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[MSE Wendy]

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Cheapest Petrol & Diesel article

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[tomstickland]

I've noticed recently that prices differ quite a bit in different towns. At the moment I fill up when I visit Bristol on Thursday nights because it's 97-98p per litre there whilst it's 101-102p per litre in the area where I live.

[OoOGazOoO]

Thanks for the article.

Petrol is an absolute rip off, about time something was done about it by the government rather than fleecing motorists.

[Equinut]

I drive daily from Chester to Manchester. Leaving Chester, the Shell on the A41 has amongst the cheapest around Chester (equal to the Sainsburys Caldy Valley) and on the way into Manchester, if you can put up with the Princess Parkway, there is another Shell garage on the dual carriageway into Manchester (past Chorlton cemetary and the lights, on the left hand side if you keep going into the city centre) which has by far the cheapest petrol prices I've seen in the NorthWest.

[rogerj]

The days when the world was awash with cheap oil are over; a point has been reached where demand for fossil fuel exceeds crude oil available for extraction. China and India are sucking in world supplies ...and why shouldn't emerging nations enjoy benefit from industrialisation too?
But a major crisis could easily interupt oil supplies [a US invasion of Iran!]

The biggest fuel user is the armed services, their supplies would be maintained; the emergency services would also need fuel. Motorists are non-essential users and there is a simple mechanism available to divert fuel to essential services and keep the rest of us off the road ...prohibitive fuel prices.

Brace yourself and ask how much fuel will need to rise, to get you out of the car? I try to use public transport and do a low mileage, I will junk my car at around £10 a litre.

[alanm]

Also everyone should make the most of the Tesco price matching promise (which I heard of via mse long ago and which, surprise, surprise, Tesco don't broadcast too loudly) ...
if you can find fuel cheaper within 3 miles they will refund double the difference. Just tell the person at the cash desk - if they look confused, as the younger ones will do, tell them there's a full page set of instructions in their duty book telling them how to key in the refund on the till.
As a driving instructor I use a fair bit of fuel, and I've used this twice in the past two weeks with a full tank of diesel AND while using a 5p off per litre voucher - our local Sainsbury's has a habit of putting its prices up a day later than the local Tesco. Once it was 1p difference = 2p refund = 80p, and once 2p difference. Just keep eyes on other prices nearby and time it right.

[anewman]

Originally Posted by alanm

Also everyone should make the most of the Tesco price matching promise (which I heard of via mse long ago and which, surprise, surprise, Tesco don't broadcast too loudly)

Only way I see to take advantage of this is to go to petrolprices.com and look for the cheapest petrol near Tesco, then buy petrol at tesco and get the refund there and then. Driving back to Tesco would negate the value of the refund unless you were going anyway. Seems like too much messing about to me for what chances are won't be anymore than £1.

If only we could get loads of Jerry cans cheap and stock up...

[dumpty]

The last 3 times I've been to get petrol based on the prices shown on that website, I find that the prices at the pumps have changed, and invariably it is then cheaper somewhere else. (In the last couple of weeks, I have particularly noticed Diesel prices at some places changing on a daily basis, making it impossible for the website to keep up to date!) I have given up using the website now - I just keep my eyes open as I drive around, and stop when I think it's a good price.

One thing that really hacks me off is Tesco offering 5p per litre off petrol if you spend more than £50 in-store. This is fine for families with that sort of spend on groceries each week, but pensioners or single people like myself are NEVER going to spend £50 on groceries in one go, so never qualify for this discount!! I strongly feel that us smaller users are being discriminated against. After all, it is the small people like me paying full price for the petrol which gives Tesco the scope to give the 5p per litre discount to people spending over £50 in-store! Why can't they give everyone 1p per litre off (or, if they want to restrict it just to loyal Tesco Shoppers, only issue coupons to customers who use a Tesco Clubcard at the checkouts). That would be much fairer.

[pulliptears]

Ived used the site a few times, and without fail the chepest station in my area is always displaying "no fuel" signs.

very irritating...

[Gingertom]

If you are prepared to use Shell all the time get a "citi"
Mastercard . Application form from Shell Stations or on line.
For the first 60 days after getting your card you will get 6% off all fuel fillups which at the moment is around 6p and also for the 60 days 2% off everything you use it for in the high street. After the 60 days it reverts to 3% and 1% respectively. Still better than the ADSA Card deal (2p) I have been using for my 25000 Miles per year.

