I didn't catch the exact details, it was on a radio in a shop I went into so not even sure which radio station it was Sorry I'm no help at all there, but I guess if Somerfield is your thing and you know a store with a petrol station it could be worth checking out. Their own website is no help with no details of any offer, and only lets you search for stores with a car wash, not one's with a petrol station.

Other places that tend to be cheaper are Caerphilly Asda and Morissons. Also Rogerstone Morissons is generally among the cheapest.

As a "key" worker on shifts, it is almost impossible for me to get to work on public transport apart from two shifts,7-3 9-5...

It always makes me laugh when I hear the government say better transport links this better transport link that to justify putting petrol up.

I live in a commuters village, there are no buses to cardiff and also the train network allows one an hour with the earliest at 630 and the last at 2230.

I would honestly love to see a member of the transport service live in my village and see how hard it is to get to work, then perhaps they would start living in the real world.

I am left with no choice but to take a car, and at present due to petrol prices im struggling to do that.

Wig, as an engineer, I feel compelled to point out that riding the clutch like that really is a dreadful idea from a moneysaving point of view, because it will wear out the thrust bearing in the clutch in a fraction of it's normal lifespan, as well as aging the tines of the clutch spring. If either of these fails, you're looking at a full clutch change (there's so much labour involved in getting at the clutch that you always change the whole lot) which is a really expensive repair, let alone the hassle and potential expense of a breakdown. A car's clutch is only really designed to be disengaged briefly to facilitate a gear change, doing so for long periods is asking for trouble sooner or later.

Going downhill in gear without touching the throttle really is the best way - it doesn't use any more fuel at all, honestly!

Steve.

i also work nights so if they put a bus on from 10pm and 1 at 5am i might use it but then again i probably wont as it would cost me double the amount on a bus then it would in my car, it really anoys me when they say on the news they are putting petrol/diesel prices up to make people use public transport and they know for a fact that it wont, its an excuse so that they can make more money from petrol/diesel that really winds me up when they say that. the public transport is a joke where i live it cost £2.90 or £3 for a return so add that up over the week which would be £15 i put £15 of diesel in a week and that takes me to work and back which is 72 miles a week and another 50-60 so i would loose out if i got a bus and i dont have to wait hours in the rain for it to turn up thats if it does turn up.

chepsteve,

Well you had better tell that to everyone who sits at traffic lights with their clutch depressed, as that is no different. Yes it might wear it a little (though I don't understand the mechanics of how it works yet) but not to any significant degree. I have no problem with clutch wear on my cars - no more than expected - 80,000 miles or so..... ummm the friction plates wears before the bearing does - atleast on my cars it does, so that shows it's not a problem for me.

Can someone explain how the calculation in the Driving Down Costs example is worked out?
It has 15000 miles at 35 mpg costing 100.9p/l average fuel cost as £2160.
But I get:
15000/35 = 428 gallons
428*4.54 = 1943 l
1945* 1.009 = total fuel cost of £1960 ????

Then using cheap petrol (96.5p) the saving on the above is £83 not £270 as shown in the table.

I dunno what you're talking about, but on those figures it works out like this

15,000/35 = 428,5

428.5 x 4.546 = 1948 l

1948 x 1.06 = £2065 @ £1.06 per litre
1948 x 1.009 = £1965 @ £1.009 per litre
1948 x 0.965 = £1880 @ 96.5 p per litre (where do you get petrol that price these days?)

Which is almost what you got but just a little bit more accurate, I rounded to the nearest pound.

Ok, I see you're on about this bit....follow this link

For a sample ten postcodes when the average price within a 5 mile radius was 100.9p, the average highest price was 106p and the average cheapest price 96.5p.
Following all the mechanisms above can save you cash. For someone who drives 15,000 miles a year averaging 35 miles per gallon (12.4 Km/litre), just buying petrol at the average UK cost in November 2007 is £2,160, yet buying at the average cheapest petrol station in any area would save more than £200. Of course prices change over time but the gap between the average price and the cheapest is pretty constant. Buying the petrol on a cashback card and improving your driving could save you a further £200.
To work out the initial rough cost of running your car, the VCA's (Vehicle Certification Agency) has a rough fuel cost calculator (it's best for new cars) which will work out roughly how much it'll cost you to run your car over the course of a year.

Annual Mileage, annual cost (1), Using cheapest fuel (2), cashback card saving (3), driving efficiently (4), Total Saving.

