Fuel...is it really that expensive?

[Zeb]

Consider this:

4 people go on holiday for a week and travel 1000 miles.
Car does 50 mpg.

Even at £6 a gallon that works out at £30 per person for 1000 miles of travel.

Which is actually not bad at all


Ok, well, it cheered me up briefly

[Raistlin]

Hmm...

I wonder if that isn't the reason both government and commerce feel they can ram it to us

How very British to try and find the silver lining in even the darkest cloud.

[GreyGhost]

I think he should have another holiday.

[Zeb]

Originally Posted by Grey Ghost

I think he should have another holiday.

Now THAT is a demmed good idea old chap


The most expensive diesel I saw down in Dorset was £1.35 per litre...

[tourerfogey]

Originally Posted by Zeb

Consider this:

4 people go on holiday for a week and travel 1000 miles.
Car does 50 mpg.

Even at £6 a gallon that works out at £30 per person for 1000 miles of travel.

Which is actually not bad at all


Ok, well, it cheered me up briefly

Ahh, but to find the real cost of the trip you have to take into account:

The cost of buying the car
Any finance charges on the car
Depreciation
Insurance
VED
General running costs
Wear and tear

How'd you feel now Zeb?

[MGOracle]

No its not really that expensive

It costs me (well nothing), but it costs the company an extra £66 a month than it did 6 years ago when fuel was 79.9p and both cars did 15k a year.

[Zeb]

Originally Posted by tourerfogey

Ahh, but to find the real cost of the trip you have to take into account:

The cost of buying the car
Any finance charges on the car
Depreciation
Insurance
VED
General running costs
Wear and tear

How'd you feel now Zeb?

Quite so Basil, quite so....however, the question was 'Fuel.....is it really that expensive?'

So those items, were, in this context, irrelevant

However, to take your point, in my own case:

Cost of buying the car £12,500
Finance charges £0.00
Depreciation £2,500 in 20 months = £31.25 per week
VED £165 pa = £3.18 per week
General running costs £650 in 20 months = £8.12 per week
Wear & tear -approx £300? pa = £6.25 per week

Total £48.80 per week (ouch!)

So, £48.80 + £120 fuel = £168.80 divided by 4 = £42.20

Now, how else could I travel in mechanised transport 1000 miles for £42.20 in the UK?

To answer your question Basil, I still feel quite good about that overall

[tourerfogey]

So you'll be deducting the £42.20 each from your kid's pocket money then Zeb?

[Zeb]

Originally Posted by tourerfogey

So you'll be deducting the £42.20 each from your kid's pocket money then Zeb?

Absolutely Basil, absolutely

[carlpenn]

I try and look at it this way:

Loaf of Bread in 1993 - £0.55p
Loaf of Bread in 2008 - £1:12

Increase of 67p in 15 Years


Litre of Petrol in 1993 - £0.69.9
Litre of Petrol in 2008 - £1.13.9p

Increase of 44p in 15 Years.

not perfect, but it helps me cope