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Cheap Petrol & Diesel
Cut prices & improve fuel efficiency
Coronavirus lockdown measures are being eased across the UK, meaning more of us will be using our cars in the coming weeks. And while fuel prices have been slowly rising since the end of last year, it's still possible to save on filling up by buying in the right place. And if you take steps to drive more efficiently, it's possible to cut costs further...
Motoring & coronavirus
For the need-to-knows on MOTs, driving licence renewals, driving lessons and more, see our Life-in-Lockdown Help guide. If your motor has been off the road for a while, see MSE Kelvin's 'not driving much' motoring tips for how to keep your car in good nick and avoid shelling out for repairs.
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Step 1: Make your car more fuel-efficient
Some simple checks and adjustments to your vehicle can help reduce fuel consumption. (Thanks to the RAC for its input in compiling this list.) Combined with the tips below on driving more efficiently, these could help save up to 30% on fuel costs – and of course, they're a quick and painless way to benefit the environment too.
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Step 2: Seven tips to drive more efficiently
You can drive the same distance in the same car, without slowing down, but using less fuel – better for your wallet, better for the environment. The key is to drive smoothly. Here are the seven tips you need to know.
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In many ways, this all comes down to one little rule of thumb.
When you put your foot on the accelerator, the harder you press, the more fuel you use.
Just being conscious of this, and your road position, should massively increase how far you can drive on a tank of petrol.
While it's tricky to accurately gauge exactly how much you could save on fuel by making your car more fuel-efficient and driving more efficiently, the AA says when 50 of its staff undertook an eco-driving trial they saved an average of 10% in a week – the biggest saving was a whopping 33%.
The real world impact: Martin's story
On an overseas holiday I got to test this, thanks to a sexy little digital display in my hire car which gave me a km/litre readout. For every trip, I drove normally on the way there and used the 'think when pressing the pedal' method above on the way back.
If you're thinking 'did he really bother while on holiday?' – yes I did, and I loved it. Luckily my girlfriend (now my wife) is very understanding!
The improvement was enormous. Overall, I drove about 500 miles, and the different 'efficiency' averages per litre of petrol were incredible: for normal driving, it was 11.2km per litre, but for efficiency-conscious driving, a remarkable 13.4km per litre.
Most intriguingly, the efficient driving didn't cost me any time at all, and on motorways my top speed didn't change. Others drove harder, only to brake harder at the next traffic light...
- Martin Lewis, MSE founder & chair
For more info on this, read Martin's Petrol Efficiency Experiment blog from 2008. If you try this type of driving and want to share your experiences, go to the Driving Efficiently forum discussion.
Step 3: Find the cheapest petrol or diesel prices in your area
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The easiest way to find the cheapest forecourt in your area for petrol, diesel, super unleaded or premium diesel is by comparing prices using a nifty free tool.
Go to website PetrolPrices.com and after registering, enter your postcode and tell it how far you're willing to travel for fuel (up to 20 miles). It'll list the cheapest petrol stations in your area (it says the most up to date figures are displayed, which in practice seems to mean results are between one and four days old) and covers most of the 8,500ish forecourts across the UK.
A quick check before you need to fill up could save you some decent cash. For a Leicester postcode, the price of unleaded within a five-mile radius on Monday 12 April ranged from 117.7p/litre to 125.9p/litre. And while the difference per litre may be pennies, in terms of percentage that's an increase of about 7%.
Also keep an eye out for short-lived fuel discount promos that pop up from time to time. There aren't currently any on that we know of, but we'll publish details here when there are.
Use loyalty schemes
Buying petrol is a regular outlay, and you spend more on it in a year than you think – £30 a week is over £1,500 a year. As many petrol stations (including the supermarket ones) run some form of loyalty scheme, it's worth signing up to schemes for the forecourts you'll use most regularly to get a little bit extra back.
However, never choose a petrol station just for its loyalty scheme, as the difference is small compared to petrol price variance (also see the Loyalty Points Boosting guide).
Other filling-up tips
There are several other ways to cut the cost of petrol and diesel:
Step 4: Pay using a cashback credit card
Cashback credit cards pay you back each time you spend on them. They are a great way to shave the cost of your fuel, but ALWAYS abide by the golden rule...
