Why are diesel drivers subsidising petrol buyers?

Do you drive a diesel car or van? Well, watch out – you’re probably paying over the odds for your fuel.

Garages and forecourts have been accused of hiking the price of diesel by up to 6p a litre to make up for poor margins on petrol sales.

And that means they are adding more than £3 to the cost of filling up a diesel car, or £4.80 for a van.

Cheques and balances

Edmund King, AA president, said: “Cars are like blank cheques for whoever feels the need to balance the books by plundering drivers’ pockets.

“And now the fuel retailers are taking £3-a-tank extra on diesel to steady their finances.”

Oiling the wheels

Petrol prices are also on the up, with the typical cost of a litre rising from 111.92p in mid March to 113.29p in mid April.

And all this while wholesale oil prices continue to fall!

• In the first 2 weeks of March, oil averaged $ 58.50 (£39.31) a barrel.

• In the opening fortnight of April, the cost of a barrel was just $ 55.70.

Rise and fall

So why are fuel prices going up while oil prices are falling on the international bourses?

Does it prove that retailers are cashing in on both petrol and diesel drivers?

After all, the cost of filling up a 55-litre petrol tank has shot up by 75p in the last month. And since February, petrol prices have risen 7p a litre – pumping up the cost of filling up by £3.50 a time.

Crude statistics

But it’s not that straightforward. Even though the oil price has fallen when priced in dollars, the value of sterling has itself fallen against the dollar.

That means oil costs more for UK processors and retailers.

The change in exchange rates has meant that, while £1 bought you $ 1.511 in mid March, it got you just $ 1.481 in mid April.

In, er, crude terms, that means a $ 2.80-a-barrel fall in the oil price translates into a 1p-a-litre increase at wholesale level, which inevitably feeds through to the pumps.

Pump action

So it seems no-one is faring particularly well at the pumps at the moment (although prices below £1.20 are still around 10% less than this time last year).

But even the Petrol Retailers Association confirms that diesel drivers are being used to subsidise their more numerous petrol-purchasing counterparts.

A spokesman said: “Currently, the margin available on petrol is extremely low – and so higher margins may be taken on diesel.”

Cutting remarks

The RAC, which has accused fuel retailers of taking diesel drivers for a ride, is calling for diesel prices to be cut by 4p a litre.

Simon Williams at the RAC said: “Retailers have maintained a higher margin on diesel, perhaps to subsidise petrol sales.”

But rather than calling for price cuts, the AA wants the politicians jostling for our votes to make both petrol and diesel pricing more transparent for the UK’s 35 million drivers.

“Motorists prop up the Treasury to the tune of 10% of the UK’s total £582.6 billion tax-take,” said Edmund King. “But the need for fair pricing on UK forecourts has so far been largely ignored by politicians. A commitment to pump price transparency would be a good start.”

Why are diesel drivers subsidising petrol buyers?

Home buyers could package some savings

A saving of $ 47,000 more than the life of a house loan sounds excellent. That’s what could be on provide if you borrowed $ 300,000 more than 25 years with a package residence loan and took advantage of the discounts.

 

What is a package home loan?

A package house loan, often called package banking, merely indicates combining your property loan and other frequently-used economic items into one particular bundle.  Normally a package home loan comes with the alternative to have the following merchandise:

• A mortgage offset account,


• Deposit accounts (e.g. transaction account and/or savings accounts),


• Credit cards,


• Discounted common insurance coverage options (e.g. home and contents, landlord and car insurance),


• Discounted threat insurance choices (e.g. life, TPD, trauma and income protection insurance),


• Discounted financial planning and share trading.

In return for packaging all the goods with each other, the financial institution will charge you one particular annual fee that covers it all, as opposed to separate account-keeping charges on every product.

How does a package save income?

The key savings factor in every package property loan is the discounted house loan interest price – according to CANSTAR’s study, the typical package residence loan price is currently 5.05%, compared to an average stand-alone property loan price of 5.44%. Then there are discounts on insurance coverage products and a package annual charge rather than different account-keeping costs. All up, CANSTAR’s comparison on package versus stand-alone merchandise concluded that somebody taking out a package residence loan and making use of everyday merchandise alongside the residence loan such as transaction account, credit card, residence & contents insurance and automobile insurance coverage could potentially save the following:

• A $ 500,000 property loan package could save $ 3,718.25 in the first year & $ 3,369.92 every single subsequent year.


• A $ 300,000 home loan package could save $ 2,238.25 in the very first year & $ 1,889.92 each and every year following that.


• A $ 150,000 home loan package could save $ 986.25 in the very first year & $ 637.92 every year soon after that.

See the CANSTAR Package House Loan Star Ratings report for calculation assumptions and additional information.

Always maintain in thoughts that packaging up your banking products is not for absolutely everyone. It may not be for you if, for instance:

• You won’t use the merchandise incorporated in the package, therefore get limited advantage.


