Are P Prices Affecting Std Living?

[ardandy 0]

Is the price of todays petrol affecting your standard life stuff yet?

 

Like not going to x because it'd be too expensive or changing your car purely because of its MPG?

 

I think it's getting to the point where it's really impacting normal life decisions!

[Walesy 0]

yes

[timg60 0]

Oh YES

[DIGGER B 0]

My buddys selling his R32 :shock: due to the cost of tax and fuel :cuckoo:

 

 

stu

[davidwort 0]

I think the really worrying thing is that it takes many months for hikes like this to feed through into really affecting peoples lives on necessities, most people have a bit of leway for a while with overdrafts and credit cards but if things continue the way they are for the rest of the year we'll be seeing the knock on effects from the downturn in retail and service sector on jobs eventually.

My take is things are only just starting to get hard, we're going to be in for a bad few years yet.

I notice the fuel price increase on my own monthly outgoings but the cost to companies of 30% increases in fuel for all those company vehicles has got to have a pretty serious impact in the medium/long term.

[dinkus 10]

I'd say that yes, fuel prices are affecting what people do on a daily basis and their choice of car.

 

To some extent, it's a good thing as it makes you think a bit more about how much fuel you're using and pollution you're generating... but there's a limit.

 

Some discomfort for using a thirsty car is a good thing, making fuel so cripplingly expensive that you can't afford to drive the car you want/need is not. Particularly when the alternatives to driving are inadequete, expensive and crap.

 

Similarly, the government seems to be pushing better fuel economy, but nobody seems to be taking into account that old cars need to be disposed of. There's also nobody thinking about all of the energy needed and pollution produced from making a new car.

 

Ho hum, I live next door to work, so walk each day. Sure the VR's thirsty, but I only ever use it for fun, so I don't really care that it's £80 to fill the tank.

[g60karmann 0]

looking completely environmentally here it is becoming a larger problem when mass amounts of people are getting rid of their car for newer cars.

 

my reasoning is the same as the idiotic idea of upgrading your mobile every year

 

If it ain't broke don't bin it

 

more raw materials comsumption, waste and damage to the environment occurs from the production and servicing of a car than getting 45mpg instead of 25mpg. CO2 isn't the issue wate for the sake of waste is.

 

I personally think petrol is still cheap for what it takes to get / refine / deliver, admitidly if it was cheaper I wouldn't complain.

 

What I don't understand is why the TAX is so high on petrol and then we have to pay another seperate road TAX?!?! and when our roads are so cr@p as well?!?!?

[coolrado 0]

It's not so bad for me at the moment as i have a company van and fuel card for commuting so the corrado is just for fun.

 

Although it would take a massive increase in fuel prices for me to even consider changing cars, and even then it would be pointless selling it as it would probably be worthless.

My G60 averages about 30MPG which i dont think is that bad considering the brand new 08 reg renault clio i hired to drive up to teeside last week averaged 38MPG when taking it very easy and that thing maxed out at 110mph and was a truely horrible car to drive.

 

Yes the fuel prices might have an effect on me but i would rather cut back in other areas and still drive the corrado.

[g60karmann 0]

yeah live off of bread, cheese and water before giving up the rado... mmm cheese

[Walesy 0]

I think the really worrying thing is that it takes many months for hikes like this to feed through into really affecting peoples lives on necessities, most people have a bit of leway for a while with overdrafts and credit cards but if things continue the way they are for the rest of the year we'll be seeing the knock on effects from the downturn in retail and service sector on jobs eventually.

My take is things are only just starting to get hard, we're going to be in for a bad few years yet.

I notice the fuel price increase on my own monthly outgoings but the cost to companies of 30% increases in fuel for all those company vehicles has got to have a pretty serious impact in the medium/long term.

 

Totaly agree, and it's been a long time coming.

[mrbeige 0]

Without a doubt, yes! I think it's all very well having a large amount of duty on fuel and pushing more economical cars, but the people it affects most are those who can't afford to buy a new car that IS fuel efficient. So surely it is counter productive to increase fuel duty. As the people who can afford it don't care, the people who can't afford it are forced to. We have a 306 DTurbo, which although is ok on fuel, Diesel is more expensive. With our recent journey down to the south west in the Pug compared to the journey up to Scotland in the Toad-meisters Valver, the comparable cost on a per mile basis was about the same. Not only that the 306, although a diesel, is on the same tax band as the Corrado. We can't afford to change the 306 to a newer car with better efficiency to reduce our running costs.

 

Some discomfort for using a thirsty car is a good thing, making fuel so cripplingly expensive that you can't afford to drive the car you want/need is not. Particularly when the alternatives to driving are inadequate, expensive and crap.

 

I heartily agree. All this fuel duty and [strike:1avr29e6]road[/strike:1avr29e6]stealth tax doesn't go towards anything to do with the transport system as a whole I'm sure, which in this country is a joke. I could get the bus to work, but to get to work before 9am, I'd need to walk to the end of my road, grab the bus, 45minute journey, then walk 1.5miles. So, about 1.25hours. Or I could get in the car and it take 20minutes. If I leave it til after 10, then I can get the bus from the end of my road straight to work, in 40 minutes. What is the point of that? It suits the local pensioners, but not us younguns :censored: Oh and a return ticket is £5 - £25 a week...which is more that the fuel and road tax would cost for the car on a weekly basis :cuckoo:

 

My take is things are only just starting to get hard, we're going to be in for a bad few years yet.

