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Slash your fuel costs
Courtesy of A Current Affair
19 May 2006
http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/2105.asp
Economists are saying that petrol prices aren't going to go down so it's time to think about adjusting how we consume fuel.
There are gadgets, dockets, savings schemes and even futuristic cars and they can all help keep your fuel bill down. ACA gives you some tips on the best alternatives.
LPG
With the cost of LP gas around 50 cents a litre, Melbourne mechanic Graham McIlwaine has been swamped with orders for people wanting to convert their cars.
"There's been over a 200 percent increase in the demand for LPG. And right at the moment we're struggling to keep up with demand," he says.
According to Graham, once a car is converted to run on LPG, the average family who does around 20,000km per year should save around $2000. There is of course the initial up-front expense of converting your car to run on the gas, but that loss should be recuperated within 12-18 months.
Steve Zargis has switched to LPG and it cost him $2800 to convert.
"The difference is about $80 a week in savings," he says.
"If you're doing the travelling, it's worth the outlay and you get the return within 12 months"
At about 70 cents per litre less than unleaded fuel, the cost of conversion is definitely worth it in the long run.
Ethanol fuel
At some service stations you may have noticed ethanol blend fuel. It's not widely available yet, but depending on where you fill up, it can be up to four cents per litre cheaper.
David Cumming from the RACV says ethanol fuel is a good way to save.
"Not all vehicles can use it — but those who can, there's no reason why they shouldn't. It's four cents a litre cheaper," he says.
Discount schemes
Then there is the discount you get with supermarket dockets.
Coles and Woolworths offer a four cent per litre discount if you spend $30 or more at their supermarket.
IGA grocers also offer a four cent per litre saving if you $30 worth of groceries.
David says the discount is obviously advantageous, but you need to fill up big to reap the rewards.
"If you're going to put in $20 or $30 worth, it's a waste of time as you're not getting a big enough discount. You need to be putting in 50, 60, 70 litres just in order to get a $2 dollar discount, which has cost you $30 at the supermarket anyway," David says.
It's not just supermarkets. All over Australia there are many different fuel discount schemes.
Mobile offers four cents a litre discount if you spend $5 at their petrol stations in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.
Save Smart at independent service stations offers a four cents a litre discount if you buy $10 worth of items.
Servo Savers offer six cent a litre on 30 litres of fuel if you spend between $10 and $40 at local retailers.
"If you're going to buy the product there anyway you may as well enjoy the discount that comes with it. So yes, most of the schemes have some advantages," Cumming says.
Hybrid cars
Lyn Thomas is driving into the future with her Toyota Prius. It's a new generation hybrid car that runs on fuel and battery power. When you're driving along, a monitor tells you how your energy efficiency is going and whether you're using petrol or battery power.
One $50 tank of fuel can get Lyn a staggering 970 kilometres.
- Fill up on cheap days
- Fill up on the cheap days in your capital city.
They are as follows:
Melbourne: Tuesday Sydney: Wednesday
Brisbane: Sunday
Adelaide: Friday
Perth: Monday
"On the cheapest day — compared with the dearest day — the gap would probably be around 14 cents and that's not including you discount from the supermarket. So just look at it as 17 cents and you've got a pretty good saving," David says.
Service your vehicle
David also offers these tips on maintaining your car so it uses fuel efficiently:
Keep your engine tuned either by the book or at least once a year. A properly tuned vehicle will run better and therefore you will save fuel.
Keep your tyres inflated, or a little bit over inflated. If they're under-inflated it will cause drag and increase your fuel consumption.
Don't carry additional weight in your boot like heavy tool boxes or golf clubs. The less weight, the more fuel you'll save.
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May 23, 2006
http://www.finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,19216659-14302,00.html
AUSTRALIANS are worried about high petrol costs - and for those earning less than $50,000 a year, it is their number one worry, well ahead of paying off the mortgage or rent, a survey of NEWS.com.au readers has found.
Households expect worse to come - just over 90 per cent of respondents thought petrol prices would go higher over the next quarter. The poll was conducted on May 3 and 4 by polling firm Coredata and NEWS.com.au. And it doesn't stop there. An overwhelming 95 per cent of people expected higher petrol prices to inflate the cost of other goods and services.
Almost half think of the 1242 people surveyed said higher petrol prices were being caused by the Federal Government. Petrol companies attracted even more blame.
Tax explains a big part of the cost of petrol. At a bowser price of $1.35 a litre, 37.7 cents is paid by consumers in federal excise tax while 13.5 cents goes towards the GST and 83 cents buys the fuel.
The biggest concern for people earning less than $50,000 was the cost of petrol, worrying 29 per cent of people, well ahead of the state of the health system at 18 per cent. Meeting mortgage or rent payments was the number one concern for 16.5 per cent of respondents earning less than $50,000.
Among all income earners, meeting mortgage or rent payments was selected by about a third of the respondents (34 per cent) as their number one household concern, followed by petrol prices, which was rated by 27 per cent of people as their most important concern. Surprisingly, petrol concerns weighed more on people's minds than childcare, the state of the health care system and the environment.
People are changing their driving habits in response to higher petrol prices, with 59 per cent of people indicating they had become more economical in their driving style. Women stood out more than men, with 71 per cent saying they were economising, compared to 58 per cent of men.
Fewer Sunday drives is one of the costs of higher petrol prices. About 64 per cent of respondents claimed to be taking fewer weekend trips. Lower income groups were more likely to report this, with 80 per cent of people earning less than $50,000 taking fewer trips.
The average spend per week by respondents on travel was $74.37. People who travelled to work in a motor vehicle spent more, with 34 per cent saying they spent more than $80 a week.
Reflecting the hit to the wallet, about one-quarter of respondents said they were spending $11 to $20 more on petrol than one year ago.
Cars ranked as the most popular means of transport, with 74 per cent of readers using vehicles as their main method of travel.
Close to half of the people surveyed (45 per cent) intended to buy a smaller car than their existing model when they replaced their vehicle.
Just 9 per cent of respondents said they would buy a large car on their next purchase.
Women were more likely to buy a small car (43 per cent said they would) compared to men (29 per cent). Lower income earners or those earning less than $50,000 were also more likely to buy a small car.
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Savings Calculator
We believe the time is right to convert your vehicle to LPG Autogas and start saving every time you fill up at the pump.
To calculate how much you can save over time, download this spreadsheet and enter current petrol and LPG prices. Read the table of savings based on your vehicle’s fuel consumption and your yearly kilometre average.
Click here to download the spreadsheet.
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