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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

TO ask how much petrol money to offer for a 2hour 40 minute journey

113 replies

Heartraker · 09/04/2019 20:55

Non-driver here.

My camping group has someone offering me a lift - I’m planning to volunteer money upfront as I don’t want them to have to ask and feel awkward but not sure how much? ( on a tight budget myself) They’re also camping.

OP posts:
starryeyed19 · 09/04/2019 20:55

£20? Will other people be chipping in?

CraftyGin · 09/04/2019 20:56

£15?

Skyejuly · 09/04/2019 20:56

20

Heartraker · 09/04/2019 20:57

Not sure yet if it’s just me. Wow petrol is expensive Shock

(Not trying to get out of it, but I remember my mum offering £5 back in the day! Grin)

OP posts:
Topttumps · 09/04/2019 20:57

Depend on how many miles and how many people travelling I would say.

LIZS · 09/04/2019 20:58

£25 if just the two of you

Lovestonap · 09/04/2019 20:58

A tenner. 15 max.

MollyYouInDangerGirl · 09/04/2019 20:58

On AA planner website you can put in your start point and destination and it gives you the approximate fuel cost - you could then split that by number of people in the car and offer them that much?

managedmis · 09/04/2019 20:58

What Tot said

Nottobesoldseparately · 09/04/2019 20:59

Is it a round trip of 2 hrs 40mins, or there and back, so 5hours plus?
A tenner for a round trip, £20 there and back.

Katinkka · 09/04/2019 20:59

Just say ‘let me know what I owe for petrol’, and I assume they will tell you.

managedmis · 09/04/2019 20:59

Top, oops, sorry

stucknoue · 09/04/2019 20:59

It would cost me £50 return at least (big engine) depending on traffic and speed.

ThisIsTheEndgame · 09/04/2019 21:00

Petrol costs me about 10p a mile (motorway, v small car)

JoyceDivision · 09/04/2019 21:00

Rough guess-timate:

My Corsa costs APPX £45 to completely fill, it does APPX 380 miles on a full tank.

So, 160 miles : £22

80 miles : £10

As a rough cost... Plus it's also the inconvenience it's saved you from that you're acknowledging with the cash.

It's nice you're not waiting to be asked, hope the numbers help Smile

Heartraker · 09/04/2019 21:00

It’s a round trip, it’s a loch in Scotland and it isn’t coming up on route planner? Hmm Group leader says 1 50 there and 1 50 back so I’ve doubled it for a round figure.

OP posts:
Alsohuman · 09/04/2019 21:00

How far is it? About 150 miles? How many will be splitting the petrol? What kind of vehicle is it?

shatteredandstressed · 09/04/2019 21:03

£20 should be fine assuming there's only 2 of you.

YouBumder · 09/04/2019 21:05

How far is it? Is it just you?

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/04/2019 21:07

I would base your calculation on the mileage rather than the duration of the journey as it could be the best part of 200 miles on clear motorways, 50 miles on single-track local roads or, as I would suspect, some kind of mixture of slow and fast roads.

You can easily find out the approximate mileage online with Google Maps or AA Routefinder, even if you only know the name of the nearest village or town.

It also depends on what car (size/engine size/model/age) it is as to how much the petrol will cost. I think standard business mileage is 45p, but that takes account of more than just the petrol costs (depreciation etc.).

Assuming it's a newish, medium, mundane family car, I'd personally reckon on about 25p per mile and then divide the total between the number of people (or at least adults) travelling. If anything, I'd round up a bit rather than down, to take account of the other car running costs that will be borne by the driver, which aren't as quantifiable as fuel (repairs, servicing, new cam-belts etc.), but which still tend to increase the more miles are driven.

Hope that helps as a starting point - others may well have differing suggestions Smile

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/04/2019 21:08

I'm too verbose - there were no replies when I started mine, but lots of succinct good responses beat me to it in the meantime Grin

VanillaCoconutDove · 09/04/2019 21:10

When I’ve done similar trips I’ve split the cost of a tank of petrol.

LordWheresMyShoes · 09/04/2019 21:13

Not sure yet if it’s just me. Wow petrol is expensive

Yes. Yes it is, and that's not even taking into account insurance and car maintenance, and driving for nearly 3 hours is tiring and can be stressful and driving back for nearly three hours after camping is even less fun. Oh and carrying camping gear = heavier car and less fuel economy. Bare all that in mind.

2 hours and 40 minutes of driving according to Google maps gets me 130 miles. The standard mileage allowance calculator for work and hmrc allows 40p per mile, so that journey there and back would cost £104 each way, so half the total fuel could be around £50. I've had cars where that's pretty accurate on what I spend on fuel, however my current car it would cost me more like half that.

Certainly don't offer less than £20.

LordWheresMyShoes · 09/04/2019 21:15

Sorry, didn't check when I edited and that doesn't make sense. The journey there and back would cost £104 total (not each way).

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/04/2019 21:15

A tenner. 15 max.

Wow. I know you posted before the OP clarified the distance, but assuming just the two of them, a tenner for half the petrol would suggest an expected cost of less than 7p a mile.

Not accounting for the extra weight of the camping gear and the fact that OP's friend is kindly doing all of that driving, much of it on presumably windy, high-concentration roads, that sounds incredibly mean to me.