160 replies to this topic

[maggies_minder]

I welcome higher fuel prices, if we're serious about cutting emissions then we need to drive less. Higher prices means people will look for better ways to do stuff. We could return the tax revenue to the economy to help fund those changes.

if only the reasons for the prices of fuel were down to keeping the planet healthy.


there is no alternative to fuel.

[mister bridger]

I've commented on this before but I just went to get some paraffin for the heater I use in my garage and the "discount" store in town wanted £8.49 for 4 litres. Thats £2.12 a Litre! There is no excuse for the way we are all being ripped off.

[Scallywag630]

There was a comment earlier about a rise in fuel thefts from garages by driving off. This is a problem that can easily be avaoided. Here is how it works in US filling stations....you pull up to the pump and either put your credit/debit card in the pump or go in and pay say $50. You can then pump $50 worth into your car. There is no way that you can get fuel without paying. The computer controlled pumps all filling stations have can be programmed so that the attendant can allow a certain money's worth to be pumped. Problem solved.

[Juju]

This is a problem that can easily be avaoided. Here is how it works in US filling stations....you pull up to the pump and either put your credit/debit card in the pump or go in and pay say $50. You can then pump $50 worth into your car. There is no way that you can get fuel without paying. The computer controlled pumps all filling stations have can be programmed so that the attendant can allow a certain money's worth to be pumped. Problem solved.

Also done on the continent. Confused the hell out of a few of us on BH2N2009!

Mini owners should keep an eye out for folks siphoning their tanks too. All too easy on a minito.

[maggies_minder]

had it twice in a year juju, theres never more than £3 in my tank.
i only put £15 when im planing on going somewhere.

[WRLondon]

lucky were not mustang owners club lol!
been a long time since my mini has had a drop of petrol
but im going through £5 petrol just for an hours round trip!
in a k series 1.4 too

[l_jonez]

id be up for using public transport if it was a viable option.

at the moment i start work at 6am which means i leave my house at about 5:40am 15 min drive in the mini which is doing about 45-50mpg ( which is pretty efficient ) and im there with 5 min spare for a cup of tea.
now the same journey on the bus takes one and a half hours and still leaves me walking the last 2 miles but then comes the second problem the bus service doesn't start running until 7am so if i relied on the bus the earliest i could get to work would be 8:30am, two and a half hours after my shift has started ! i'd very quickly lose my job if i could not make it on time.

for pretty much every thing other than work i walk.

[Ethel]

There is no easy solution, I actually think the best bet is an alternate energy source that's renewable & green. There was a time when private transport was too expensive, so we worked, shopped & were educated near where we lived. We got cheap cars & we changed our lifestyle - maybe it's the Mini's fault afterall

Shame we're not yet ready to change our lifestyle once more, the government's being hiking up fuel duty for a couple decades now & we still haven't taken the hint. The problem with democracy is people are more willing to hear what they want than what they need sometimes. Though having a gaggle of capitalists pulling the strings and telling you anything to get your money don't help.

[1984mini25]

This is a problem that can easily be avaoided. Here is how it works in US filling stations....you pull up to the pump and either put your credit/debit card in the pump or go in and pay say $50. You can then pump $50 worth into your car. There is no way that you can get fuel without paying. The computer controlled pumps all filling stations have can be programmed so that the attendant can allow a certain money's worth to be pumped. Problem solved.

Also done on the continent. Confused the hell out of a few of us on BH2N2009!

Mini owners should keep an eye out for folks siphoning their tanks too. All too easy on a minito.

I can see that working, although I’d still prefer to pay by cash as I can see credit card cloning going through the roof at filling stations if that was to happen.

[Scallywag630]

This is a problem that can easily be avaoided. Here is how it works in US filling stations....you pull up to the pump and either put your credit/debit card in the pump or go in and pay say $50. You can then pump $50 worth into your car. There is no way that you can get fuel without paying. The computer controlled pumps all filling stations have can be programmed so that the attendant can allow a certain money's worth to be pumped. Problem solved.

Also done on the continent. Confused the hell out of a few of us on BH2N2009!

Mini owners should keep an eye out for folks siphoning their tanks too. All too easy on a minito.

I can see that working, although I’d still prefer to pay by cash as I can see credit card cloning going through the roof at filling stations if that was to happen.

Edited by Scallywag630, 11 January 2011 - 03:41 PM.

[1984mini25]

This is a problem that can easily be avaoided. Here is how it works in US filling stations....you pull up to the pump and either put your credit/debit card in the pump or go in and pay say $50. You can then pump $50 worth into your car. There is no way that you can get fuel without paying. The computer controlled pumps all filling stations have can be programmed so that the attendant can allow a certain money's worth to be pumped. Problem solved.

Also done on the continent. Confused the hell out of a few of us on BH2N2009!

Mini owners should keep an eye out for folks siphoning their tanks too. All too easy on a minito.

I can see that working, although I’d still prefer to pay by cash as I can see credit card cloning going through the roof at filling stations if that was to happen.

I can read, I was just saying...

[Bungle]

i need fuel

for work i'm a self employed electrician and no VAT registered there is no way i could carry my tools on public transport to get to work

that is unless buses start to come with big boots and a roof rack

i do the school run, we live about 3 miles from Williams school. public transport would (after a mile walk to the bus) get us there about 1/2 an hour before school opened and i would then have to wait another hour to get the bus home, followed by another mile walk home

what did they do in the old days, there would of been a village school but due to second homes and retired people William is 1 of 2 children to go to school in the village

buses as above not really a option and the bus only go between the 2 town each side of us

a trip to Lostwithiel (about 5 miles) would be this, mile walk to bus, 10 minute bus trip in wrong direction to train,at station take 1 of 4 trains that day on a 15 minute trip to Lostwithiel

estimated public transport cost £9, time taken if timed wrong about 3 hours
estimated car journey cost about £2 time taken 10 minutes

holidays we do take a plane to Spain once a year to see Mrs B's parents, we even drive past 3 airports to catch our plane, why because it's lots cheaper from Bristol than Newquay

we would love not to fly but to drive over would cost even more

if we didn't have family in Spain our holidays would be in Cornwall in Dolly our camper van

[Burnard]

bungle, you live in cornwall, you cant walk anywhere in cornwall without being run over by a trac'or

Im obviously going on about the people in suburbs and cities, most of cornwall and even devon is quite rural or tourist based, so schools are few and far between. same for jobs etc. It does make sence to drive in those situations.

[Bungle]

on the other hand i do have a works van bought new that is now 8 years old and done just over 40k miles

[minidream94]

Bit off topic, but thats what gets me aswell, where all these companies are bringing out electric "enviromentally friendly" cars to save the the environment and cut fuel useage. The thing with these though is where does all the electric come from in the first place :S oo yeah a power station which uses thusands of tonnes of coal + you then have the environment impact of the acctually manafacture of the vehicle. The prius for instance, was acctually a massive disaster as they were having to keep shipping the batteries from japan to america then back to japan and back to america etc. If there going to make electric cars, then why not have solar panels on the roof and stuff to charge the batteries, and dynomo's in the wheels to also charge the batteries as your driving along. + ou can then have a KERS system to further charge the batteries. Its not rocket science