That last drop of petrol!

A question about : That last drop of petrol!

Probably a stupid question. After reading about filling up with less petrol to make your car lighter therefor reducing fuel costs; it got me thinking when filling up.

How many times have you took your hand off the pump when filling up and the figure has been short of a nice round figure eg. Ј19.73 Ј10.37 Ј 14.62 etc

To make it a nice round figure youve used short bursts on the pump to bring the total up to Ј20, Ј11, Ј15 etc. I often get the feeling this might be a complete waste of time, a friend who works in texico said the only thing that adds up when when pressing the pump with such short and minimal pressure is the total balance on the pump. Petrol only comes out at the value your paying for it when the pump is in full flow.

Anyone else gave this any thought, those ten twenty thirty p's required to round it up will eventually add up over the space of a year and as someone quotes on here a penny saved is a penny saved

Have I totally lost it in my money saving quest and have gone one step too far?
Do you round your petrol off to a nice round figure (or have mastered it so it always lands spot on Ј20 anyway?!)

Paul

Best answers:

• I always round it up - and if filling up will go to great lengths to try to squeeze the last bit of petrol into the tank so that it ends up on a round figure! So really it sounds like it's just for our "head" convenience. As I usually pay by card, it's not even a matter of making it easier cos you've got a Ј10 note or whatever - I often buy milk, paper or chocolate which takes it over the round sum anyway! I'm not going to do this now, but be quite happy rounding it up as "I spent about Ј15 on petrol".
• I just fill up completely, about Ј55 for 800 miles. I don't believe any of that nonsense about miscalibration of the pump metering; they'd be sued by Weights and Measures Inspectors
• I always stick an 'odd amount' in - so I don't inadvertantly pay for someone elses fuel.... everyone else is putting Ј10/Ј20 etc in - and here's me putting Ј29.68 in
• i put in a round Ј20 each fortnight.
  if i am at an 'unknown' garage (neither of my local supermarkets) i pay cash, if at usual tesco or asda, it's card.
  the technology is way to complex for anyone to explain but i doubt it's anything sinister- just all that blooming tax.
  no petrol, no before hollywood at work, work that one out gordon.
• Forget the level Ј$Ј$ figure - go to Shell, use a Bonuspoints card & you'll be making sure you're 'just over' a full litre, to get the points/litre!!
  Incedently, get their credit card & you earn more points if you pay using it. & if you just apply for a card, you're given points worth Ј10 petrol/shopping voucher, anyway!!
  & ONLY apply for 1 card initially - they'll write to you in a few weeks time, offereing a joint card, plus ANOTHER Ј10 of fuel!!
  VB
• i just fill up til it clicks, then squeeze once more, then i bang the hell outta the nozzle to get every last drop out!!
  where do you apply for the shell CC? and is there an equivalent BP one?? or other BP reward card?
• and Sainsburys, also with extra points on Visa
• I remember when I was an apprentice (no, not Darth MoneyMonkey!) on a low wage... I sometimes put Ј2 of fuel in the car, lift the hose up, tap the nozzle, and squeeze every drop out of the thing!! I wonder how far I would get on Ј2 these days?!!
• I always round up too - sometimes by Ј2 or more.
  On the Fabia's, there's a little vent on the side of the fuel pipe, in the 3 o'clock position! When you press the nozzle of the pump against it, it releases the air pressure which builds up, that normally stops the fuel pump from filling. If I find myself with a "clicking" fuel pump at say Ј33.25, I will usually use the venting trick and get it up to Ј35. As well as aiding my bank statement adding up / maths, it means I go marginally further without filling up again.
  Oh, and the venting trick is not advisable in the summer, as what you're effectively doing is filling up the expansion tank, which is meant to be there purely for the changes in fuel level, when the fuel tank expands and contracts in the heat of the summer / cold of the night. Filling right up could cause fuel to go down the overflow should the fuel tank contract whilst the expansion tank is full.