[shropshirelady]

I wish it was just under £1 in my area. Today most stations are 1.05/1.06 ltr. One local station is 1.11 ltr.

[wiseowl]

Hi, for all of you frugal drivers out there, dont forget to 'coast' down every hill you drive - it can save you a significant amount of fuel simply by putting your car into neutral whenever possible and rolling down the hill.....try it!

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by wiseowl

Hi, for all of you frugal drivers out there, dont forget to 'coast' down every hill you drive - it can save you a significant amount of fuel simply by putting your car into neutral whenever possible and rolling down the hill.....try it!

Coasting in neutral means you aren't in proper control of the car. If your vehicle has a direct fuel injection it will typically cut out when, for example, going down a hill in gear. When coasting in neutral, fuel is needed to keep the engine idling over.

[Poppycat]

Make sure you car is well maintained and serviced. Also correct tyre pressure. I check mine every few weeks with a gauge

I also use petrolprices.com Sainsburys ia always the cheapest and happens to be the closest station near me anyhow, but one of the busiest so I choose an evening usually to fuel up and use my Nectar card.

I dont tend to put me foot down or accelerate fast as I believe that saves fuel. I tend to go at a steady speed were allowed

I used to coast down hills but I did hear it didnt actually save money and of course you only have you brakes to slow you down rather than the gears

Dont carry anything heavy in car if you dont need it, ie toolbox etc unless you need it for a job etc

[davetrousers]

Originally Posted by wiseowl

Hi, for all of you frugal drivers out there, dont forget to 'coast' down every hill you drive - it can save you a significant amount of fuel simply by putting your car into neutral whenever possible and rolling down the hill.....try it!

I have heard that when going down hill your car will use no fuel if you leave it in gear and do not coast. I know this sounds odd, but I do distinctly remember on Top Gear when Clarkson drove a diesel Jag from London to Edinburgh and back again on 1 tankful. He phoned Jaguar and told them what he was planning and they told him not to coast down hills but to leave it in gear as it will use no fuel (when going down hill).

[LuciferTDark]

petrolprices.com has been good for me until recently, for the last couple of months they've been way off with their prices in my area, right now my local petrol station (300yrds away) is listed in the emails as varying from 96.9p to 98.9p a litre when actually the station has been charging 100.9p for a week.

[mrtg0525]

From what I remember about reading how petrolprices.com compiles their data, they're buying in fuel card user data and compile them. The trouble is that in order to get up to date prices, you'll have to have one of the fuel card users visit your local station...

For several stations around me (most notably the one directly at the end of the road, which tends to be expensive), the data is way out of date.

[allym7]

Did anyone watch top gear when he drove from london to edinburgh and back again on 1 tank of fuel? He didn't use the cruise control because the electrics' power required for this to work reduced his MPGs by 5 or 6, in a similar way using the air conditioning does. Also, a cruise control may not select the highest gear possible for the speed you are travelling at. This may not be true for all cars, but I think it is worth taking into account.

Also about the coasting, yes this was on the same program (in an Audi A8 turbodiesel). Most modern cars use less fuel when coasting in gear than they do when coasting in neutral. However obviously coasting in gear will slow you down, so this is mainly to save petrol when coming to a stop: don't put the clutch down too early.

[anewman]

See the lights starting to change, or are red up ahead or there's a queue?! Don't accelerate all the way up to them. There's no point in doing that as you use more petrol and wear out your brakes faster. Foot off gas, foot ready to brake. Also, if you try not to stop at the lights (by going slower on approach), if they happen to turn green while you are still in motion, you will probably use less petrol from not stopping and starting, and be on your way quicker (than the guy in the outside lane who raced to the lights as fast as he could then braked hard to stop). Same applies in jams, try to anticipate the traffic ahead and move slowly without stopping and starting.

[redux]

Originally Posted by allym7

Did anyone watch top gear when he drove from london to edinburgh and back again on 1 tank of fuel? He didn't use the cruise control because the electrics' power required for this to work reduced his MPGs by 5 or 6, in a similar way using the air conditioning does.

I'd suspect it wouldn't be for quite that reason, but that the attempt to hold a constant speed would mean more power being applied going uphill than down. It would surely be more fuel-efficient to accelerate slightly on downhills and let the speed bleed off on uphills without increasing power as much.