I notice the fuel price increase on my own monthly outgoings but the cost to companies of 30% increases in fuel for all those company vehicles has got to have a pretty serious impact in the medium/long term.

I think that the government realises this, but really doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. The whole credit crunch thing will affect people hugely. Mortagage repayments coupled with additional cost of fuel, which effects all sorts of other services, most notably the food industry, is going to reduce dramatically peoples 'pleasure money' and overall spending, which in turn will increase the downturn in the economy and so on and so forth. I think they need to think about the whole situation with a larger overview than just the 'mortgage' issue. I will be business and industry that will see the effects too

[skinnyman9000 0]

In a way we have gotten off lightly. Last year petrol was £0.90 a litre and oil was at $50 a barrel. Now oil is at $120 a barrel, and petrol is at £1.10, so it terms of oil price rises we've not done too bad.

 

Then you have to consider the fact that oil is likely to hit $200 by the end of the year, and all this is only not hitting us because of the weak dollar. IF the dollar increases AND oil hits $200 a barrel then things will go seriously tits up!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Petrol costs have been rising steeply for the past 10 years, so no one can deny this wasn't predictable and expected. It's all part of the "cost of living" and fluctuating prices should be budgeted for.

 

Current prices are unprecedented, granted, but what strikes me as odd is no one is publically protesting when diesel is now £1.20 a litre and 95 is £1.09?....but when 95 rose to 90p a litre 3 (?) years ago, there was uproar!.

 

This is exactly what the bafoons in power want. They want us to bend over and take it, constantly poking us to find our breaking points, then they'll drop prices back to 90p a litre again and voila, petrol is "cheap" again. Coke "classic" anyone?

 

I'm sorry but I am finding these petrol price threads slightly irritating to be honest. You just can't go out and buy a performance car on the one hand if it's a stretch, and then complain you can't afford to run it on the other for reasons beyond your control. Money is exactly in your control and you live to your means.

 

Not trying to be grumpy or lecturey, just accepting reality :lol:

[Walesy 0]

Exactly, and I fully agree that we've all allowed this to happen by bending over and taking it, raw.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Been saying it for years, the British queing masses just don't and won't stand up for their rights :roll:

[g60karmann 0]

I accept that I will put 97-98RON fuel in my car and that it will drink through it like no mans business but what I don't like taking is a stiff hard shafting in the arse in the shape of 52.35p per litre TAX!!!!! how does that seem fair? when i was in belguim a couple of months back I filled my car up for about £45... thats £15 cheaper than UK and only a couple of hundered miles away.

 

Why hasn't petrol got the standard VAT 17.5% then noone would have any need to complain?

[Jim 2]

What I don't understand is, why with this huge spike in the cost of petrol, people are driving around in ever thirstier motors. I mean it when I say, I don't think i've seen as many Ferrari's, Porsches, big ass Range Rover Sports, and Audi ®S4's and S5's as I have in the last few months. Porsche's especially - I must see about 4 Boxsters a DAY.

 

I look at the pricing situation two ways. Firstly Labour are wankers - flat out wankers because they're making additional money every time petrol goes up because the tax is a percent of the total price, not a fixed amount. So why they don't help the public out a bit and reduce the tax percentage a bit I don't know.

 

Alternatively there are a lot of well priced, super economical cars out there today - all of us could afford to buy one. I admit they'd be soul-less bordedum boxes but you'd save a packet. The tax incentives are there on the smallest cars (free to tax!) not to mention the petrol savings... so its not like we have no choice but pump 100's of pounds of petrol into our car.

 

Maybe this rude awakening is what we need to break our dependence on petrol.

[g60karmann 0]

either that or we could run on pure meth :nuts:

[mrbeige 0]

Alternatively there are a lot of well priced, super economical cars out there today - all of us could afford to buy one.

I'd have to disagree there. I couldn't afford a new super economical car and I'm sure there are many others that can't either!

 

As others have said though, the shear amount of fuel duty is unbelievable AND VAT on top too! The government will be raking it in. Oh and now they are putting it up even more in October (IIRC)....hmmm. Unfortunately nothing will change as the British will not make a stand. I mean, 30% voted in the last round of elections, so it's clear that all though we are all moaners, not enough of us are complainers.

[davidwort 0]

fuel duty subsidises a lot of other things though, NHS etc... it's more acceptable as a tax to most as it's indirect, I've never paid it myself but I can remember my parents paying more than 1/3 of their income in income tax alone (bottom rate that was) although admittedly VAT was lower.

There's a massive public sector to support now and I'm sort of part of it, which is always puzzing as my taxation goes to pay my wages :? :scratch:

[g60karmann 0]

fuel duty subsidises a lot of other things though, NHS etc...

 

umm why is my petrol paying for the NHS :scratch: thought that was what my national insurance was for

[Kevin Bacon 5]

either that or we could run on pure meth :nuts:

 

Exactly, but whilst there is still oil in the ground, they won't hurry E85 out to the pumps.

[mrbeige 0]

fuel duty subsidises a lot of other things though, NHS etc...

 

umm why is my petrol paying for the NHS :scratch: thought that was what my national insurance was for

NAH, you got that wrong, national insurance pays for your huge government pension... :cuckoo: :scratch: The NHS is paid for by erm, erm.....

[coolrado 0]

The increase in the use of biofuels should boost business for valeters at least, the amount of rape seed pollen that was left on my car when it rained last week was unreal, and it seems to leave marks in the paint on a mate of mines car, his house is surrounded by rape fields.

[skinnyman9000 0]

Yeah, the last two times its rained my car has been covered in crap, whats all that about?!?!?