Reducing costs of driving in the UK pt 1

It is a very expensive business driving in the UK. Most of the expense though can be put down to the government. Taxes on owning a vehicle, taxes called licensing, taxes on fuel and taxes on the taxes. I’m not joking.

In a self sufficiency situation there is not a lot you can do about this. You only really have the option to reduce your expenditure. You can get a smaller vehicle, do without one entirely, try alternative fuels or additives or reducing your consumption.

I would guess that most of us already have vehicles that suit our requirements. We would all like an Aston Martin but reality means we have a more modest vehicle. So we buy one we can take the family in, that meets our requirements for daily use and is affordable.

If not then you should really look at what you want from your vehicle. What are your requirements for a vehicle? There is so much to consider, 4×4 for out in the country and in the winter, people carrier due to how many people you transport on a regular basis, mini van because of the amount of goods you transport on a regular basis. Never mind the choice between diesel, petrol, LPG and soon Electric. Be realistic there are many vehicles that will fill your needs. Just make sure your choice has readily available spares, is relatively cheap to maintain and is solid and trustworthy. It is the overall package you are looking for so do not expect to find something that is best in all areas. Look around, find one that suits your specific requirements.

Bear in mind that changing your vehicle is an expensive business in its own right plus, if you buy second hand, you do not always now that what you end up with is not going to work out more expensive in the long run. So cutting your losses and sticking with what you have may work out to be a viable solution.

In the UK people have played with alternative fuels for a while now but Diesel and Petrol are still way out in front by a long way. You can get LPG in specialist fuel stations and, a few, normal fuel stations but not that many. The conversion kits are expensive but if you do enough miles then it pays for itself. Cooking oil is growing rapidly at the moment, kits are available to convert the waste oil from fast food restaurants to bio fuel and many people are doing this as a garage type project. Although there are firms doing this on a larger scale. Personally, I believe that as soon as LPG or the bio fuel starts to impact on the tax take then changes will be made. LPG and bio fuels will be brought into line with diesel and petrol and legislation put in place to limit the number of garage bio fuel converters. Already cooking oil which was a waste product and gratefully given away for free is now being sold by fast food restaurants. The prices of cooking oils themselves have increased dramatically and now are more expensive than petrol. Personally, I’m sticking with diesel because it will be available for some time, if it does start to be restricted or a survival situation occurs then most diesel engines can be converted to run on cooking oil. Older diesel engines anyway. Always check if you think you will need this option. Having a diesel that saves 5mpg might make it reliant on highly refined diesel fuel. These engines have already had issues with garage supplied diesel fuels that have bio fuels added.

Additives are another new area that has sprung up recently. They are either added to your fuel via the fuel tank or are added into the fuel system as part of the engine mixing system. Bio fuels are a common one, as mentioned, it is already added to most diesel fuel at the forecourt. Some of these additives claim over 20% fuel economy savings. I’m not and expert but I’ve looking at some of these and only found one I thought was worth the time and effort, a hydrogen system, currently being trialled on a close friend’s car. Which he claims is saving him 20% on his fuel consumption.

Finally, reducing consumption. Usually, the first place we start looking because it is the easiest to do, doesn’t require any expense and you get instant feedback.

Walk where you can.
Bike where you can.
Motorbike where you can and consider Bus or public transport.
Use the car where you can and consider Bus or public transport.
Use the truck/van and consider Bus or public transport.

Simply, start at the top, if you can’t use this method to do what you need then move to the next one until you find one you can. Most of us just jump straight into the car and it has become a habit.