Are you going to have to change car because of fuel prices?

[DirtyDaily]

Wondering I'd anyone is in a similar situation as myself. I have 2 cars currently on the road one being a Jag XJ 4.2 V8 and a volvo 240. Both do around 20mpg.

I've read around and predictions for fuel prices due to the on going crisis in the east is "almost certainly" going to drive fuel prices up to £2 a litre. The thought of this to me is galling. To the point where I will be spending approximately £100 a week on fuel. Now I could afford this but at this point I think spending that kind of money just to commute to work is galling. I have a third car which I thankfully obtain which is a rover 75 2 litre diesel. I suspect this will return ATLEAST 40mpg so ATLEAST halving my fuel bill. I am taking it in for an MOT this week or next and should it pass I think I'm going to remove the jag from my insurance and SORN it for a while until this all blows over (I hope it does...).

Question/subject for discussion is, is this another nail in the coffin of ICE vehicles? Say these prices stay at around £2 a litre my jag becomes a very expensive mode of transport as does the Volvo which I assume will reflect in their sale prices...

Anyone else thinking of buying a eco box for said troubled waters ahead? I think the ultimate hack in all this would be a PD engine or an old citroen diesel and feed it veg oil which I have also considered.

[Supernaut]

I've reconsidered getting rid of my 205 1.7D for something bigger to fit my mountain bike inside.

I may just start looking at a bike rack for the 205.

 

50mpg+ no matter how I drive it is quite favourable right now.

I just faff about in it for weeks without looking at the fuel gauge, as it barely moves. It's only a 40L tank too.

 

I was over in Cupar today and noticed it was £1.55 per litre for diesel right now. At Tesco.

Fuck. That.

[DirtyDaily]

205 diesel is peak motoring at the minute I imagine. I've become so accustomed to spending so much money on fuel I imagine reducing the fuel bill by so much will do me a world of good. I did initially offer my rover up for a swap but as I think about it I'm not so sure as I could go and buy another diesel but then there's the issue of potentially buying someone else's problems in a bad car.

[JJ0063]

I’m very lucky that Covid bringing work from home has now become permanent so I no longer have any commute.

This means in theory bar going to the shops etc I can just not drive whilst things are the way they are. The 335D averages 36mpg which for a 3 litre twin turbo is pretty damn good but if I were still doing 40 miles a day, I’d be looking to chop it in for a Golf or something that does 50+ mpg. 
 

[grogee]

Having just bought @djoptix's Saab 9-5 Aero I'm hoping I don't have to change. I'm starting a new job that's 30 miles away but it'll only be a couple of days a week. During the summer I can use my Puma which can manage 40mpg when grannied. The Saab will do 30mpg similarly driven which isn't too bad considering how quick it is and it's an auto. 

Much depends on what happens in Ukraine I think because the fuel prices are being heavily influenced by what goes on there. 

Saying that, it was above £1.50/here for a while before all that kicked off. I think I was banking on it dropping back to £1.20 soon, but those days are probably over. 

In a way I'm sort of pro-high fuel prices as I think a lot of people make unnecessary journeys and are wasteful in the way they drive - incentivising economical driving will hopefully have a positive impact on the environment. 

eg I've always thought that stretch of M1 around Sheffield that's 60mph is probably a good thing. 

[Fumbler]

I'm currently sinking £48.00 per week on petrol, and that's with a car that makes >50MPG routinely. This worries me slightly because I'm not in a position to just move closer to work.

[Timewaster]

My first thought, does this mean cheap jags and volvos? And fk me, what is @DirtyDailys fleet?! 

 

Fortunately I have a company fuel card and Mrs has a 206 hdi that does about 60mpg so long as I don't drive it. 

Today I saw £1.68 for diesel! 

 

[LightBulbFun]

Thankfully my car does about 50 miles to the gallon on a run, and at the worst case scenario of £2 a litre will "only" cost £40 to brim the tank in

which is not bad when you consider its 1970's Automatic  

[DirtyDaily]

I'm sort of pro-high fuel prices as I think a lot of people make unnecessary journeys and are wasteful in the way they drive - incentivising economical driving will hopefully have a positive impact on the environment. 

The post below is why just increasing prices isn't the answer. Cripples infrastructure and ultimately cripples the guys who can't afford it and pushing millions of people into poverty and increasing the class divide. I'm all for helping the environment, I'm in a very unfortunate position whereby my ultimate passion (cars) is going to be changing so much in to a way that won't suit the old school car fans. Being 25 and starting to earn more money by the time I get into my financial prime, my passion I suspect will be gone. Tough concept to get my head around.

