Recently, we’ve been doing our research into fuel costs, the impact they have on our customers, and what we can do to help.
We’ve looked at our data, and the financial cost is extremely clear. We focused on our top 10 most popular cars, and calculated the costs of filling up their tanks today, compared to a year ago. What we found is that based on a (conservative) mileage of 13,000 miles a year, the extra cost of filling up our tanks is upwards of £20. Spread across the course of a whole year, that’s looking like an extra cost of a minimum of £500. Even in a “reasonable” car, such as a Nissan Qashqai, it’ll cost you nearly an extra £700.
That’s a big chunk of the average person’s disposable income – according to the recent Worldwide Wage Report, that’s more than 60 percent of your average Brit’s spare cash!
This is particularly concerning in the light of a study that we did here at ChooseMyCar. This study shows that half of 18-34 year olds have had to borrow money to pay for fuel, either from friends and family – or banks.
Over half had had to cut back on groceries to afford running their car, and a whopping 80 percent said they would now have to walk where feasible.
Our founder, Nick Zapolski, said that many people are going to struggle to accommodate any further rise.
“The cost of living is already so high, but fuel prices are absolutely staggering. It’s going to force some people to stop using their vehicles, which sadly isn’t practical for many.
“We already know that more than 50 percent of people are using “Hypermiling” techniques in order to be more economical. But despite their best efforts, our recent studies show that the impact on Brit drivers of fuel costs is already severe. How much more can people afford to pay?
“While prices continue to rise, all we can recommend is that people follow tips to drive economically.”
To this end, we’ll be sending out tips on fuel economy and avoiding fuel thefts over the coming days – we hope it helps.
