FUELLED UP
Most expensive supermarket for petrol revealed – and how to save at the pumps
The RAC has warned that motorists are still being ripped off at the pumps
THE most expensive and cheapest supermarkets to refill your car's tank at have been revealed.
Data from RAC Fuel Watch found that fuel prices have fallen slightly in the last month, but warned that motorists are still being ripped off at the pumps.
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The RAC has accused retailers of dragging their heels when it comes to cutting prices, given that wholesale fuel costs have been falling for more than a month.
The average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol fell by 2.4p to 147.88p in May, while diesel prices fell by an average of 4.5p a litre to 153.58p.
But, supermarkets have been slower to cut their prices with the cost of unleaded petrol falling by an average of just 1.2p across retailers' forecourts, the RAC found.
Garages cut diesel costs by a smaller amount too, with the average price seeing a reduction of just 3.4p a litre.
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Asda emerged as the most expensive of the big four supermarkets charging on average 147.4p a litre for unleaded and 153p a litre for diesel.
Asda challenged the RAC’s research and said the data had been skewed by the inclusion of convenience store petrol stations.
It claimed that on analysis of forecourts attached to supermarkets, it remained the cheapest for petrol.
A spokesperson said: “Asda was the price leader in the supermarket fuel sector in May and we remain focussed on providing our customers with the best value at the pumps as we grow in the convenience sector.
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“In May, we reduced the price of unleaded and diesel by a combined average of 2.31p per litre and also announced that we are trialling Earn on Fuel on the Asda Rewards app, where users can get 0.5% of their fuel spend back in their Asda Rewards Cashpot.”
The research by RAC found that Morrisons offered motorists the best value at the pumps when it came to both petrol and diesel.
At the end of May, the average price of a litre of unleaded petrol from the retailer was 145p, while diesel was priced at 150.4p.
For unleaded Sainsbury’s came in second with an average price per litre of 145.2p, while Tesco was charging 145.5p.
However, Tesco was slightly cheaper for diesel-matching Morrisons at 150.4p a litre at the end of May, compared to 150.6p a litre charged at Sainsbury’s.
Despite a slight fall in fuel prices in the last month, the RAC has said motorists have every right to feel disgruntled at the pumps.
Its analysis found that retailers are taking far higher margins than they have done historically, with petrol currently at the 13p mark and diesel even higher at 16p, despite the long-term margin on both fuels being around 8p per litre.
Buying fuel continues to be a postcode lottery with the lowest UK fuel prices found in Northern Ireland, where a litre of petrol retails for 141.4p (5.7p less than the rest of the UK) and diesel at 142.5p (9.9p less than the rest of the UK).
However, the RAC said there are deals to be had at a tiny number of forecourts elsewhere in the UK.
The cheapest petrol is currently on sale at under 139p a litre at locations in Bishop Auckland in County Durham and St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex, and diesel at under 143p a litre in Arbroath in Scotland.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “A month of decreasing fuel prices should be seen as a good one for drivers, but the sheer time it is taking for any meaningful price reductions to reach forecourts is if anything a continuing cause of concern.
"When it comes to much-needed pump price cuts, it’s sadly a case of too little, too leisurely, with most drivers still getting a miserable deal every time they fill up.
“We’re once again in classic ‘rocket and feather’ territory, with pump prices only trickling down when they should really be falling like a stone. What’s more, not only have wholesale prices been coming down consistently for over a month, but the average margins taken by retailers are still so much bigger than in the past."
He added that this means pump prices are at levels much higher than the ideal, which is all the more concerning given drivers are meant to still be benefiting from a 5p a litre duty cut introduced more than two years ago.”
As of May 24, the Competition and Markets Authority has had greater powers to scrutinise fuel prices and report malpractice to the Government, which could see action taken to reduce the prices at the pumps.
Fuel saver schemes
Unsurprisingly, drivers are looking for ways to economise and fill up their cars more cheaply.
The good news is, that Tesco Clubcard members can use a clever trick to slash the costs of running their cars.
Any points you get through the Clubcard scheme can be converted to vouchers.
These can be used to pay for fuel at Tesco forecourts, or at Esso branded service stations with a Tesco Express shop.
You can find eligible Esso service stations buy using the Find a Station tool and using the filter for Clubcard.
You can find Tesco forecourts by using the store locator tool and filtering for a petrol filling station.
You can also spend Nectar points at Sainsbury’s to buy fuel.
However, you cannot use Pay at Pump to redeem the points, instead you need to swipe your card at the kiosk.
If you regularly fill up at Shell garages, consider becoming a Shell Go+ member.
Every 10th visit you will get a fuel reward worth between £1 and £50 off.
The discount you get depends on your average spend over the last nine visits, so someone who spent £100 every time would get a bigger reward than someone who spent just a tenner.
BP also has a BPme scheme, where you earn points for money spent on fuel or in service station shops.
You get 1 point for each £1 spent in-store, 1 point for every
litre of regular fuel, or 2 points for every litre of Ultimate fuel.
Every 100 points you earn can be redeemed for £1 off your fuel or shop spend.
Ways to cut down on your fuel costs
HERE are some tips on how you can slash the cost of fuel.
Make your car more fuel-efficient. You can do this by keeping your tyres inflated, taking the roof rack off, emptying your car of clutter and turning off your air con when driving at lower speeds.
Find the cheapest fuel prices. PetrolPrices.com and Confused.com allows you to search prices of UK petrol stations. All you need to do is enter in your postcode and tell it how far you want to travel (up to 20 miles).
Drive more efficiently:
- Accelerate gradually without over-revving
- Always drive on the highest possible gear
- If you can, allow your car to slow down naturally as your brake is a money burner
- Re-starting your car is expensive, if you can keep moving
Other ways to cut fuel costs
It’s worth checking the RAC Fuel Watch average price to understand how prices are moving.
You should try to make sure you never pay more than this when you fill up.
It changes monthly so keep a regular eye on it.
Check out the prices at forecourts you pass often, and see which ones tend to be cheaper, aim to fill up at these when you can, as even small savings can mount up.
The Fuel Finder feature on the free myRAC mobile app can help you find the cheapest forecourts near you.
Alternatively, if you sign up at PetrolPrices.com, it will tell you where the cheapest fuel is – and you can set limits in terms of how far you’re willing to travel.
If you have a cashback credit card, you can use it to get money back on your fuel spend, which is a great way to cut costs.
However, you should make sure you set up a direct debit to pay off the card in full each month, otherwise, you may pay more in
interest than you get in rewards.
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Drive down costs
The RAC also suggests you follow these rules carefully to cut costs down.
- Maintain your vehicle: regular services improve efficiency, which means less fuel consumption overall.
- Cut down on speed: Going at top speeds means burning more fuel, typically cars are most efficient at 45-50mph. Using the highest gear possible also increases your miles per gallon, bringing down costs.
- Drive as smoothly as possible: Lots of accelerating and braking will increase your consumption.
- Decrease drag: things like roof racks and boxes increase wind resistance, which will mean you use more fuel. According to the Energy Saving Trust, an empty roof rack adds 16% drag when driving at 75mph.
- Ease up on air conditioning: Using the heater or the air conditioner uses up fuel, so only have them on when you really need them.
- Reduce weight: The heavier a car is, the more fuel it will use. Make sure you declutter regularly and don’t keep unnecessary things in the boot.
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