jen79

I'm trying to budget to see how much it will cost in terms of gas for our self-drive from Capetown to Port Elizabeth, which is 756 km.

I've read that credit cards are not accepted at gas stations, and I want to ensure that we have enough currency along the way (with the assumption that the USD would not be accepted.)

Thanks!
1 week from tomorrow!!!!

ArthurSA

I have a URL for the official Gov. website, but it is usually a month out of date. So I'll give you the Shell one:

www.shell.co.za/vpower/pprice.htm

The price is adjusted (up or down) on the first Wednesday of each month. As you can see, there was a significant decrease this month, and Shell is forecasting a 6-10 (SA) cent increase next month (1 Sept.). BUT, the newspapers are reporting the likelihood of a much bigger increase, more like 25 cents or more. With further significant increases to follow in later months. (See http://tinyurl.com/42fle)

Currently R4.31/l inland, R4.25/l at the coast. (The coast is always a few cents lee than inland.)

jen79

Thanks Arthur!
Now I'll have to start working on all those conversion rates!

ArthurSA

Ah, let me try and help you there as well. There are a couple of well-known currency site, but they tend to focus on the "Interbank" rate, a single figure. Or at least that's the most obvious conversion on the site.

But as I'm sure aware, in practice, it's the "buy" or "sell" rate that is the important one, depending on which direction you're going, visiting S.A. or a S

ArthurSA

Sorry, typing too furiously! As I was saying . . .

. . . or a South African changing Rands elswhere. So perhaps try one of the S.A. bank sites, www.standard.co.za. Look under the menu Fee rates and prices/Foreign exchange. The rates are updated every half-hour during the day.

And if you can't remember which of the rates (buy or sell) to use, it's always the one that will give you the worst result! That's how it goes!

jen79

Thanks!

I'm still trying to determine how kilometers to the liter one gets (knowing that it is dependant upon the car and speed), because our ridiculous American system is so different.

Gardyloo

For km/l divide mi/gal by 2.4 (or use 2.5, easier), thus 30 mpg = 12.5 +/- km/l. To go the other way, multiply km/l by 2.4, so 10km/l = 24 mpg. This is a rough calculation only, and only for US Gallons. Imperial (UK) gallons are 25% more than US, so the formula shifts further. Fortunately the UK now uses metric volume measurements, so the US is virtually alone in gallons/pints etc. in the motoring world (not pubs, thankfully.)

jen79

So if I budget R200 based on R4.5/liter with the vehicle getting 9 liters/100 km for a 500 km trip...do you think that's okay?

jen79

Okay- so ignore that last post (is there a delete function on this board) because the distance between the two cities is 756 km.

So assuming we drive 850 km with the same specifications, is R350 a reasonable to have on hand for his?

Judy_in_Calgary

Yes, Jen79, your estimate of R350 sounds right to me.

I don't know what kind of vehicle you'll be driving and what the vehicle's gas mileage is. You may be renting a more economical vehicle but, to be on the somewhat conservative side, I looked up the gas mileage for a Chevrolet Malibu, 2.2 litre engine, 4 cylinders, 4-speed automatic. A website said it got an average of 24 miles to the gallon in the city and 34 miles to the gallon on the highway. Most of the drive from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth will be on a highway, so let's say an average of 30 miles to the gallon.

Since there are roughly 1.6 kilometres in a mile, that's roughly 48 kilometres to the gallon. A gallon is roughly equal to 4 litres. If 48 km will consume 4 litres, 850 km will consume 71 litres.

Let's assume the September gas price will be R4.50/litre. In that case you'll use up R320 worth of gas, but be conservative and say R350.

Of course it would be good to have some cash on hand for other incidental expenses as well.

No, Fodors doesn't have an edit or delete feature, not that I've been able to discover anyway. I too have had reason to wish for it.

jen79

Thanks for double-checking my math Judy!
We are renting a Nissan Almera (or equivalent). I had a heck of a time finding the gas mileage for it- and guessed that it must be equivalent to the Sentra sold here in the States.

I read that tipping just your change to the gas attendant is appropriate. Is that correct?

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Hi Jen79,

As per usual Judy is spot on the button. You could expect to get about 11 Km/liter in a Nissan Almera meaning that you will be purchasing about 77 Litres @ R4.50 bringing you domn to a total cost of about R350.00. Dont forget that you might need a pint or two of oil so add an extra R20 to the final total. You would be correct in saying that you would generally leave the change from your payment with the petrol attendant as long as the tip is more than R2.00-R3.00

Enjoy your journey down the Garden Route.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa