1 Mile 4 Petrol Stations & 4 Pence Per Litre
Discussion
The main road on the way to my work has 3 petrol stations on it. There is only 1 mile between all 3 of them and the price for unleaded is 141.9 at the first one, 139.9 at the second one, and 137.9 in the last one.
I drive past them most days of the week, each garage has its share of customers filling up when I pass, and this is what puzzles me- if the majority of people REALLY were worried about fuel costs, the most expensive garage would close due to being the most expensive, surely?
For what it's worth, they don't seem to take turns in being the dearest or cheapest, and I have kept an eye on the prices for a good while now, with the intention of makig this post. This is example is unleaded fuel BTW.
I drive past them most days of the week, each garage has its share of customers filling up when I pass, and this is what puzzles me- if the majority of people REALLY were worried about fuel costs, the most expensive garage would close due to being the most expensive, surely?
For what it's worth, they don't seem to take turns in being the dearest or cheapest, and I have kept an eye on the prices for a good while now, with the intention of makig this post. This is example is unleaded fuel BTW.
martin84 said:
People are REALLY that worried about fuel costs but the fuel is so expensive now that the difference between 137 and 139 is so small its pointless bothering with the cheapest. The cheapest station wont save you anything meaningful anymore.
Or 4p a litre cheapest to dearest. 
Stuck In A Lift said:
martin84 said:
People are REALLY that worried about fuel costs but the fuel is so expensive now that the difference between 137 and 139 is so small its pointless bothering with the cheapest. The cheapest station wont save you anything meaningful anymore.
Or 4p a litre cheapest to dearest. £120 saving doesnt mean much when you're spending a couple of grand or more a year on the fuel in the first place.
It also depends on where the station is. Whats the point in me driving 17 miles to the cheapest station I know of (135.9 last time i looked) when ive got one costing 142.9 roughly 300 yards from my house?
It also depends on where the station is. Whats the point in me driving 17 miles to the cheapest station I know of (135.9 last time i looked) when ive got one costing 142.9 roughly 300 yards from my house?
martin84 said:
£120 saving doesnt mean much when you're spending a couple of grand or more a year on the fuel in the first place.
It also depends on where the station is. Whats the point in me driving 17 miles to the cheapest station I know of (135.9 last time i looked) when ive got one costing 142.9 roughly 300 yards from my house?
True, but in the OP's example why would you drive along a road and fill up at the most expensive petrol station that you pass. I can fill up near home (143.9/L) or near work (139.9/L).It also depends on where the station is. Whats the point in me driving 17 miles to the cheapest station I know of (135.9 last time i looked) when ive got one costing 142.9 roughly 300 yards from my house?
I always make sure i fill up near work!
jimmy156 said:
Stuck In A Lift said:
martin84 said:
People are REALLY that worried about fuel costs but the fuel is so expensive now that the difference between 137 and 139 is so small its pointless bothering with the cheapest. The cheapest station wont save you anything meaningful anymore.
Or 4p a litre cheapest to dearest. matthias73 said:
jimmy156 said:
Stuck In A Lift said:
martin84 said:
People are REALLY that worried about fuel costs but the fuel is so expensive now that the difference between 137 and 139 is so small its pointless bothering with the cheapest. The cheapest station wont save you anything meaningful anymore.
Or 4p a litre cheapest to dearest. 
martin84 said:
£120 saving doesnt mean much when you're spending a couple of grand or more a year on the fuel in the first place.
It also depends on where the station is. Whats the point in me driving 17 miles to the cheapest station I know of (135.9 last time i looked) when ive got one costing 142.9 roughly 300 yards from my house?
£120 isn't a huge saving when you're spending a couple of thousand a year. What's an extra £50 on on your £400 car insurance quote, no point changing. I could save £10 a month if I moved electricity company, but what's £120 a year. Mobile contract, home phone & broadband, home insurance.......It also depends on where the station is. Whats the point in me driving 17 miles to the cheapest station I know of (135.9 last time i looked) when ive got one costing 142.9 roughly 300 yards from my house?