[dozeydustman]

£1.72 a litre at Esso Tangmere this morning. I’ve upsized car through necessity of practicality as opposed to economy; once my resident parking permit arrives or I clear out the garage (whichever comes first) I’ll probably ride the bike to work most days, so hopefully all we’ll need a car for is shopping, transporting family and visiting friends/family around the country. At the moment we can afford the drop in mpgs as we only really do 1 long journey a month.

[DirtyDaily]

£2 a litre will be devastating. I know countless people who spend perilously close to how much they earn and these price rises for a huge amount of people and companies will push people under.

[DirtyDaily]

My first thought, does this mean cheap jags and volvos?
 

To buy yes. To run...

[Talbot]

Spotted 180.9p/litre for Diesel on my travels last week, which was indeed at a motorway services, but was enough to make me stop and think about the 3.0 TD inline-6 engine with old-fashioned slushbox that I was driving at the time, which even when grannied on a long motorway journey will never break 45mpg and usually gets low-mid 30s

But then I don't drive to work, so that somewhat balances things out.

You also have to take into account the fact that fuel actually isn't as expensive at the moment as it has been in the past.  This is a very interesting article:

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04712/SN04712.pdf

as the graph on page 23 shows, fuel was (in real terms) more expensive between about 2008 and 2015 than it is now.

[DirtyDaily]

Spotted 180.9p/litre for Diesel on my travels last week, which was indeed at a motorway services, but was enough to make me stop and think about the 3.0 TD inline-6 engine with old-fashioned slushbox that I was driving at the time, which even when grannied on a long motorway journey will never break 45mpg and usually gets low-mid 30s
But then I don't drive to work, so that somewhat balances things out.
You also have to take into account the fact that fuel actually isn't as expensive at the moment as it has been in the past.  This is a very interesting article:
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04712/SN04712.pdf
as the graph on page 23 shows, fuel was (in real terms) more expensive between about 2008 and 2015 than it is now.

I believe the severe price rises is due to the fact that we used to buy from Russia which obviously is difficult now. Logistically the infrastructure in place to buy from Russia is far superior than anywhere else currently and until something else is arranged or Putin is arrested for war crimes and a decent human being takes control of Russia then the end of this fuel crisis could be a VERY far from its end

[Soundwave]

My current Fabia 1.0 TSI pez does mid-50s on a commute, which is live-withable - especially now I only commute once or twice a week.

I am considering dropping my entire toy/shite fleet though. Sad to say, but the days of driving for pleasure are behind me I think. The MX5 in particular is pretty heavy on the juice for a sub 2 litre engine, although that might be more to do with how I drive it. But if I'm only going to potter about with it, what's the point of having it?

[Dyslexic Viking]

I have previously found that for me it is best to have a fuel efficient and economical car as the main car. And then have the other cars for occasional use. Having an economical main car also has the advantage that the money it saves me I can spend on the other cars which helps me to be able to afford to own several cars.

[AnnoyingPentium]

My Fabia is doing something in the region of 30-42mpg, often being at the lower end of that spectrum sadly. That makes the difference from 300 to 420 miles to a tank, however. Ideally I could do with something that could eke out a few more MPGs than what I'm getting at the moment as I was chucking £45 in it every two or so weeks, but that could be closer to £50-£60 which means my £625 a month is going to piss away quicker than before. Argh.

Problem for me trying to change is money, or a lack thereof. Sure, I could sell the Fabia and get something more economical, but I don't have a stopgap for the meantime. So could just be a matter of granny-ing the Fabia until all this shite calms down... if it calms down.

[DirtyDaily]

I have previously found that for me it is best to have a fuel efficient and economical car as the main car. And then have the other cars for occasional use. Having an economical main car also has the advantage that the money it saves me I can spend on the other cars which helps me to be able to afford to own several cars.

I had a 1 litre classic mini and a 1.3 1992 polo when I was 17. Since then all my cars have been awful to the gallon. This I think now has to change.

[rainagain]

I was working from home during the pandemic. Annoyingly my boss is a complete old school asshat who insists I now go back to site everyday. So sixty miles, five days a week. Even if I know I’m going to have a day of pure Excel sheet bashing. I was getting an average of 45-50 in my 307 so it will be interesting to see what I get in my Saab once I get it on the road. I’ve had a recent enforced two weeks wfh as my useless insurance economy still haven’t sorted me out with a hire car. 
 

