If I ever needed proof...................

[Bugsy]

that our move to france was the right one.

We're just back from a visit to see old friends and do a bit of shopping. I thought I would share our experiences .....

Shopping in the UK is great, Mondays, the're open, lunchtimes, you can still buy stuff. Prices, on some items were good, and not so good on others. £2.95 for a coffee ?

What wasn't so good was the evenings of Friday and Saturday when we had large gangs of yobs racing their cars around the small (quiet) Wimborne estate that my sister lives on. Sunday morning I found a 'House for Sale' sign resting on the back of my new car and every car in the vicinity had their rear wipers ripped off. What on earth is wrong with these people ?

Traffic is staggeringly busy and fast but the standard of driving, generally, was probably better than here in our bit of rural france.

Our car (Audi A4), my first ever diesel, was just amazing. 47.85 mpg (5.9 liters/100 km) overall. Comparing that to my old Jeep thats good for about 20 mpg, on a good day..Filled up in Le Havre at 1.09€ and did all the running around and all the way back to Vienne without re-fuelling.

Why is diesel more expensive than petrol in england ? It must be the only country in the world where that is so.

Really annoyed that we were not allowed to pack dairy and meat products for our return. Especially as we were then waved through the security checks at the ferry port......[:)].

Happy to be home, oh yes...........................[:)]

 

 

 

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Bugbear"]

Why is diesel more expensive than petrol in england ? It must be the only country in the world where that is so. 

 [/quote]

Because, if you buy diesel you get more miles per gallon, therefore you are using less fuel per mile. In order to have "equality" you must pay more so that your net cost is as close as possible to the net cost of petrol users, hence you are all taxed equally. Its known as "fair Governance".  [8-)]

[Bugsy]

[quote user="powerdesal"][quote user="Bugbear"]

Why is diesel more expensive than petrol in england ? It must be the only country in the world where that is so. 

 [/quote]

Because, if you buy diesel you get more miles per gallon, therefore you are using less fuel per mile. In order to have "equality" you must pay more so that your net cost is as close as possible to the net cost of petrol users, hence you are all taxed equally. Its known as "fair Governance".  [8-)]

[/quote]

So why only in the UK then ?.........................[Www]

[andyh4]

Becuase everybody knows Johnny Foreigner does not undertand the concept of fairness (blusters into his pink gin)

 

[Chief]

[quote user="Bugbear"]

Why is diesel more expensive than petrol in england ? It must be the only country in the world where that is so.

[/quote]

Its an old trick.  Tempt people onto it and then when enough are hooked, hike the price. Captive audience and all that.  I had an LPG car at one point, gas was cheap and it was an credible environmentally acceptable alternative.  Then the price per litre just went up and up, and i decided that if the government wasn't going to take the environment seriously, why should i.  Now got a lovely gas guzzling 4x4..... enviro-friendly, tried it and got screwed, not interested in environment now.

I suspect it is part of the reason the govt cannot get anyone onto public transport either (besides it being crap).  Once we are on it and our cars are gone, watch the price!!

[Catalpa]

[quote user="powerdesal"]In order to have "equality" you must pay more so that your net cost is as close as possible to the net cost of petrol users, hence you are all taxed equally. Its known as "fair Governance".  [8-)]

[/quote]

Is that true? Not tongue-in-cheek? I'd always assumed diesel had increased in price because so much produce / product is transported by road. The distributors were therefore an easy target because there was no other (realistic, effective) way of shipping goods around the UK.

Diesel is cheaper to make (refine?) than petrol, I believe? So the UK tax is actually higher on diesel to deliberately push the price above petrol?

[Framboise]

Public transport is rubbish near me.  Useless service, surly drivers who either drive like Lewis Hamilton or Victor Meldrew,  AND it costs £2 per journey regardless of whether you go from terminus to terminus or just one stop.

We get poster campaigns of mayor Ken telling us to use the buses, "get an oyster card and be eco-friendly" and yet the biggest reason people don't use it is the fact that at £2 a shot you might just as well pay the exorbitant parking fees of nearly £2 an hour if you are only stopping briefly.  For the price of a return journey you can shop for 2 hours and have the convenience of having your car on hand instead of being stuffed into a crowded bus having waited ages for it in the first place.  Now if these issues were to be addressed then the roads might be less chaotic, but its highly doubtful with the rubbishy service currently be given.

Then we are urged to buy a bicycle and get fit as you do your bit for the environment..................only they get nicked within milliseconds of you locking and leaving them, regardless of whatever you attached them to.  The town centre has dozens of bike front wheels still attached to the cycle racks or lamp-posts where the thieves have simply removed the rest of the bike and made off with it.  It makes for an expensive journey when your bike gets pinched. 

We won't have these issues in France because there is no bus service for many miles anyway, therefore our truck will serve a greater purpose as our lifeline to the outside world.  Life seems so much more simplistic out there.

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Catalpa"][quote user="powerdesal"]In order to have "equality" you must pay more so that your net cost is as close as possible to the net cost of petrol users, hence you are all taxed equally. Its known as "fair Governance".  [8-)]

[/quote]

Is that true? Not tongue-in-cheek? I'd always assumed diesel had increased in price because so much produce / product is transported by road. The distributors were therefore an easy target because there was no other (realistic, effective) way of shipping goods around the UK.

Diesel is cheaper to make (refine?) than petrol, I believe? So the UK tax is actually higher on diesel to deliberately push the price above petrol?

[/quote]

Catalpa, it was definitely tongue - in - cheek.

The annoying thing is, one barrel of crude, if refined for diesel rather than petrol, produces more gallons. So you are right, the refining cost per gallon is less for diesel. Diesel fuel, if used in a modern, high efficiency engine gives many more miles per gallon, it also produces far less pollutants than petrol so is more eco-friendly.

If all the cars on the road were (modern) diesels, ie there was no need to refine for petrol, the Worlds oil reserves would last longer... but... Governments like the UK would suffer from a reduced tax take and they cant think that one through.

The Govt cry for "green issues" is a basic con job, they have no more interest in environmental issues than I have in brain surgery.

On the basis of the above, why is diesel more highly taxed than petrol? (or is it actually sold by the oil companies at a higher price) make up your own mind, I know what my thoughts are.