Over the last month I have actively been looking for garages that sell their fuel cheaper than others. I have never done this before, as I never thought it?s been worthwhile to save a few pence. This got me thinking. (Too much spare time)
I always used the Jet garage about a mile from my house. But at present I have been using a Shell garage, which is about 3 miles from me as it is always about 2p cheaper for its fuel (diesel) Also every garage I drive by I am now looking at there price for there fuel. (Never bothered before)
What do other back roomers do?
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Use petrolprices.com (newsletter). Prices within 10 miles of me vary by up to 6p/L for "ordinary" unleaded.
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Living in the sticks (..and Welsh sticks at that..) I have a distance-price calculation approach.
If I know I'm going to need fuel & happen to be driving 'out-of-county' as it were, I'll use a filling station that I know is consistently lower (Shell 3-5ppl) to fill in passing. Other than that, there's a slightly cheaper one 20 miles away (again, use this if passing) or the default Tesco or local (1 mile away - 0.5 dearer than Tesco) if not planning to travel much.
Two pence a litre 'saving' on 50l gives me a saving-range of about 10 miles (round-trip) - so unless actaully planning to drive that way on business, it costs more to drive to a cheaper outlet than the saving is worth.
Lucky urban dwellers probably have it easier in this respect.
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I shop around like you. I don't make it an obsession but at the moment a Sainsburys just off the M5 at Taunton is a few pence per litre cheaper than the 4 garages in my hometown so I stop there. I have no problem with supermarket fuel, of course. Others differ.
I'm also a little gentler with the right foot than I used to be. This makes another saving without sacrificing driving pleasure.
What always strikes me is that although the local garages have their "price check" signs proudly displayed, the reality is that all 4 keep their prices the same. I'm sure that that there is no fixing going on but it is rather convenient for all ......
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Is there any to pay wholesale price for Petrol?
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I drive past the fuel stations with a smug grin. I've got 900 litres of filtered, waste vegetable oil sitting in the yard, which cost me 40p/litre delivered. If it's really cold I put 10l of diesel in the car.
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The margin is only about 5p/litre, so there's not much to be saved by buying 10,000 litres at a time!
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I usually fill up at the garage that I regularly pass near home. Its a shell garage and competitive because there is a BP station across the other side of the road.
I get around 60 mpg in urban use, 65mpg ish on a long run and have had 78 mpg, staying under 60mph with the trucks on the motorway.
Always run the tank right down to the warning light, fill up full and use standard diesel with no additives.
If away from home I stick to the major brands but not their `special fuels` and am well known for planning to save a few pence by being alert to some of the profiteering prices put up by garages that have no local competition. ;)
Edited by oilrag on 28/03/2008 at 10:29
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Even if they are further away, I will go to a cheaper one, as it send out the clear message that low prices will get you the business. It help stops rip-off Britain from getting any worse. Thankfully Shell are always the cheapest, they aren't too far away, and are not dubious quality.
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As above, petrolprices.com. Fuel is consistently a few pence cheaper near home in Nottingham than it is near work in Chesterfield.
Its a little irritating when the cheapest stations on the pp dot com list are the less convenient ones! Until recently there was a station that was always 3p/l cheaper than the next cheapest, but it was a 7 mile round trip in the wrong direction, so I couldn't be bothered.
I boycott BP as the nearest BP station is the last one before the M1 and the prices are extortionate!
The only convenient Shell garage for me is in 'more expensive' Chesterfield; theres a good cheap one on the way to Derby but I'm never normally passing it to use it.
Edited by Rich 9-3 on 28/03/2008 at 10:40
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If you are near a Shell station and they are competitive in your area, in my opinion you can't beat using them and paying with a Shell Citibank Mastercard - this pays 3% cashback each month on Shell fuel purchased. You need to join the Shell Drivers club and present both cards when paying.
The drivers club card earns you points (in addition to the cashback) which are converted into Shell fuel vouchers issued quarterly IIRC. Using V-power doubles the points - but not worth it unless you would use V-power anyway.
So - it earns you a minimum of an addional 3p per litre. If the Shell station is equal to - or not more than 3p over - the nearest competitor, then you gain.
As with ALL c/cards it's not worth taking the card out of your wallet unless you intend to pay the entire balance in full each month.
With 2 cars in the family and a spend of £350- £400 per month on fuel - it's worth around £150 p.a. to me.
Plus of course the Shell fuel is recommended by HJ as one that has better detergent properties.
(I don't work for Shell but I think 3p in the pound + addional fuel vouchers just for using s particular card is well worth it)
Jacks
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I think my part of the world is quite unusual in that the supermarkets are not actually the cheapest, unless you get one of the 5p per litre offers as part of the weekly shop.
I can fill up with standard Shell Unleaded locally for 106.9 and my local supermarket charges 107.9 for their standard Unleaded. There is also a local Esso station that beats the supermarkets. Currently I am tied to Shell anyway, as I'm doing a 3 tankful "experiment" with V-Power in the Volvo.
Every car I've owned seems to run smoother and return best mpg on Shell fuel, even the standard "non V-power" stuff. I will also never forget an old Evo feature on V-Power (or Optimax as it was then called) which did borescope examinations of the combustion chambers, and dyno runs on three well run-in cars on their test fleet before and after several tankfuls of this fuel. The improvements in both power and combustion chamber deposits were marked.
Of course the test cars used had knock sensors and engine management systems capable of advancing the ignition to make best use of the higher octane rating. As does the Volvo, so I'm hoping for an improvement. Can't say it feels any quicker or smoother, but the gauge is definitely higher at 160 miles than it was on the standard fuel. Of course it's meaningless until I re-brim it, and I will do this three times.
Cheers
DP
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If you are near a Shell station and they are competitive in your area in my opinion you can't beat using them and paying with a Shell Citibank Mastercard - this pays 3% cashback each month on Shell fuel purchased. You need to join the Shell Drivers club and present both cards when paying. The drivers club card earns you points (in addition to the cashback) which are converted into Shell fuel vouchers issued quarterly IIRC. Using V-power doubles the points - but not worth it unless you would use V-power anyway.
And me, Jacks, though the Shell garage on the way home from the station is consistantly below all the others, including the supermarkets, and I've found my car runs better on it than the s/m stuff as well (the standard diesel, not v-power...
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I use an unmanned station which is considerably cheaper than any of the others and gives a further discount for debit cards. VAT receipts come in the post. Trouble is, although it's close to my house, it's on the wrong side of a dual carriageway and I don't often drive that way cos it's too busy. I usually end up making a special journey to tank up or hoping it'll make it to the weekend since it's close to our supermarket. Very very occasionally and begrudgingly - I'll do a splash n dash somewhere.
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Tesco 99 octane once a week. I live in the sticks and it's about the only place I can get superunleaded which happily costs about the same as ordinary unleaded at the small local filling station. It's around 12 miles to get there but I have to drop off/pick up my wife every week at the airport or railway station so not an extra trip.
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I also take customer service into account. I'm not putting up with a stroppy attitude from the person behind the counter just to save 20p a week.
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I run my Saab 95 on LPG. Between 48 and 52p/litre :)
Cost £1500 to convert, but payback time is getting shorter with each rise in petrol.....
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