I’m really hoping once I do get back on the road I can persuade my boss to let me hybrid work. But based on previous dealings with him I doubt it. 

[Wibble]

Diesel is £1.79 locally at both Esso and shell 

[lisbon_road]

I get around 40 mpg on lpg @ a price of between 60p/litre and about 90p/litre.  Not a lot available round here.  People didn't use it, so we lost it, or are gradually loosing it.  What a surprise, but in Birmingham and other areas, it is still very much alive. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

10 minutes ago, DirtyDaily said:

12 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I have previously found that for me it is best to have a fuel efficient and economical car as the main car. And then have the other cars for occasional use. Having an economical main car also has the advantage that the money it saves me I can spend on the other cars which helps me to be able to afford to own several cars.

I had a 1 litre classic mini and a 1.3 1992 polo when I was 17. Since then all my cars have been awful to the gallon. This I think now has to change.

We all have our different opinions but I believe that having a car that is reliable and economical is an important part of a car enthusiast's car fleet. And this makes me appreciate the others more and is great and relaxing to have a car that is like white goods I think.

[DirtyDaily]

I get around 40 mpg on lpg @ a price of between 60p/litre and about 90p/litre.  Not a lot available round here.  People didn't use it, so we lost it, or are gradually loosing it.  What a surprise, but in Birmingham and other areas, it is still very much alive. 

That's another good alternative if you can find a decent LPG system car. I've always been turned off by these for fear of unreliability and cost to fix but I suspect that's more scare mongering than actual founded experiences.

[TrabbieRonnie]

It's outrageous that people with cheap old cars that can easily do 40mpg are still having to worry about being able to afford getting to work...  What the fuck kind of governance allows the economy to get to that stage??!!

Whatever flavour party you side with, they don't appear to have a clue about the life they are imposing on the working population.  

Or worse, maybe they do.  

[Jazoli]

Its making me consider that filling my motorcycle up with 2 tanks of fuel will now cost me £60 for a day out, which used to be at least once a week, I work a mile from home so mpg doesn't really matter (and my saab is only averaging 24mpg because of this), the bike may seriously have to go if this upward rise continues, I can neither justify or afford it.

[DirtyDaily]

It's outrageous that people with cheap old cars that can easily do 40mpg are still having to worry about being able to afford getting to work...  What the fuck kind of governance allows the economy to get to that stage??!!
Whatever flavour party you side with, they don't appear to have a clue about the life they are imposing on the working population.  
Or worse, maybe they do.  

It's true. It's a very very sorry state of affairs. I don't want this thread to derail into a slanging match between where you are on the political spectrum. I have a lot of time for people on both sides however I have 0 time for people that anyway defend this current government. We are at a point whereby they have made 99.9% of the people of this country worse off financially.

[RoverFolkUs]

40 ish MPG out of a MK2 Focus 1.6 Petrol. (Cost £75-80 to fill when light comes on,  @ ~£1.54/L)

Can just manage comfortably at the moment as that lasts 2 weeks. I CBA finding another car as anything alternative thats remotely interesting to me would most likely want E5 or diesel, so no saving at all

I have been reliably* informed that the BP at the bottom of the A23 was £1.66 petrol this morning  That's not even a motorway services price. It was £1.54 yesterday  WTF is going on to jump 12p overnight?!

[DirtyDaily]

Question also being say £2 a litre is only the start. I could easily see this becoming a new normal and further a push to getting people in to electric cars that a large proportion of people cant realistically afford. The money I would be spending to put fuel in my Jag would equate to the monthly lease on a tesla model 3. Running these old cars is going to become a horrendous financial burden.

[djoptix]

I suspect my answer to this sums up The Problems With This Country perfectly...

No, I won't change car, because I can't afford to.

However, there is one easy way I can mitigate the fuel cost increase: charge more for my work. This is going to hit customers, who by and large are Normal People just trying to make ends meet. I don't like it, but fuck it, with fuel and materials at sky high prices I've got to make a living.

[RoverFolkUs]

1 minute ago, DirtyDaily said:

Question also being say £2 a litre is only the start. I could easily see this becoming a new normal and further a push to getting people in to electric cars that a large proportion of people cant realistically afford. The money I would be spending to put fuel in my Jag would equate to the monthly lease on a tesla model 3. Running these old cars is going to become a horrendous financial burden.

There would however become a point where people say NO, and begin to only use the car sparingly, so demand plummets and so does price. For that reason I don't think the only way is up from this point, it should hopefully stop and the bubble burst at some point