Filling Up The Car Monti's Italy

 

A big talking talk in Italian households at the moment is the high taxes. Everything we touch seems to be taxed. Petrol and diesel are big talking points. We have not only been taxed at the pumps to help Italy out of  the  Euro crisis but on top of that a further tax has been levied in Tuscany to help rebuild the Cinque Terre area after the catastrophic floods of last Autumn and in other parts of Italy to help the earthquake victims in  Reggio Emilia. The price has risen to nearly 1.90 Euro in some areas. There are of course price variations and the word soon gets around which petrol station in the area is offering the best deals each week. However I was amazed when at the local AGIP garage I was offered three different prices. The highest price obviously was to have the petrol put in the car. The Faidate/Self-service price was a few centesimi cheaper but then Iperself was even cheaper. What was Iperself? The car putting the petrol in itself?  A Ferrari may have the techno knowledge for this but my poor little Nissan needs me to fill her up. I asked my colleagues in the car share scheme which I belong to, and they all came up with that ” boh “! The Italian grunt for I don’t know, so I asked my friendly petrol pump man. 

Self mean that the money isn’t deducted from your card until after you have put the petrol in.

Iper self on the other hand means petrol must be paid for before you put it in. During opening hours if you get it wrong the difference will be returned to you without problems. Petrol is also often reduced in service garage to a self-service price after closing.

Now the Apig chain of garages as well as offering the option of Iper-self, are reducing the price by an extra 20 cents per litre from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening on the price of service. Last weekend I paid 1.59 Euro ( 1.99 USD or 1.29 Sterling) for unleaded petrol. This means Italians can now enjoy their weekend trips to the beach and tourists can afford an extra day exploring.

Happy Summer Motoring.