Motorcard - does it save on fuel costs?

AlanD

Does anyone use Motorcard to pay for their fuel?

Does it save?
Do you need to use a lot of fuel to make it save?

Stephen

I use one... generally I fill up with about 55 litres every two weeks. The fuelcard rate is normally about 2 cents per litre cheaper than all the local petrol stations (Kilkenny), although I see its only about 0.5c/litre cheaper this week . Pretty much every petrol station in Kilkenny is charging 116.9 for petrol at the moment. The motorcard is 116.4. It was about 114.9 2 weeks ago.

You can't lose out anyways - you get charged whichever rate is cheapest on the day - if the pump price is lower than the fuel card price, you pay that.

padraigmyers

I've had this one with about 2 months.
Its free so you save every fill. I don't do a lot of milage, but I save 4/5 euros on a fill in limerick.
Last fill was 112.2 per ltr and it was 119.9 on the pumps!
Definetly reccomend it.

AlanD

I presume you pay the usual government duty on the card?

sounds like a good idea.

Is there any downside I'm not seeing here?

padraigmyers

AlanD wrote:

I presume you pay the usual government duty on the card?

sounds like a good idea.

Is there any downside I'm not seeing here?

No, no government duty as far as I know.
I haven't spotted a downside yet, although if someone knows of one please let me know.
Like I said, I've only had it 2 months but its worked a treat, no problem with accepting it anyplace I tried either,

dudara

It sounds like a great idea. Might investigate it further once I'm doing more mileage. Pity it's only just statoils.

padraigmyers

dudara wrote:

It sounds like a great idea. Might investigate it further once I'm doing more mileage. Pity it's only just statoils.

I do very little mileage, about 1 fill every month, still worth having, better off having that money in my pocket.
Ya, its a pity its just Statoil, but they send you out a list of all the Statoil stations in the country when you get the card. Its pretty easy to time it so that you fill at one of them.

kluivert

Is there any costs involved in this at all then.

No government duty.
No interest charge.
No admin fees.

Whats the catch??

Sounds like a great idea by the way.

padraigmyers

All fuel companies do these type of schemes for business's, just seams that some enterprising individual has convinced Statoil that it would be worthwhile to offer it to the public too. It definitely drums up more business for them I'd say. But as stated there doesn't seam to be any catch for the customer.

AlanD

They probably make their money as resellers of fuel. Say they charge 106 for diesel now. The way they seem to charge the customer for the fuel is that they probably can buy the fuel for 105 or less and that's how they make it free for the customer to use this.

I think it's a great idea.....and is something that could be rolled out to other providers aswell.

Application here I come!

Black Sky

Hey... that looks good.
Anything to save a couple of euro. I average nearly €180 a month on petrol, and thats with keeping an eye on what I pay for it.

dudara

Well, I've just registered for one, no harm in giving it a go.

unkel

kluivert wrote:

Whats the catch??

1. You can only use it in statoil. In my experience in the Dublin area, statoil is generally more expensive than the cheapest competitor say within a couple of miles

So you think you're saving but in fact you're losing out. Unless you were always getting your fuel in statoil anyway without checking cheaper places. In that case you will save

2. There is 14 day free credit before you pay by direct debit. This compares unfavourably to any credit card where the free credit is between 27ish and 57ish days (depending on day of transaction). Losing out again, unless you used to pay cash. In that case you will save

Darando

Price still more expensive than Tesco in Dundrum. (since i have been checking).

So I guess that if you live in area where there is only really one garage (Statoil) close-by who is expensive then its the way to go.

But cant see if you live in a large town/city that has some hefty competition that it will work out.

Tesco in Dundrum always 1c cheaper than the Statoil in Dundrum for example. (also interesting seeing the tanker stopping in Dundrum Statoil delivering petrol and then moving on up to the Tesco to deliver to them!! same petrol etc.. just more expensive.) I hear Tesco sell it at a loss to get business into the shop.

unkel

Darando wrote:

I hear Tesco sell it at a loss to get business into the shop.

Unfortunately I don't live / work anywhere near a Tesco that sells fuel. Last time I got petrol there I shopped for €200, giving me €0.25 per liter off on top of the €0,05 it was cheaper than the competition at the time. Nice saving of €25 on one fill-up :eek:

Our man in Havana

I also has the Motor card which can only be used in statoil. I only ever use when I am stuck for petrol and I am short on cash. Statoil is not the cheapest place to be petrol buying.

A thing that bugs me is the whole wanting reg and mileage when you buy petrol in statoil. Some places don't care if you don't give them the info but some othe statoils are absolute nazis when it comes to this by insisting on reg and mileage details.

I have noticed that statoil has changed to monthly e-billing instead of weekly bills. Only just got a ebill for Junes petrol this week with 14 days further to the DD payment.

