Are high fuel costs making you think about downgrading?
Discussion
I have just filled my motorbike up and was shocked that i cost me £30 to do so.
I have been looking to buy a Jag F type 3 litre but having used £60 in fuel in the last 2 days in the bike ,i am beginning to think maybe i will stick with the bike for my fun.
Has anyone filled their car up lately and thought thats it.. Time to sell up and get something more frugal?
I have been looking to buy a Jag F type 3 litre but having used £60 in fuel in the last 2 days in the bike ,i am beginning to think maybe i will stick with the bike for my fun.
Has anyone filled their car up lately and thought thats it.. Time to sell up and get something more frugal?
It certainly has crossed my mind to be fair. It is weird because I swapped the Mini Cooper S which did 40mpg, to a F82 M4 which is doing 28mpg...but I seem to be spending miles more on fuel than I ever did with the Mini.
I guess that when I do stick my foot down in the M4 it will really drink fuel, whereas in comparison the Mini was a lot smaller/lighter so it stayed pretty frugal regardless of how you drove it. The M4 is still great on fuel in comparison to a lot of the performance cars that I've had in the past though, but I just think that I'm feeling the cost a lot more now because of the current fuel prices.
I guess that when I do stick my foot down in the M4 it will really drink fuel, whereas in comparison the Mini was a lot smaller/lighter so it stayed pretty frugal regardless of how you drove it. The M4 is still great on fuel in comparison to a lot of the performance cars that I've had in the past though, but I just think that I'm feeling the cost a lot more now because of the current fuel prices.
No, well not yet anyway.
My Aston is a toy, and it only does 3000 miles a year, cost of fuel would have to rise significantly for me to part with that.
My daily is a convenience for me to get back and forth to work as I do rather unsociable shift work. It doesn’t get used for much else, max 4000 miles a year, long since paid for and just £180 a year to insure. It’s only a couple of years until I retire, so I’ll keep it till then and then make a decision on keeping it or changing for small/cheaper.
Family/wife’s car is a Mokka, not expensive to run, and despite it being absolutely a last choice for most PH types she loves it.
Finally we have a 2011 Hyundai i10. It’s my daughters car but gets used as a run around by us all and really is peanuts to run.
We don’t need 4 cars, but the cost of petrol isn’t yet enough to make us slim down the fleet.
Edited for typo.
My Aston is a toy, and it only does 3000 miles a year, cost of fuel would have to rise significantly for me to part with that.
My daily is a convenience for me to get back and forth to work as I do rather unsociable shift work. It doesn’t get used for much else, max 4000 miles a year, long since paid for and just £180 a year to insure. It’s only a couple of years until I retire, so I’ll keep it till then and then make a decision on keeping it or changing for small/cheaper.
Family/wife’s car is a Mokka, not expensive to run, and despite it being absolutely a last choice for most PH types she loves it.
Finally we have a 2011 Hyundai i10. It’s my daughters car but gets used as a run around by us all and really is peanuts to run.
We don’t need 4 cars, but the cost of petrol isn’t yet enough to make us slim down the fleet.
Edited for typo.
Edited by Emily's dad on Sunday 20th March 10:24
Lexington59 said:
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k no. At this point food and power are optional but I will never accelerate slowly or drive in a fuel efficient manner. Never!
Pretty much this. I'll be downgrading where I shop for food before downgrading on the car front. The Mini might see more duty but I doubt it!k no. At this point food and power are optional but I will never accelerate slowly or drive in a fuel efficient manner. Never!Lexington59 said:
fk no. At this point food and power are optional but I will never accelerate slowly or drive in a fuel efficient manner. Never!
This in a nutshell...I love driving cars and bikes which need fuel to run so they get that fuel, but I won't starve or get cold so everything is good.k no. At this point food and power are optional but I will never accelerate slowly or drive in a fuel efficient manner. Never!Last year, prompted by the desire to pay off a chunk of my mortgage as my five-year fixed rate was ending, and the fact that my Golf R was worth more than I had paid for it, I became the owner of a VW Up!
