Fuel Prices: What price is your 'tipping' point ? (1 Viewer)

scotjimland

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Yes, yet another thread on fuel costs I here you mutter... but a specific question ...

We now find it hard enough just running a car .. and have decided not to buy another motorhome..
We were contemplating a smallish caravan.. but even that is looking less likely as fuel costs soar .. so our tipping point has been reached at £6 per gallon... :Sad:

So..

At what price per gallon will you say enough is enough then either sell and give up motorhoming, or downsize ? 6,7,8,9,10 pounds ... or more per gallon ?

If you are wealthy, you may say never.. but I suspect there are few in that fortunate position.
 

Road Runner

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I need my car but gone are they day's when I use to go for a run for pleasure.

In my village a meat van, veg van, fizz van, milk man still come and the older folk support them but their days are numbered.

Was thinking though the window cleaner charges £7 a house and does at least 10 houses in a morning (£70) not bad for a ladder and bucket and the will to work.
 

dazzer

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Hi Jim

I think you should make this a poll to get a good feedback. (might be an idea to use £ per ltr rather than per gallon as it does get a bit confusing trying to convert!!)

For what its worth the cost of fuel is what it is, people will always find ways of filling up if thats what they want to do.

I think most people who have just spend tens of thousands of pounds on a motorhome (or have similar amounts tied up in existing vehicles) must have taken stock of running costs when they bought it and decided it was worth the investment. I think if you cant afford to run it, as and when you want to, most people would sell rather than having it sat loosing thousands of pounds a year doing nothing.

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Terry

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Already reached :ROFLMAO: but I will not be changing the car or van :ROFLMAO: The wife will not let me :Doh::cry:The car does not do many mpg but it does not go far these days::bigsmile: and the van does not matter as we are on holiday :thumb: and as such do not really care about costs :Eeek: just about chilling out.:thumb: I even though about making bio diesel but when I asked about chip oil he told me he has posh filters in the fryers and he only ever tops up with fresh veg oil and never has to change it :cry:
terry
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Hi Jim

I think you should make this a poll to get a good feedback. (might be an idea to use £ per ltr rather than per gallon as it does get a bit confusing trying to convert!!)


Good idea dazzer.. should have thought of that, tried to edit but can't add a poll now.

Us old fartes still think in gallons and pounds .. :roflmto:
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Already reached :ROFLMAO: but I will not be changing the car or van :ROFLMAO: The wife will not let me :Doh::cry:The car does not do many mpg but it does not go far these days::bigsmile: and the van does not matter as we are on holiday :thumb: and as such do not really care about costs :Eeek: just about chilling out.:thumb:
terry

Hi Terry
so, even if it reaches £10 per gallon, ( £2.22 per liter for you young uns :roflmto:) you will still keep it .. ? There must be a point when you say .. no, enough is enough. ?

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Wildman

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already reached my limit and nothing to economise on i will keep the van until april next year then if no improvement in prices or circumstances will sell and hang up my road map.:cry::cry::cry::cry:
 

Terry

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Hi Terry
so, even if it reaches £10 per gallon, ( £2.22 per liter for you young uns :roflmto:) you will still keep it .. ? There must be a point when you say .. no, enough is enough. ?

Cannot say that Jim-- I remember ten bob a gallon :ROFLMAO: so you speak my language :winky: The truck/car was the last vehicle my son bought for me before he died and as such will be run into the ground before we part with it :Sad: and the van in my mind does not owe us anything from the use previously so throwing fuel in it is just about all it costs and the freedom that allows us is worth paying for.
terry

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dylan

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Interesting Jim, we have noticed that a couple of years ago motorhomers were coming to stay from all over the country but it seems this year already a pattern is forming our customers are coming from mostly South Wales. Fuel prices have taken their toll and customers are not travelling so far.
 

Road Runner

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What really upsets me is I am finally free to do things now I am going to be priced out of touring.
 

lorger

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Good question Jim id love to say never as i love going away in mh but i do suppose there will come a time when we say we cant afford it but then how will we go on holiday as flights will be a lot more expensive i know they dont use petrol but they will be higher.