It soon mounts up!
Shotgun Rider said:
£120 isn't a huge saving when you're spending a couple of thousand a year. What's an extra £50 on on your £400 car insurance quote, no point changing. I could save £10 a month if I moved electricity company, but what's £120 a year. Mobile contract, home phone & broadband, home insurance.......
It soon mounts up!
So it might do but that doesnt change the fact that £120 will be wiped out next year by another tax increase, sure you might still be able to save £120 compared to another station but my argument is when salaries arent increasing and fuel is then the savings become more manufactured rather than meaningful. You're ripped off either way.It soon mounts up!
jimmy156 said:
True, but in the OP's example why would you drive along a road and fill up at the most expensive petrol station that you pass. I can fill up near home (143.9/L) or near work (139.9/L).
Last time I did exactly that was on a road with BP on the right side which was cheaper than Shell literally 200 yards down on the left. It was incredibly busy and turning right to get into BP would've taken longer than just turning left into Shell. Both garages have been there long enough and ones always been more expensive than the other so I suppose that must be a reason.croyde said:
This is my point exactly as when the government put up fuel tax by a couple of pence everyone goes nuts yet the petrol stations appear to be raising the price on a weekly basis and no one says anything.
Because the Government are still the problem. I've no problem paying 60p a litre for a product which a company has to drill out of the ground, ship, refine and deliver to us. Its the extra 80p to the Government who do f
k all in the process who annoy me.Its notable Fair Fuel UK portray the price in pence-per-gallon. A 3p a litre duty increase doesnt sound like much but 12p a gallon + VAT sounds like more. Pricing it in litres must be a psychological trick, in the US its priced in gallons.
matthias73 said:
jimmy156 said:
Stuck In A Lift said:
martin84 said:
People are REALLY that worried about fuel costs but the fuel is so expensive now that the difference between 137 and 139 is so small its pointless bothering with the cheapest. The cheapest station wont save you anything meaningful anymore.
Or 4p a litre cheapest to dearest. 
martin84 said:
croyde said:
This is my point exactly as when the government put up fuel tax by a couple of pence everyone goes nuts yet the petrol stations appear to be raising the price on a weekly basis and no one says anything.
Because the Government are still the problem. I've no problem paying 60p a litre for a product which a company has to drill out of the ground, ship, refine and deliver to us. Its the extra 80p to the Government who do fk all in the process who annoy me.Its notable Fair Fuel UK portray the price in pence-per-gallon. A 3p a litre duty increase doesnt sound like much but 12p a gallon + VAT sounds like more. Pricing it in litres must be a psychological trick, in the US its priced in gallons.
croyde said:
True and I am assuming that all governments across Europe must tax it at the same rate as us considering that their fuel is equal to ours in price and in some cases more expensive.
Well to give some examples, in Germany petrol is taxed at (converted to GBP) 54pence a litre for petrol and 39pence a litre for Diesel as well as 19% VAT making the average price around £1.40 a litre for petrol and £1.26 a litre for diesel. Their diesel is over 20p a litre cheaper than ours. Holland has high fuel taxes for sure, 58pence per litre + 19% VAT.Last months figures show petrol in France is around £1.33ppl, Denmark is at £1.47 being one of very few countries more expensive than us with Italy and Norway being the other two at £1.50 and £1.58 respectively. Spain on the other hand is £1.15, Switzerland £1.17, Poland £1.12, Belgium (who make most of our laws for us) £1.30 and Portugal £1.29.
More startling differences are seen when you compare the price of diesel. We already saw Germany's is 20p a litre cheaper than us. Holland (famed for high fuel taxes) has diesel at £1.17 a litre, Spain £1.11, Ireland £1.30, Belgium £1.17, France £1.20 and so on...
For petrol we're not quite the highest, but on diesel it looks like us in the UK are getting ripped off.
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