• The annual charge is not outweighed by the savings simply because of the way you use, or do not use, the package.


• You can uncover a credit card or insurance much better suited to your requirements elsewhere.

Exactly where to discover outstanding value

Right after scrutinizing 31 Package Home Loans from 28 lenders, the CANSTAR results show 3 5-star packages now on the market place for the House Buyer and 4 for the Home Investor.

For house buyers, the following 3 packages received a CANSTAR 5 star rating:

•             Commonwealth Bank’s Wealth package

•             IMB’s Platinum package

•             Newcastle Permanent’s Premium Plus package

For home investors, the following 4 packages received a CANSTAR 5 star rating:

•             Commonwealth Bank’s  Wealth package

•             Newcastle Permanent’s  Premium Plus package

•             Suncorp Bank’s Residence Package Plus

•             Westpac’s Premier Advantage package

CANSTAR congratulates all 5 star winners for supplying outstanding worth to customers.

Home buyers could package some savings

Buyers R Prepared: Very first 500 New Volkswagen Golf Rs Sell Out in 11 Hours

You do not need us to remind you, but speed is everything. The 2015 Volkswagen Golf R is assured to have lots of go, thanks to its 292-hp turbocharged 2.-liter 4, dual-clutch automatic, and Haldex all-wheel drive. The hot hatch’s potential customers are fast, as well, having snapped up all 500 of the specific-edition preorder automobiles from VW in under 12 hours. And Volkswagen got out ahead of everyone when it announced the preorder sales rush via a tweet. See?

The initial 500 Golf Rs to locate homes all will be identical. They’re fully loaded, navigation-equipped Rs painted Lapiz Blue Metallic and with 19-inch “Cadiz” wheels. Other goodies incorporate bi-xenon headlights, adaptive dampers, a Fender audio program, and parking sensors. VW also is throwing in a serialized R watch, keychain, and VIN-certain certificate. The fortunate buyers of the cars each plunked down $ 500 as a reservation, and that outlay will be rolled into the R’s $ 39,910 acquire price tag when deliveries commence later this year.

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Didn’t snag a single of the unique Golf Rs? Do not worry—there is now a separate preorder list for eager VW fans. Or you could simply opt for the sublime and cheaper Golf GTI, or step up to the R’s slightly pricier but mechanically similar Audi sibling, the S3 sedan.

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Buyers R Prepared: Very first 500 New Volkswagen Golf Rs Sell Out in 11 Hours

Residence buyers flocking to fixed

Back in 2012, a complete 70% of residence loan searches on CANSTAR’s database were for variable price loans. Rapidly-forward to now and that majority has been reversed of the 30,000 people who searched for a property loan on CANSTAR’s database in November, only 45% were for searching for variable. Now, a single-quarter of folks (25%) are seeking for a 5-year fixed rate loan – up from just 8% in 2012. 3 year fixed attracted 16% of searches in November and the remainder was split between 1 and 2 year fixed.

Those proportions are not an anomaly – they have been fairly consistent over the previous 6 months and represent a considerable change in consumer behaviour.

Why? Effectively, mortgage holders are in a fantastic place at the moment – house loan prices are as low as we have ever noticed over the previous twenty years and the great news is that they’re not most likely to rise in the near future. Final week the RBA indicated that there had been no rate increases on the horizon and of course there’s now wide speculation that rates will decrease in the New Year. It’s not excellent news for self-funded retirees, but certainly the forty percent of households that have residence loan debt are in a sweet spot.

Current residence loan prices on CANSTAR’s database are as follows:

	Normal Variable	Package Variable	1 Year Fixed	2 Year Fixed	3 Year Fixed	4 Year Fixed	5 Year Fixed
Average	5.37%	5.02%	4.79%	4.87%	4.97%	5.20%	5.24%
Minimum	4.48%	4.62%	3.89%	4.29%	4.49%	4.69%	4.84%
Maximum	6.38%	5.82%	5.79%	5.84%	5.89%	6.39%	6.34%

Source: CANSTAR residence loans database. Based on a loan size of $ 250,000.

Interestingly, whilst institutions bend more than backwards to compete in terms of bells and whistles, the searches on our database indicate that numerous house purchasers just want a good interest rate. An offset account is the most well-known “extra” that people are looking for on our web site, but even then it’s only twenty-6 percent of searches. A redraw facility is sought out by sixteen percent of men and women twenty-one % of people look for a product that enables added repayments, so a single in 5 are seeking to take benefit of those low rates.

A fixed-price loan isn’t for everybody though. Some issues to be conscious of contain:

• Repaying your fixed loan early could outcome in massive break charges, particularly if prices fall additional. So consider your future plans (e.g. upgrading, refinancing etc.) just before deciding on the term you want to fix for.

