The price of motoring

[EmilysDad]

Just been to Tesco to fill the Smart. I'd already started filling when a young lad in an older, but presentable Golf turned up to a near by pump. Bearing in mind the Smart is full at £30, the Golf owner was on his way in to pay way before me. I got to the kiosk as various coins had been added up & the Golf owner was now on his way.
He'd put £4 in! That's 3.5 litres ...... barely enough to cover the bottom of the tank.

 

[geraldrobins]

There could be several reasons for this.

 

[Trev1964]

While I had my MGB I often put small amounts of fuel in it unless I was doing a journey. Fuel goes stale over time and the octane drops. If I was just putting a little fuel in it to give it a bit of a warm up and knew it wouldn't be started again for weeks or even months, I'd just put a gallon in it.

 

[EmilysDad]

There could be several reasons for this.

I think the main reason being ...... he only had £4 to his name, hence copper-ing up

 

[EmilysDad]

While I had my MGB I often put small amounts of fuel in it unless I was doing a journey. Fuel goes stale over time and the octane drops. If I was just putting a little fuel in it to give it a bit of a warm up and knew it wouldn't be started again for weeks or even months, I'd just put a gallon in it.

It does go stale, but not over night .... and a gallon was more than twice what Master Golf Driver put in

 

[flowrider]

While I had my MGB I often put small amounts of fuel in it unless I was doing a journey. Fuel goes stale over time and the octane drops. If I was just putting a little fuel in it to give it a bit of a warm up and knew it wouldn't be started again for weeks or even months, I'd just put a gallon in it.

Fuel does go stale over time but where talking months not days, over time the the octane level increases.

 

[KennyN]

I think the main reason being ...... he only had £4 to his name, hence copper-ing up

Sign of the times i am afraid

My wife works with a few young people (18 - 22) and they are permanently skint . They regularly arrive at work with loose change in their pocket , nothing more , and they live from day to day as far as their finances are concerned.

There is only so far the "living wage" will stretch.

Kenny

 

[Yugguy]

Yeah I've done the same in my teens/ early 20s, stuck a tenner a time.

 

[L John]

over time the the octane level increases.

Be nice if it did, like a fine wine

 

[Frontstep]

Many young people particularly in expensive areas who haven't the comfort blanket of well off parents struggle with money, after rent rates, transport etc your minimum wage zero hours contract job is no picnic.
£4 might well have been it till pay day.
Yet still 100's of thousands arrive every year to add to the downward pressure on wages.

 

[EmilysDad]

Yeah I've done the same in my teens/ early 20s, stuck a tenner a time.

But a tenner when you were in your teens/early 20s was a Kings ransom

 

[Frontstep]

I remember buying a car for £15 with M.O.T

Petrol went in fiver at a time.

 

[EmilysDad]

I remember buying a car for £15 with M.O.T

Petrol went in fiver at a time.

I've not bought a £15 car, but I remember £5 buying me 4 gallons ..... when It was sold in galls - not litres

 

[geraldrobins]

I can remember buying 4 gallons for a £1!!

 

[Craiglxviii]

I can remember buying 4 gallons for a £1!!

When they were sold in tins not pumps?

 

[geraldrobins]

When they were sold in tins not pumps?

In pumps but maybe we had to turn the handle lol.

 

[EmilysDad]

I can remember buying 4 gallons for a £1!!

Cheapest I remember ..... not bought myself ..... was 33p per gallon. I guess that was 72 or 73

 

[davemercedes]

I remember the days of 4 gallons for a pound... I'm guessing at 1966. We had an ancient "sit up and beg" Ford Popular (that cost me £25 from a trader who used to buy up dealer part-ex cars taken in over the weekend) and on the way back from visiting my in-laws we used to go and fill up at a little 2-pump filling station.

- With the petrol I got about £50 value-worth of "Pink Stamps" and had my windscreen cleaned for nothing too!

But as above, three or four squids was a lorra money (well it was to us!) in those days! This was before we had any kids and invariably, SWMBO paid for the petrol - it used up about a third to half of her wages. But it filled the old croc up and kept us mobile for the whole week. Looking back, that old car was a real rough diamond - it started first time, every time (6 volts!), had a heater (!) and came with leather seats as standard!

Spark plugs were the same price as a gallon of petrol - 5s 0d (25p) and they stayed at that price for years.

 

[geraldrobins]

Cheapest I remember ..... not bought myself ..... was 33p per gallon. I guess that was 72 or 73

I can remember 35p per gallon in 1972 as well.

 

[turbopete]

when I started driving 4 star petrol (for a metro I had) was 73p per litre locally, and at the time, diesels hadn't really fully taken off and diesel was about 20p per litre cheaper IIRC