Set up a direct debit to repay the card in full each month, so you never pay interest, which would outstrip any gain.
The reason card companies offer cashback or reward schemes is simple. They want to encourage you to spend on the card and pay them interest. The interest cost of all cashback cards dwarfs the cashback you'll earn. For full details on what to consider before applying, see Credit Card Rewards.
Each time you apply for one of these cards, you'll be credit-checked by the lenders. Multiple applications in a short period can impact your future ability to get credit. Read full details in the Credit Scores guide.
The easy way to pay off in full
It's easy to do this via direct debit, which allows the card company to take a variable monthly amount that corresponds with what you owe it. Sadly, some providers deliberately omit the 'pay off in full' option from direct debit forms, as it makes them less money. If that's the case, write 'pay off in full' on the form. They should honour it, but call up after a week or so to check they have.
The top cashback card
You can get 5% bonus cashback on everything you buy, up to a maximum £100 with our top pick American Express reward card. After the introductory bonus, cashback is then tiered up to 1%, though you need to spend £3,000+ per year to get any cashback.
Full details and more options in Top Credit Card Rewards.
Your successes using the five-step cheap petrol system
'Do it – you'll be surprised'
Thanks to driving tips from @MoneySavingExp, I have saved myself £20 in fuel in 1 month, driving more carefully. Do it, you'll be surprised.
- MoneySaver @mathewhasker on Twitter
'I doubled my fuel economy!'
Over the last 2 years I have almost doubled my fuel economy, without changing vehicles.
1. I drive much more smoothly and don't overtake other car users just to get one or two places further along in a big queue.
2. I leave for work a little later and return home a little later – as a result I no longer spend 30 mins plus on a 4 mile crawl through stop/start traffic on a 26 mile (each way) commute into and out of Aberdeen.
My blood pressure is also lower
MoneySaver Caleypine
'20 extra miles per tank!'
Results I've got from trying to drive more fuel-efficiently. Most of this has been city driving:
Previously, 33-35 litres gave me around 215 miles.
Driving more carefully increased this to around 235 miles.
Turning engine off at lights increased my mileage to 293 miles.
- MoneySaver Krishna
MSE Challenge: The petrol diet!
Once you've read the steps above, why not try the petrol diet? No, we don't advocate swigging the stuff – it's a challenge on the MSE Forum, where MoneySavers share tips to help cut their annual fuel spend, track savings and inspire others.
The forum's proved hugely powerful in the past, seeing people work together to get debt-free, pay off mortgages and more. It's free to join, and open to all – see the Petrol/Diesel Diet discussion.
How much can you save?
The savings from following our five-step system can be huge. For someone who drives 15,000 miles a year averaging 35 miles per gallon (12.4 km/L), just buying petrol at the average UK price would cost £2,441 annually as of April 2021. Cutting this by 25% could save £610/year.
To work out the initial approximate cost of running your car, Gov.uk has a fuel consumption search tool (it's best for new cars) which will help you work out roughly how much it'll cost you to run your car. Motoring website Honest John also has a handy 'real MPG' section where drivers have reported the miles per gallon they actually get.
Fuel cost-cutting
ANNUAL MILEAGE | AVERAGE ANNUAL COST (1) | CUT FUEL COSTS BY 5% | CUT FUEL COSTS BY 20% | CUT FUEL COSTS BY 25% | POTENTIAL MAX SAVING |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5,000 | £814 | £773 | £651 | £611 | £203 |
15,000 | £2,441 | £2,319 | £1,953 | £1,831 | £610 |
30,000 | £4,883 | £4,639 | £3,906 | £3,662 | £1,221 |
(1) Cost of unleaded at 35 miles per gallon (12.4km/L) at 125.2p/L. Last updated: Apr 2021.
How does the cost of fuel break down?
Tax makes up a hefty portion of a litre's cost. The current fuel duty rate for petrol and diesel is set at 57.95p/L, and you pay 20.66p/L VAT on petrol and 21.16p/L on diesel.
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