When we bought the mh we sold my car and managed with Lorraine's but last sept i bought my self a new civic so have 2 cars again but i also have a 50cc scooter that i use for going to work and the golf course Lors car hasn't moved this year and tax up end of month so its going up for sale. If anyone is looking for a ford puma 1.4 s reg with only 57k on clock let me know.

My scooter does 100mpg i filled it up the other day thats the second time this year. £15 to tax and £60 for insurance so money we save with that will pay the extra for mh.

Gerry

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Interesting Jim, we have noticed that a couple of years ago motorhomers were coming to stay from all over the country but it seems this year already a pattern is forming our customers are coming from mostly South Wales. Fuel prices have taken their toll and customers are not travelling so far.

Hi

thanks, I think this pattern will be repeated around the country..

Most folks ( except Terry :roflmto: ) only have so much to spend on fuel so will travel less miles each year, take fewer and shorter trips until they get to the 'tipping' point where they consider it is no longer worth paying VED, Insurance, MOT etc etc. to keep it on the road.. :Sad:
 

jhorsf

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I remember two stroke 7 and 9d a gallon:thumb:

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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Good question Jim id love to say never as i love going away in mh but i do suppose there will come a time when we say we cant afford it but then how will we go on holiday as flights will be a lot more expensive i know they dont use petrol but they will be higher.

Gerry

Hi Gerry

yes, you are quite correct, air travel is already becoming more expensive ..

We may go back to the 50s where and annual holiday was a trip to the coast by bus or train ..It was only in the 60s that cheap package holidays arrived on the scene ..
In the 50s and 60 my dad took us away camping with a motorcycle combination, three days to get to Cornwall.. an epic journey

Holidays abroad could become a thing of the past for many :Sad:
 

GJH

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If we do reach a tipping point it will be based on the totality of VED, Insurance, MOT etc and not just fuel. That would also be in the context of overall income and expenditure.

Like Gerry, we traded in one of the two cars we owned when we bought our motorhome and did so having considered other options for holidays. We bought a motorhome, rather than a caravan, because neither of us fancied towing (having never done it). However, should a tipping point be reached, the option of selling the motorhome and buying a caravan (possibly replacing the car at the same time if we needed a larger one as a tow car) is one we would explore rather than just get rid of the motorhome.
 

aba

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i think that businesses will suffer more first as the people that are prepared to work for their measly wages stop traveling as far to work.
i personally run a fiat cinqucento that does quite good on fuel but still costs me £40 per week and that only goes to and from work.
as we are full timing now i have been thinking of getting rid of the car move the motorhome closer to work and walk or cycle.
though i feel there could be many more motorhome and caravan owners looking to do the same.
especially when the fuel bill to commute to work costs more than return trip in the motorhome and 4 nights on a CL.
i know its different for the retired and people that are unable to work with fixed low income and ever increasing outgoings but in my case the car will be the first to go.

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scotjimland

scotjimland

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If we do reach a tipping point it will be based on the totality of VED, Insurance, MOT etc and not just fuel. That would also be in the context of overall income and expenditure.

Yes, I agree Graham, but the 'one off' annual payments can be saved for.. or even cut down to 6 months tax and insurance.
Fuel on the other hand is the most visible and rising almost daily. It hits the wallet hard every time we fill up ..
 

Douglas

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Cannot say that Jim-- I remember ten bob a gallon :ROFLMAO: so you speak my language :winky: The truck/car was the last vehicle my son bought for me before he died and as such will be run into the ground before we part with it :Sad: and the van in my mind does not owe us anything from the use previously so throwing fuel in it is just about all it costs and the freedom that allows us is worth paying for.
terry

I remember my father jumping up and down when it went from 2 shilling to Half a crown a gallon after the Suez fiasco.

Doug...

