The good news is that the cost of an electric vehicle has gone down 5 cents a km over the last year to 76 cents, but the cost of a conventional petrol vehicle is up 3 cents a km, also to 76 cents. The convergence of the costs has for the first time brought electric vehicles costs on a par with petrol.

It is highly likely that the running cost of electric vehicles will continue to come down, relative to petrol, as the production of electric vehicles increases and the price per unit falls. Given the simplicity of an electric engine, we believe there is potential for transport costs to be reduced significantly in the future. For most of us, the up-front cost of owning an electric is still too much of a hurdle so it looks like we will be still filling up at the petrol station for a while yet.

Paul has a tip for frugal motorists. “There is an app for mobile phones for this called ‘Gaspy’. It’s a kiwi bit of software using the GPS on your phone it shows the cheapest petrol stations near you and the distance from your current position to it.”

Gaspy is well worth a look if you want to get the best deal on 91, diesel, and 95 fuels. This is how they describe themselves: “The prices on Gaspy are crowd-sourced which means we rely on like-minded consumers to locate and share the best fuel prices in NZ for shared benefit. By working together we can all enjoy cheaper gas and put pressure on Big Oil to maintain competitive pricing.”

While the data does not come from service stations directly and may not include all outlets, a look around the site shows crowd-power is providing sufficient data to achieve the objective – which is to show users where they can buy the cheapest fuel. In the Bay of Plenty and Auckland areas, for example, they say savings typically are about 13 cents a litre. In Northland and the Waikato, it’s 10 cents.

It’s easy to use. Just put in the location you wish to search. The APP will then list the outlets ranked by price. Select the location and it will take you to Google maps to so the location. Click directions and the navigation will take you there. Simple. Money saved.

Not only is the APP great for those who want to save money, but also for those who want to do their bit to bring greater competition to the fuel retail industry. There is no question competition results in better pricing for the consumer, and that’s a great thing. Consumer power is market democracy in action.

We use the APP, and find it especially useful when we are visiting a town and we don’t already know where the best deals are, or filling the tank on a long trip. By thinking ahead a hundred kilometres or so, we can plan the pit stop and get the best economy from the refill. As a general rule, we have found Gull is typically the cheapest place to fuel-up – their self-service stations in particular.

While on the subject of fuel prices, something to think about when you are replacing your vehicle is the type of fuel it uses. Most cars run on 91 octane, but some run on the higher 95 octane fuel. These are generally higher performance cars with higher compression. There is no benefit in using 95 petrol in a car where the manufacturers recommend using 91.

The higher octane fuel costs anywhere between 10 and 20 cents more a litre, depending on where you shop. That’s significant money over the life of the vehicle. We recall the case of a motorist who was bragging about how frugal they were because they shop around for the lowest fuel. They were less effusive when it was pointed out that having a vehicle that ran on 95 octane fuel instead of 91 was adding at least 10 cents a litre to their fuel bill.

Did you know that tyre pressure affects fuel consumption because when under-inflated their rolling resistance increases? According to one tyre company, every 10% under the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure costs about 2.5% in fuel consumption. So if a tyre is running at 27 PSI instead of 30 the extra fuel consumption will cost about six cents a litre based on today’s pump price. To find out what tyre pressures are recommended for your vehicle, go to energywise.govt.nz/tools/tyre-pressure, or look for a sticker in your car’s door jam – or check your owner’s manual. The recommended pressure for most cars is usually between 30 and 35 PSI.

We were aware of the APP and first looked at it shortly after it was released. It’s come a long way since then and now has community support behind it, to make it the go-to place to find the best deal on fuel prices. Gaspy is well worth a look, if you want to get the best deal on 91, diesel, and 95 fuels.

This is how they describe themselves: “The prices on Gaspy are crowd-sourced which means we rely on like-minded consumers to locate and share the best fuel prices in NZ for shared benefit. By working together we can all enjoy cheaper gas and put pressure on Big Oil to maintain competitive pricing.”

To encourage the community to engage in data gathering, they reward those who provide pricing data with points and prizes. So while the data does not come from service stations directly – and may not include all outlets – a look around the site shows crowd-power is providing sufficient data to achieve their objective of showing users where they can buy the cheapest fuel. In the Bay of Plenty, and Auckland areas for example, they say savings typically are about 13 cent a litre. In Northland and the Waikato, it’s 10 cents.

It’s easy to use. Just put in the location you wish to search. The APP will then list the outlets ranked by price. Select the location and it will take you to Google maps – click the directions and the navigation system will take you to there. Simple. Money saved.

Not only is the APP great for those who want to save money, but also for those who want to do their bit to bring greater competition into the fuel retail industry. There is no question competition results is better pricing for the consumer, and that’s a great thing. Consumer power is market democracy in action.

We use the APP, especially when we are travelling and don’t already know where the best deals are. By thinking ahead a hundred kilometres or so, we can plan a pit stop to fill the tank and get the best economy from the refill on a long trip. As a general rule, we have found Gull is typically the cheapest place to fuel up – their self-service stations in particular.

With Gaspy in the palm of your hand, it’s also pretty easy to see if that discounted fuel coupon you have just received from your supermarket really is discounted. gaspy.co.nz

While on the subject of fuel prices, something to think about when you are replacing your vehicle is the type of fuel it uses. Most cars run on 91 octane, but some run on the higher 95 octane fuel. These are generally higher performance cars with higher compression. There is no benefit in using 95 petrol in a car where the manufacturers recommend using 91.

The higher octane fuel costs anywhere between 10 and 20 cents more a litre, depending on where you shop. That’s significant money over the life of the vehicle. We recall the case of a motorist who was bragging about how frugal they were because they shop around for the lowest priced fuel. They were less effusive when it was pointed out that having a vehicle that ran on 95 octane fuel instead of 91 was adding at least 10 cents a litre to their fuel bill. The other thing they happened to overlook was the higher running costs associated with their German-made vehicle – and the minor fact that it had been financed on hire purchase! It was a case of looking after the pennies but not the pounds.

There is an app for mobile phones for this called “gaspy” its a kiwi bit of software using the GPS on your phone it shows the cheapest people near you and the distance from your current position to it.

Oily Rag Ed’ – Here’s a link here >>>. It’s a great APP!

At US$27 a barrel, crude oil prices are at their lowest level since 2003, and a long way from the $100 a barrel it was about 18 months ago. Most oil market watchers think its going to go lower still due to lower demand from China and more oil coming on tap.

The reason why pump prices have not fallen as dramatically is because about half of the price you pay is not for the petrol at all – it’s tax. Another quarter is the actual cost of the refined product and the remaining quarter covers the overheads and retail margin.

In other words, only 25% of the final price is made up of the variable price of the oil itself, and that is also affected by changes in the exchange rate. The other costs are either fixed or are not affected by the oil price itself. As it happens, in recent years the government has upped the tax on fuel and got its sticky fingers on more of your dollars.

Keep a sunlight liquid type squeeze bottle of water in your car for when you go out in evening and find front car window frozen.

We also keep a clean bucket of water at our back and front doors for local cats to have a drink of water. These are handy to have for frozen car windows in the morning. Check water has not frozen before you throw at car!