Word of warning if you miss a DD payment.

www.motorcard.ie wrote:

What happens if I miss a direct debit?
If a direct debit is returned unpaid for technical reasons, a member of Statoil’s credit department will contact the cardholder in an attempt to rectify the problem. Technical returns are not subject to any penalties or fees.

However, if a direct debit is returned for credit reasons the card will be immediately stopped. This is a security precaution and designed to combat fraud or any unauthorized use of a stolen card. A Statoil representative will make contact with the card holder, inform them of the situation and request payment for the overdue amount plus a €40 administration fee (levied by Statoil) via a “same day bank transfer” or credit / debit card payment. Once this has been completed, the account, subject to certain terms and conditions, will be nominated for reinstatement.

€40 yikes! :eek:

padraigmyers

Don't know if any of ye noticed, but there was nobody from Dublin discussing this, so all the DUblin-centric comparisons are a bit redundant.

The price with the motorcard has consistently been 3/4c cheaper than pretty much anywhere in Limerick. Its 119.9 in almost every station here, so 112.2 (last time I filled) represents a pretty good saving. We don't have Tesco petrol to push down prices so sarcastic comments like

unkel wrote:

So you think you're saving but in fact you're losing out. Unless you were always getting your fuel in statoil anyway without checking cheaper places. In that case you will save.

We're not all idiots, someone going to the trouble of getting this card isn't going to be someone who never compares prices. When I was down in Tralee a few weeks ago I didn't use it because there was other station selling cheaper that the Motorcard price.

Sorry for going off is a rant, but the whole Dublin bias on boards can be very irritating

unkel

padraigmyers wrote:

someone going to the trouble of getting this card isn't going to be someone who never compares prices

According to some posts in this thread people seem gullible enough to think this statoil card is a win-win solution without even thinking about it a bit more:

padraigmyers wrote:

Its free so you save every fill

As I pointed out, it isn't that easy. Apologies if my sarcastic comments offended you. On the other hand I'd be delighted if a few people here saved some money because of my post

Sparky

I use directfuels
http://www.directfuels.com/
We get charged 87c a ltr of diesel, but we subscribed last November.

padraigmyers

Sparky-s wrote:

I use directfuels
http://www.directfuels.com/
We get charged 87c a ltr of diesel, but we subscribed last November.

Is that just for businesses?
Do you need to have a VAT Number for that?
Is it just diesel, or do they do unleaded as well?

JoeySully

padraigmyers wrote:

Is that just for businesses?
Do you need to have a VAT Number for that?
Is it just diesel, or do they do unleaded as well?

I just signed up without enetering vat or comp no.
there is no info at all on that site about how you acyually get cheaper prices

dubtom

Sparky-s wrote:

I use directfuels
http://www.directfuels.com/
We get charged 87c a ltr of diesel, but we subscribed last November.

Sounds good,the site doesn't give any info on what they charge for fuel, how does it work.

aldy05

I have a Statoil one as far as i know you dont save anything, its just a matter of convience. Statoil seem to be the dearest around though at the moment

boomer_ie

dubtom wrote:

Sounds good,the site doesn't give any info on what they charge for fuel, how does it work.

Ive just emailed them to try to get more information about any savings, however being a saturday id say it will be Wednesday before I get a reply! Will post it here when i do.

Sparky

dubtom wrote:

Sounds good,the site doesn't give any info on what they charge for fuel, how does it work.

You just use it as a credit card really, fuel prices afaik are determined when you sign up.
We use it for the vans, so I have never tried unleaded.

testicle

What does one put in as Group Scheme on the sign up page?

AlanD

Motorcard told me to put "Motorcard" in the groupscheme box...

boomer_ie

boomer_ie wrote:

Ive just emailed them to try to get more information about any savings, however being a saturday id say it will be Wednesday before I get a reply! Will post it here when i do.

I got a reply from them today, they said 5cpl to 6cpl cheaper.

Our man in Havana

Excellent. where can you use this card? Is this another statoil only scheme?

testicle

Yes

testicle

Just to let you know that the current price of unleaded on this card is 113.2 - is this the cheapest publically avaailable fuel in the country?

unkel

testicle wrote:

Just to let you know that the current price of unleaded on this card is 113.2

That is a good deal!

padraigmyers

testicle wrote:

Just to let you know that the current price of unleaded on this card is 113.2 - is this the cheapest publically avaailable fuel in the country?

Its a hell of a drop from last weeks price of 118.4.
I originally though it was a typo, but its the same price on the webfeuls site.

Stark

How do you know that you're being charged correctly on it? Last two times I went to top up, I put in €15 at the pump and the receipt said €15 had been charged to the card. No mention of discount on the receipt. Will the discount be applied when they go to direct debit me?

testicle

Yes. Have you read the FAQ on their website?

http://www.motorcard.ie/faq.htm

I have received my card and used it to buy petrol but the amount on the receipt was the same as the price on the pump. When is the discounted rate applied?