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LBrown

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We only started with motorhome six months ago so purchased with high fuel prices in mind. Doesn't make it any easier tho! Car or motorhome, filling up not a pleasant experience. Giving up either vehicle not an option but do think carefully before venturing out. Going to get back on bike for travel to work and back, starting Monday. Set off at 4.15am, in the dark, lots of hills (killer) and probably raining, but will save about £40 a week minimum and will get fit again too - bonus!
 

wasp

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I don`t really know what my tipping point will be as I need van for work, self employed and Sylv with her car looks after her mother 10 miles away we probably will use MH less, where will it end:cry::cry::cry::cry:
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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I think there is a lot of the Dunkirk spirit being shown ... 'stiff upper lip' and all that .. but the bottom lips are trembling ..

I appreciate it's not something we want to contemplate or even admit .. after all, it's not just transport, it's a hobby and a way of life, . so giving up won't be easy ..and not without a fight ..

but no use saying never unless you are mega rich .. .. everyone must reach a point where they say NO ..

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Autoquest

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We offset the fuel costs by keeping our vehicles much, much longer. Our Discovery is 13 years old and the merc 12 years - I'm guessing our little 'starter' motorhome is going to be with us until the end.... As a slight aside though, due to the increases in just about everything we are thinking of 'getting off' the conveyor belt, downsizing to be mortgage free and effectively retiring at 55 albeit on a reduced income.

There are two tax rates that produce no tax - 0% & 100%
 
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scotjimland

scotjimland

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already reached my limit and nothing to economise on i will keep the van until april next year then if no improvement in prices or circumstances will sell and hang up my road map.:cry::cry::cry::cry:

I appreciate your honesty Roger ..

take some comfort in that you are not alone... we've cut back to the bone and it's still hard .. our days wandering Europe may well be over :Sad:
 

Carol

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Like others we will keep the motorhome rolling a while longer, but the car will not be changed until it fails its MOT we have had it from new and now its 15 years old and only failed one MOT so fingers crossed, so try and keep the costs down in our motoring over all down, with a bit of wild camping where we can, but it would be foolish not to acknowledge the cost of fuel is having an effect on us.

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Nov 6, 2008
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It's sad that some of us have almost come to the point of saying "enough". l honestly don't know where my "enough" point is at the moment.
We are being shafted left right and centre.
If it becomes so expensive we all give up, who will we sell the MHs to?
If only we could all get together, europe wide, and say,"we have had enough"! Not just MH owners, but all and sundry that owns and uses a vehicle. Haulage, cars, MHs, motorcycles, buses, vans, the whole lot, and bring Europe to a stand still. ice thought, but it will never happen.

Craig
 

arebee

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Fuel

We usually try and get away several times during the year but due to the increase in fuel charges are planning just one trip up to Scotland to see our son. I have been trying to save a set amount each month as a "Diesel" account and therefore have a buffer to use once we are on journey. Once on the road I do try to "soft" pedal and keep my speed down. We have tried going over all that we take with us and have taken out much of the "just in case" items but still seem to have a lot - even the small library has been condensed !! Any ideas to lighten the load would be most welcome.
Thanks.
 

GJH

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Yes, I agree Graham, but the 'one off' annual payments can be saved for.. or even cut down to 6 months tax and insurance.
Fuel on the other hand is the most visible and rising almost daily. It hits the wallet hard every time we fill up ..

Yes, annual payments can be saved for but that only converts them into weekly/monthly payments, basically equivalent to direct debits for such as domestic fuel, council tax etc.

The reality, for all of us, is that our budgets contain a mixture of regular and irregular (which may be nil) items of income and expenditure. The extent to which we have control over both will vary. Some of the items on which we spend are essential (e.g. food) and some not.

I remember my Mum telling me that my Granddad realised one day that he could not afford to continue both drinking and smoking. He gave up smoking that day as the non-essential he preferred to do without.

Our tipping points come about as the extent to which we are able to afford the non-essentials varies. Ability to continue to run a car and/or motorhome is just one such.

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