www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

has anyone else noticed just how big the difference in cost between unleaded & diesel?
driving home through the carbuncle (Nairn was nominated for the "plook on the plinth" award ), we have a co-op selling Gulf fuel, ULP £1.319/ltr / Derv £1.399/ltr (8p difference), family run Shell outlet ULP £1.319/ltr / Derv £1.449 (13p, yes 13p difference) & Sainsbury ULP £1.279/ltr / Derv £1.359/ltr (8p difference)
I'm beginning to wonder if there are any savings to be had any more by driving a diesel

ULP / Derv?????????

Would be expensive for me.....I'd not know what to put in my car???!!

I did wonder the other day with mine. I drive a 1.6 turbo diesel and get around 45-49mpg when I'm going up and down the motorway. Always thought getting it chipped would offer a welcome 30 extra BHP, extra torque and increase fuel effiency by upto 15 odd %. Not bad considering it's already 110BHP (book).

always been too expensive until I saw a place that comes to you and re-maps for 250 quid. I think with the miles I've been doing, I could make that pay - if not, it would give the old girl some new energy!

Beats the hell out of a 550 quid superchip!!!

About 20 years ago derv was quite a bit cheaper than petrol because it was country folk that drove mostly derv powered vehicles. Nowadays derv powered vehicles are much more popular with the ordinary motorist, so the duty on derv was increased.

They reckon you'd need to have a diesel for 6 years before you broke even on costs that is assuming you do 12-15000 miles pa and buy new.

I dont pay for the diesel i use as its a comany van,i have moved to shell and use the drivers card to collect the points so far this year i have recieved £25 back in vouchers which goes into my own car

Still wonder why we haven't started using cooking oil. It was touted as the 'next big thing'.

dynamod wrote:Still wonder why we haven't started using cooking oil. It was touted as the 'next big thing'.

6/7 years ago Veggie oil was about 30/35 pence a litre, currently 90p to £1 a litre...now add your fuel duty at 53.95 p (+ vat)
and you'll be looking at £1.55/£1.65 a litre....

...and even then if people started using veggie oil in earnest the price would rise further (Supply and demand)

dynamod wrote:Still wonder why we haven't started using cooking oil. It was touted as the 'next big thing'.

There's more hassle involved than what people think. You really should install a heater tank to keep the oil at a warm temperature otherwise the oil clogs up your filters. You are also advised to install a two way switch to switch back to diesel about a mile away from your home otherwise you'll be trying to start on oil the next morning which puts additional strain on your engine/alternator/battery.

I ran mine for about a year on the stuff before it eventually fecked my engine. The best way to go about it is to make bio-diesel from it but the set up would cost about two grand.

Argyll wrote:They reckon you'd need to have a diesel for 6 years before you broke even on costs that is assuming you do 12-15000 miles pa and buy new.

so far I have never been able to afford to buy new, the jalopy (my car) is an N reg citroen 1.9 dismal & the wife's car is an 02 plate skoda 1.9 td with 170K miles on it
this could be the jalopy's last year as I think it will need more money spent on it than it is worth, saying that, it was a £600 car 4 years ago & last 2 mot's have only required side light bulbs, it owes me damn all

Older cars are brilliant - you don't need a NASA engineer to get them fixed.

Thing is though VI, the technology in the engines has dramaticly improved since that old thing was built.
Although cost of fuel is more now, you also get more miles for less fuel, running at a similar level of performance.
Take me mates 1.2tdi fabia, similar level of performance to my van, but using somewhere around 30% less fuel.....

Mind you, we are still running 2 old 1.9d citroens, keep thinking about upgrading, but put off by the complexities of the newer stuff.

Hitch, changing the subject, are you the same Hitch on the Screwfix Forum.
Theres a post on there titled RIP Hitch, they all seem to think your dead.

I noticed the other day that there were not any 4star pumps.

I think i had a different username for the SF forum. Not been there for some while.
Not dead

Hitch wrote:Mind you, we are still running 2 old 1.9d citroens, keep thinking about upgrading, but put off by the complexities of the newer stuff.

Had one of those (in a Scudo) and it was the most gutless lethargic diesel I've ever used. Got one with the 2.0JTD unit and it's like night and day. Pulls like a train and does more MPG.