For once, I was ahead of the game. 65mpg is fine right now, as far as I'm concerned. I'll give it a couple of years, and see which way the automotive wind blows, as I'm not yet convinced by BEV's, and I think that the headlong rush, encouraged by Government (remember being encouraged to buy diesel?), will see a lot of very cheap electric cars on the secondhand market as the realisation that the current battery technology is flawed, and a five year old BEV becomes worthless as the cost of replacing the rapidly wilting battery pack is uneconomical.
Let's see what happens. I suspect that the hike in fossil fuel prices may suit the Government's "Green Agenda", and there might not be much of a political wish to reduce them. At least, not until the next General Election, when we might see a token gesture.
For once, I was ahead of the game. 65mpg is fine right now, as far as I'm concerned. I'll give it a couple of years, and see which way the automotive wind blows, as I'm not yet convinced by BEV's, and I think that the headlong rush, encouraged by Government (remember being encouraged to buy diesel?), will see a lot of very cheap electric cars on the secondhand market as the realisation that the current battery technology is flawed, and a five year old BEV becomes worthless as the cost of replacing the rapidly wilting battery pack is uneconomical.
Let's see what happens. I suspect that the hike in fossil fuel prices may suit the Government's "Green Agenda", and there might not be much of a political wish to reduce them. At least, not until the next General Election, when we might see a token gesture.
My Leon 1.4TSi averages 45mpg & currently I drive around 6k miles a year. Petrol increasing from 120p/litre to 170p will cost me an extra £1.30/week.
My wife's Clio is used almost exclusively for short journeys & only 2,500 miles per annum, but only averages 34mpg. 70p/week extra.
So we have no intention of changing cars or driving habits. My wife's next car (1.0T?) is certain to be more economic.
My wife's Clio is used almost exclusively for short journeys & only 2,500 miles per annum, but only averages 34mpg. 70p/week extra.
So we have no intention of changing cars or driving habits. My wife's next car (1.0T?) is certain to be more economic.
I have a fairly frugal 520d touring as a daily driver and a full tank now costs just under £120 (I use about 3 tanks a month)
Even if I went extreme and bought an EV (that’s as nice) the trade in difference would be massive far outweighing the cost of fuel I’m currently using.
Can’t EV anyway as need to tow race car and regularly do big trips.
Certainly no point trading to something more economical ice wise as it would be minor difference and still big trade on difference.
Even with fuel costs the most cost effective car is often the one you already own!
Even if I went extreme and bought an EV (that’s as nice) the trade in difference would be massive far outweighing the cost of fuel I’m currently using.
Can’t EV anyway as need to tow race car and regularly do big trips.
Certainly no point trading to something more economical ice wise as it would be minor difference and still big trade on difference.
Even with fuel costs the most cost effective car is often the one you already own!
Even with the current fuel prices it simply doesn't make financial sense for me. If I trade in my daily for something that does the same job but sips at petrol (or runs on electricity) I'd be spending much more on the cost of motoring than I am by pouring 98-RON into an 84-litre tank.
Also, I have some influence over my cost of fuel; if I decided I wanted to spend less on fuel I can drive a bit less, and I can drive a bit more efficiently/less enjoyably. Whereas I can't ring up Tesla to say "I've decided I want to pay less for my lease, you'll be getting £800 this month instead of £1,000".
(I appreciate if you have a job where you need to physically be somewhere at a specific time you don't have that luxury)
Also, I have some influence over my cost of fuel; if I decided I wanted to spend less on fuel I can drive a bit less, and I can drive a bit more efficiently/less enjoyably. Whereas I can't ring up Tesla to say "I've decided I want to pay less for my lease, you'll be getting £800 this month instead of £1,000".
(I appreciate if you have a job where you need to physically be somewhere at a specific time you don't have that luxury)
I filled up the F-Pace SVR the other day with V-Power and it was £129. I don't use it that often as I work from home and I really enjoy the car and the extra it added to the monthly fuel bill isn't that much in the grand scheme of things. Our day-to-day motoring needs though, such as nipping to the sops and the like are covered by our Panda, which is giving us 37mpg for around town. It's the 4x4 so it's MPG isn't brilliant for the size, but better than the 19mpg of the SVR. So no, not at the minute, I think it's a temporary blip in prices that will settle down in a bit. If it were more permanent and I had to commute, then I might consider getting a diesel auto SUV for that and longer journeys. We'd still keep the Panda as for what we're using it for it's a great car with plenty of character.
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