[Drivingforfun]

Random discussion topic…

Unless people do upwards of 30,000 miles a year, why the obsession with fuel economy?

Do people not realise the other costs of motoring tend to be just as, significant, or in many cases much more so?

Is it because fuel is something you hand your debit card over to purchase every week, as opposed to just a direct debit or a yearly cost like insurance or servicing?

I know of people paying thousands more for a more economical engine, only to not do enough miles to “break even” on fuel economy - they’d have been better off banking the saving and spending some of it on extra fuel.

I don’t know if it’s just a British thing, or maybe a thing among all countries where fuel is taxed. Understandably, I don’t know of any Americans who worry about economy…I also once met someone who worked in the Middle East and fuel was so cheap there (and presumably crime so low) that people would leave their cars running while at work just so the air conditioning still had the cabin nice and cool when they got back in

[Rolebama]

We had more customers complain about poor fuel consumption when I worked in workshops. Poor starting, lumpy tickovers and cutting out at traffic lights etc were of a secondary concern. Regardless of problem, most people noticed that extra trip to the petrol station before other symptoms.
As to the other costs of motoring, buying petrol is a regular thing which people will notice, as opposed to the other costs which are seen once and then forgotten.
FWIW: Some years ago I looked into LPG. Two reasons I scrapped the idea. First as that I didn't like the idea of having to drive the distance necessary to fill up, and the second was that it would take about ten years to break even. I don't keep my cars that long.

[Santa]

As a fleet manager, I used to do this stuff for a living. Many (most) people totally ignore one of the biggest costs of car ownership - depreciation. This is because (unlike fuel, insurance and maintenance) they don't see it impacting their bank balance every month.

When I bought our car, back in 2015, I had a broad specification that it had to meet. One decision was the fuel and I opted for petrol for several reasons. Our mileage was expected to be low - 6k miles a year and this meant that the the cost differential was less significant. Diesel cars need more maintenance as well. LPG was never a consideration as I am aware of its unreliability, the lack of filling stations, and the problems of having a heavy tank at the back of the car.

I now own a car that does 25 mpg on average, but I am still using the petrol I bought in January.

[Rolebama]

My last two cars before the current one were both diesels, and I bought my current one because it is very good on mpg. It's not just the mpg per se, it's the ability to travel to where I want to go, and home again, without having to stop, and to allow for any diversions or holdups along the way. Most of the journeys I make are motorway mileage, and I have had a couple of occasions where collisions and roadworks have added hours to my journey time. Of course these things happen on really hot or cold days when I want air con or heating on. Wednesday was a good example of this when I had planned to come from the M3 to the M25, only to find the junction closed at 1am, meaning having to use 'normal' roads with subsequent traffic lights, roundabouts and seemingly thousands of junctions to get home. The 20miles through the suburbs used the around the same fuel as the previous 60 miles on the A303 and M3. Also added around an extra hour on time.

[Mark07]

Funnily enough, a friend of mine recently changed their car to a younger model. They did point out that as it's a hybrid it'll be more fuel efficient... however the finance is costing them roughly ~£100 more per month.

They aren't doing huge mileage, so it seems like a false economy to me. Although, they were happy with their choice, so I'm happy for them. 🙂

For me, my ageing Toyota is a little thirstier than I'd like, but it doesn't make financial sense to make a change whilst it's mechanically sound.