Thread: Diesel cars more expensive to run

Originally Posted by Disco Steve

But we do come on here to read, and before you came along I was interested in this thread. so when you hijack a thread it anoys the living **** out of most of us.

Ignore button is also usefull if you dont want to read what I write, as well as you could just skip what I post or anything that doesnt float your boat.

I cant believe that this needs to be explained when we are all adults on this forum, most of it is simple comon sense.

Originally Posted by mcrover

Try again.....I actually think it was Rovercare that posted that I was going against waht I had said before

Correct...........on both counts

Take yourself off hidey would ya, your scareing the children

I'm off to bed now, spent 4 hours fixing the hire trailer to take to sydney, up at 4

Night night Damo, no contradicting yourself while I'm gone

Originally Posted by mcrover

Ignore button is also usefull if you dont want to read what I write, as well as you could just skip what I post or anything that doesnt float your boat.

I cant believe that this needs to be explained when we are all adults on this forum, most of it is simple comon sense.

But I dont want to ignor everything you say as some of it can be usefull. othertimes its just ****.

Okay, back on topic.

There's a bit of lodgic here. I'll always sway for the V8 camp myself but it depends on how your LR gets used. A weekend warrior is great as a V8, no comprimise and you have a cheap vehicle with a reasnobly cheap matenance bill. Diesel is great for long range touring as we all know but more exxy to fix/repair, etc..

Personally I can't see a point in a diesel for my needs. My rangie is hardly used as a road vehicle and onbly used in anger anyway so the extra $$ investment in a diesel is a waste of money, the V8 does the job and I only have to live with the hidious fuel bill on trips but it's well worth it

Each to there own and it's a never-ending arguement and not worth getting into a ****ing contest for anyway

Well, we did not have diesel cars way back so I can only compare petrol prices and wages from then against now.

Old records from our family business show that in 1958 we paid 3/9d/gallon or 8.26c/litre then for super petrol and we paid a tradesman mechanic $36.20 for a forty hour week, two weeks annual leave was the norm, no long service leave, leave loading,or superannuation levy.

In 1970 a mechanic was being paid $72 exactly per week, three weeks annual leave, long service leave and leave loading had been legislated but still no superannuation. We were paying 42c/gallon or 9.25c/litre.

In 1984, the wage was $300 for a thirty-eight hour week, long service leave, leave loading and still no superannuation levy. Petrol was 34.9c/liter. Note the savage increase in price since 1970 as against almost no change from 1958 to 1970.

In 2008 a mechanic is getting around $1000 for thirty-eight hour week, four weeks annual leave, improved long service leave, leave loading and superannuation. Last Wednesday our local servo. had unleaded at 148.8c/litre.

So, in 1958 our mechanic could buy 438 litres of petrol with his gross weekly wage; in 1970, 778 litres; in 1984, 859 litres; in 2008, 672 litres.

At all times we regarded petrol as expensive but in the cities people tended to use cars much less than they do today. Often the family car was not used through the week except for very short trips. Most to and from work travel was by public transport. Until the rise of the supermarkets and malls, shopping was done locally and in small amounts as couldbecarried on foot or in the bus/tram/train.

So if you want the convenience, you must pay, otherwise stop complainig and alter your usage to a level you can afford.

Good points Brian my issue is I have never lived in a city.
Where I live there is no public transport and for me to travel to the nearest City for whatever reason I must drive 3200 km return and paying over $2 a litre for the privellage.
I guess the politicians think the way you do it must be a convenience for me to use my car so therefore I should pay, the alternative is a push bike or walking.
All Australians are equal NOT

Originally Posted by djam1

Good points Brian my issue is I have never lived in a city.
Where I live there is no public transport and for me to travel to the nearest City for whatever reason I must drive 3200 km return and paying over $2 a litre for the privellage.
I guess the politicians think the way you do it must be a convenience for me to use my car so therefore I should pay, the alternative is a push bike or walking.
All Australians are equal NOT

We lived in Winton, Western Qld, and I would no longer choose to live in a remote area or even an inland small city, those who choose to do so should have taken into account the discomforts and inconveniences of living in these places, and ensure the remuneration compensates them adequately.

Most Australians now live in the five major conurbations and do have public transport but choose not to use it. I go for a walk each morning and my suburb is surrounded and bisected by major roads choked with traffic heading for the inner city and CBD. All these travellers are coming from suburbs served by fast ferries, electric trains, and/or air-conditioned express buses yet they choose to use their personal transport in frustrating stop/start traffic at great expense.

This is their free choice and they must pay the cost of making his choice.

The Fraser/Howard government made the decision that Australian crude must be sold at world parity pricing, and not at cost plus. Add the multiplicity of taxes to this pricing level and we start to see that petroleum products are artificially priced.

We are exporting LNG and LPG to Asia at ridiculously low prices, a few cents per litre. Why are we not refining this into consumer petroleum products and avoiding our dependence on overseas sources and overseas pricing.