Having used your card at a Statoil station to pay for Petrol or Diesel you will be asked to sign a receipt (similar to a credit card receipt). This receipt details the number of litres received and the prevailing pump price at the station. Although your discounted rate is applied immediately, this receipt will not detail your discounted price.

At the next monthly billing period, you will receive an e-bill by email. This e-bill details the number of litres purchased, the price at the petrol station where you purchased the fuel and your discounted rate.

The amount put forward for direct debit is the number of litres multiplied by the cheaper of the two prices, i.e. The petrol stations pump price or the discounted rate on offer at the time your fuel was purchased.

padraigmyers

Stark wrote:

How do you know that you're being charged correctly on it? Last two times I went to top up, I put in €15 at the pump and the receipt said €15 had been charged to the card. No mention of discount on the receipt. Will the discount be applied when they go to direct debit me?

Register at Webfeuls and you can check it online, it appears a few days after the transactions.
All the details of price at pumps are on here

unkel

Interesting. On http://www.motorcard.ie/faq.htm, when you click on the link for http://www.motorcard.ie, it will bring you directly to AXA Fuel card :eek:

What's the story - anybody know?

AXA then misleadingly claims:

AXA wrote:

Available exclusively to AXA Plus members

Although obviously anybody with a current account can sign up for free with Statoil

petrolhead

I spoke with a representative in Motorcard today. Some interesting information. The company behind the motorcard is Benchmark Fleet Services. http://www.benchmark.ie. They are not in any way affiliated to Statoil except that they have chosen to develop the card with them. It seems that Statoil are the only company who can guarantee that their cards are accepted in 99.9% of their stations and the they have the most locations on a nationwide basis.

Some of the others like Shell, Esso and Maxol operate cards for corporates also but their stations do not guarantee to accept them. The guy on the phone told me that the more petrol and diesel bought on the card the easier it is to negotiate a better price. That's why there are a number of fuelcards being promoted by different companies. At the moment there is the Motorcard, the AXA Plus card and a Groupscheme Card. They are all administered by Benchmark.

What Benchmark get out of it is the opportunity (once you give them permission) to offer a quotation for your next car. They see it as more of a marketing tool than anything else and find that positive word of mouth is generating a lot of interest up and down the country (they offered me 6.5% finance on a new car http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/images/icons/icon7.gif
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/images/icons/icon7.gif.

Anyway, as you can see from my sig. I've been telling everyone I know about it!

R.O.R

petrolhead wrote:

What Benchmark get out of it is the opportunity (once you give them permission) to offer a quotation for your next car.

I would be very surprised if they aren't making money off it themselves. Statoil apply a discount off their RRP price based on usage. This can be fairly sizeable if the amount of fuel purchased is high enough. The more people Benchmark sign up, the cheaper (possibly) the fuel will become. What I'd like to know is whether Benchmark are passing on the full rebate Statoil give them. Anybody know how much per litre is being deducted from Statoils RRP?


Sounds like a similar rival scheme could be a money maker with some marketing!

cjt156

Seems some people earlier in the thread were missing out on a vital point;
You don't pay the Statoil pump price as displayed.
You can check the price online or via text, price is updated every week. So you know what you will pay before you buy, and if you see cheaper elsewhere then go ahead & buy it!

Stephen

Motorcard is currently the cheapest source of petrol for me in my locality - Kilkenny. Current petrol price on motorcard is 101.1. Local garages (including the statoil where I use my card ) charge 110.9-112.9 for a litre of petrol, so saving about 10 cents per litre is great. I'm currently saving about €6 per fill compared to the pump price.
There is one fuel distributor place that comes close at 103.9, but he only opens during office hours and I work out of town so I rarely get to him.

Motorcard ftw.

_Kaiser_

I've had a Motorcard for about 6 weeks now and haven't had any problems with it - it's extremely handy for me in Blanch too as there's a Statoil 2 mins away, and a 2nd in Castleknock whereas the nearest Tesco is in Finglas.

The garages ask me if I want the mileage or reg but I just say its grand and I haven't been refused yet.

For unleaded its definitely the way forward. My Passat is diesel though but it's still a lot cheaper than almost all of the garages around, plus the flexibility of not having to go to a Tesco (I work in Meath) is another plus.

Stephen wrote:

Motorcard ftw.

Seconded!

Stark

Where's the other Statoil in Blanch? I normally go to the one in Castleknock.

Edit: Oh I remember now, there's one in Coolmine Industrial Estate.

_Kaiser_

Stark wrote:

Where's the other Statoil in Blanch? I normally go to the one in Castleknock.

Edit: Oh I remember now, there's one in Coolmine Industrial Estate.

Yep.. just beside the Renault Garage/Dealership. Ironically it's the dearest garage in the area too - if you're paying cash!

Cmar-Ireland

Any more info on the 'Direct Fules' fule card?