5,000 miles £720 £630 £615 £535 £185

10,000 miles £1440 £1260 £1230 £1070 £370

15,000 miles £2160 £1890 £1845 £1605 £555


I agree the figures are incorrect, if the avg fuel price in the area is 100.9p/l then the avg fuel cost should be £1965 not £2160 even using the most expensive petrol the cost would be £2065.

The differeence between the avg price and the cheapest price is £85
The difference between the expensive price and the cheapest price is £185

Then you add on 1p per litre clubcard savings = £20
Then you add a further saving of 15% by using a light foot and increasing your mpg

35mpg + 15% = 40.25mpg
15000/40.25 = 372
372 x 4.546 = 1694
1694 x .965 = £1635 saving £245

Total saving = 245 + 20 + 85 = £350

*and even that's not accurate because if you have a light foot you are no longer going to save £85 on the fuel difference, but I'm not going to work that out.

Thanks for the checking - I thought it was wrong. Sorry I made it hard by not putting the link in. I thought about it after I posted, but then never got around to it.

So In summary, 'save money on petrol' article is numerically wrong and presents a better case than it really is.

Still worth doing - but not going to give the rewards published.

I might be being a little confused but the fuel saving advice seems to be self cantradictory. On the one hand I should always keep a couple of gallons in the tank (about a 1/4 it suggests), and on the other hand I should clear clutter out of the car to save weight? Surely, I should therefore start by ensuring I drive with the tank never more than say 1/2 full and relish those trips where I get to the final vapours and drive ever such a lighter vehicle!!

Seriously, anyone got any advice as to which is the better saving - taking the risk of a pricier fill up (well few litres to let me looking for cheap) and potential loss of loyalty, or lose a couple of gallons of weight, and that is heavy when it is water in the watering can and fuel can't be that different?

Hi ncb & welcome to MSE

This threadis a discussion about fuel saving tips, including the effect of having a full tank of fuel.

Riding the clutch or having your car out of gear, will in all probability make little or no difference to your fuel economy, but In the UK under our highway code it is illegal to freewheel as you do not have control of the car, this can result in an accident or if free wheeling down hill excessive brake usage. Both of these results will in cure cost that will possibly negate any money saved not to mention any fines if found to be driving a car without control.

In Gloucester and Cheltenham then Waitros have the lowest price regular unleaded, at 103.9p/Litre, compared with the most expensive at 10.9p/L.
So it's 6p/Litre, which is £2.40 on a 40L fill. Quite significant if happen to passing near the cheapest station anyway.

I have been using petrolprices.com for ages and decided that as Tesco was nearly always cheapest I'd buy my fuel there. Then I worked out my fuel consumption, (approx £30 p/week) got a clubcard plus card so I double my points and pay for the fuel that way. So now I get 8 points for £1. Then I collect all my clubcard vouchers together and use the deals thing to pay for the car to be MOT'd and serviced at Nationwide Autocentre and pick up cc points there too. Its saved me an absolute packet, without changing my habits and been really easy to do. Last month I had an MOT, full service and the brakes repaired and it cost me £55! Dont know if it would help anyone else.

Im thinking of maxing my cc points even more by getting the cc credit card so I can earn points on my shopping elsewhere too!

This is a handy website that you can use to find the cheapest unleaded, diesel etc.... in your area by postcode: http://www.petrolprices.com

Do we not need a site www.fillingstationswithfuel.com?

In my experience coasting results in poorer performance of the brakes when having to brake hard and a substantial increase in skidding.

When I first passed my test I used to coast a lot until I had a bump due to skidding whilst coasting. The car goes into a skid because the wheels lock up when the brakes are applied and the engine is disengaged so does not push the wheels.

This was in a pre ABS car but even the ABS effect is reduced if the engine is disengaged.

The site may be good but you need to give inside leg measurement, grannies middle name etc, just to view prices, didnt bother, but thanks for the post.

With the rate that prices are changing, the site is out of date most of the time.

I have found new cars by Think - which are electric, available now with a good mileage range

Can anyone tell me how the carbon dioxide produced by a power station to provide the electricity to power a car compares with the carbon dioxide produced by a petrol driven car covering the same mileage - say 100 miles ?

i.e. is it an absolute waste of time buying an electric car in order to cut omissions ?

I don't know if helps, but I put together a little website that does some of those calculations for you:
http://www.saveyourcash.co.uk/fuel/totalcost.aspx
It is a bit basic at the moment, but I have plans to improve it over the next few weeks (day job permitting!).
Feedback/suggestions welcomed.

[As I mentioned above the url I posted is my site. I hope that doesn't constitute spamming. Please remove it if it does.]