially tuned starter motor that makes this turning on and off of the engine more efficient.
 
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