• Fixed price loans in general are less featured and lack the flexibility of a variable price item – although CANSTAR has noticed that the new breed of fixed loans are coming out with offset accounts and fewer restrictions regarding the amount of added funds borrowers can channel into the loan.

• Do repair if you want certainty in your repayments

• If unsure then think about fixing element of your mortgage rather than the full amount.

And of course, regardless of whether you choose on fixed or variable, do some on the internet study to prepare a short list of loans that have the appropriate mixture of value and attributes to suit your require.

Residence buyers flocking to fixed

House buyers flocking to fixed

Back in 2012, a complete 70% of property loan searches on CANSTAR’s database were for variable rate loans. Rapidly-forward to now and that majority has been reversed of the 30,000 men and women who searched for a house loan on CANSTAR’s database in November, only 45% have been for looking for variable. Now, one-quarter of people (25%) are looking for a 5-year fixed rate loan – up from just 8% in 2012. 3 year fixed attracted 16% of searches in November and the remainder was split among one particular and 2 year fixed.

These proportions are not an anomaly – they have been relatively constant over the previous 6 months and represent a substantial alter in customer behaviour.

Why? Well, mortgage holders are in a wonderful spot at the moment – house loan rates are as low as we have ever observed over the previous twenty years and the very good news is that they’re not likely to rise in the near future. Last week the RBA indicated that there have been no rate increases on the horizon and of course there’s now wide speculation that rates will lower in the New Year. It is not fantastic news for self-funded retirees, but undoubtedly the forty percent of households that have residence loan debt are in a sweet spot.

Current home loan rates on CANSTAR’s database are as follows:

	Regular Variable	Package Variable	1 Year Fixed	2 Year Fixed	3 Year Fixed	4 Year Fixed	5 Year Fixed
Average	5.37%	5.02%	4.79%	4.87%	4.97%	5.20%	5.24%
Minimum	4.48%	4.62%	3.89%	4.29%	4.49%	4.69%	4.84%
Maximum	6.38%	5.82%	5.79%	5.84%	5.89%	6.39%	6.34%

Source: CANSTAR home loans database. Based on a loan size of $ 250,000.

Interestingly, even though institutions bend over backwards to compete in terms of bells and whistles, the searches on our database indicate that many house buyers just want a good interest rate. An offset account is the most well-liked “extra” that individuals are searching for on our website, but even then it is only twenty-6 % of searches. A redraw facility is sought out by sixteen percent of folks twenty-a single % of individuals appear for a solution that enables added repayments, so one particular in 5 are hunting to take benefit of those low rates.

A fixed-rate loan isn’t for everybody although. Some things to be conscious of incorporate:

• Repaying your fixed loan early may possibly outcome in large break charges, particularly if prices fall further. So think about your future plans (e.g. upgrading, refinancing and so on.) prior to deciding on the term you want to fix for.

• Fixed price loans in common are significantly less featured and lack the flexibility of a variable price solution – although CANSTAR has noticed that the new breed of fixed loans are coming out with offset accounts and fewer restrictions regarding the quantity of extra funds borrowers can channel into the loan.

• Do repair if you want certainty in your repayments

• If unsure then contemplate fixing element of your mortgage rather than the complete quantity.

And of course, regardless of whether you choose on fixed or variable, do some on the internet study to prepare a short list of loans that have the appropriate mixture of value and functions to suit your require.

House buyers flocking to fixed

Four inquiries to ask a buyer’s agent

Have you ever utilized a buyer’s agent to negotiate a property acquire? Is it some thing you may possibly think about? (Click here to find out what a buyer’s agent does). If speaking with a buyer’s agent is on your agenda, the Genuine Estate Purchasers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) suggests that you ask the following inquiries:

1. What is their expertise in the geographic area you are contemplating?

They say that nearby information is invaluable, so you need to have to guarantee that your buyer’s agent has a good information of the neighbourhood in which you are wanting to get. Ask what and where their most recent purchases have been.

2. Do they operate as an exclusive buyer’s agent?

In other words, are they operating for and getting paid by you and no-1 else?  “Some agents calling themselves ‘buyers’ agents’ have actually been taking a fee from a selling agent’s commission, yet claiming to function for the purchaser,”

mentioned REBAA president Jacque Parker. ““This is a clear conflict of interest since properly they are representing the vendor, they’re not acting solely on behalf of the purchaser.”

3. Are they a licensed buyer’s agent?

Usually an agency can be licensed in a single state but not the other and still advertise that they act for purchasers of home interstate. Each state and territory in Australia has distinct licensing specifications.  Check whether or not they are REBAA accredited.

4. Can they supply current client testimonials/references?

Usually ask to speak to earlier consumers, just as you would speak to a referee for a job interview. This process can help alleviate any concerns you could have about your potential agent.

Want some a lot more guidelines? Study our interview with Market Analyst and Buyer’s Agent, Simon Pressley, right here.

Four inquiries to ask a buyer’s agent