Petrol - motorway rip off!

peterg1965

Why does petrol/diesel cost about 5-7p more per litre on motorways?? In old money this equates to 22 - 30p more per gallon. You would think that it is cheaper for the oil companies to deliver on main roads. Is this just another great example of how we are ripped off by companies in this country? I, for one, will never buy my diesel on the motorway.

They also hide their greed by headlining metric costs and people are therefore not aware of the huge difference in prices. Pre metric I am sure that there was not suh a big price difference in motorway and urban prices.

Hintza

I agree if I have to put petrol in the car on the motorway it is the minimum required to get me to my destination.

arnie&caseysma!

Oh to have the luxury of lower fuel costs. We live in a rural area where petrol costs for some reason are automatically higher. If I am going anywhere I put the minimum in until I can get to the nearest big town (with a Tesco petrol station) which is about 75 miles away, or wait til I get to the motorway 100 miles away where the cheapest petrol available to me can be used to fill up my tank. It is cheaper on the motorway in some places these days than it is in towns.

skintscotsman

didn't martin have an article (or maybe even a book??) on how to find cheaper petrol near motorways

don't use the service stations - drive a few miles off the motorway into a town.

i'm sre martin's article/book gave locations of petrol stations near motorways that weren't service station

Woby_Tide

http://www.5minutesaway.co.uk/

as for the cost, supply and demand, plus delivering petrol isn't the only cost involved

Labman_2

Martin's musings on the subject here:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1167415

Hintza

arnie&caseysma! wrote:

Oh to have the luxury of lower fuel costs. We live in a rural area where petrol costs for some reason are automatically higher. If I am going anywhere I put the minimum in until I can get to the nearest big town (with a Tesco petrol station) which is about 75 miles away, or wait til I get to the motorway 100 miles away where the cheapest petrol available to me can be used to fill up my tank. It is cheaper on the motorway in some places these days than it is in towns.

Just beware of running a car on supermarket petrol over long periods it can have serious effects on the longevity of your engine.

I find the best deals are branded outlets close to supermarkets...they normally price match.

Honestjohn goes on about this here is one sample article (I am sure you can find more)

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/motoring_answers/index.htm?id=171

Welshlassie

Hintza wrote:

Just beware of running a car on supermarket petrol over long periods it can have serious effects on the longevity of your engine.

I find the best deals are branded outlets close to supermarkets...they normally price match.

Honestjohn goes on about this here is one sample article (I am sure you can find more)

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/motoring_answers/index.htm?id=171

Where in that article does it say it can have serious effects on the longevity of you engine?? Or have I missed something, it does mention that in older vehciles using the wrong type of fuel for what the engine was designed will cause problems in the long run, but that is obvious.

Hintza

Welshlassie wrote:

Where in that article does it say it can have serious effects on the longevity of you engine?? Or have I missed something, it does mention that in older vehciles using the wrong type of fuel for what the engine was designed will cause problems in the long run, but that is obvious.

It wasn't a brilliant article but have a look at this one HERE especially the last sentence:-

"Lack of detergent and a high proportion of short runs from cold is what causes most petrol engine fuel system problems, so if you buy your petrol from a supermarket seek written assurance that it at least meets and preferably far exceeds the British Standard for detergent in petrol."

Again more searching will produce more information.

Hope that helps

bunking_off

Indeed, only this weekend H.John blamed mechanical issues with a low-mileage car on the use of supermarket fuel.

To answer the original question, it's a combination of economics and regulation. Economics - they charge so much because they can...I'd imagine that 90%+ of fuel sold isn't being paid for out of the driver's pocket, but is being reclaimed via expenses. Regulation - they're mandated to provide free parking, stay open 24/7, have 24 hour hot/cold food and free toilets. It all costs.

AMO

Hintza wrote:

It wasn't a brilliant article but have a look at this one HERE especially the last sentence:-

"Lack of detergent and a high proportion of short runs from cold is what causes most petrol engine fuel system problems, so if you buy your petrol from a supermarket seek written assurance that it at least meets and preferably far exceeds the British Standard for detergent in petrol."

Again more searching will produce more information.

Hope that helps

That's very interesting to know. Last time Which? magazine looked into this, they stated that the supermarkets bought their petrol from the major petroleum giants and therefore is identical.

AMO