No need to be a fool over fuel
Petrol prices have soared, but you can shop around for the best deals using new and established apps, says Paul Lewis.
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Petrol prices are now around 25p a litre more than at the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, and diesel is up nearly 50p a litre. So it’s more important than ever to find the best deals.
The day before I wrote this, three petrol stations local to me – and within sight of each other – had unleaded at 150.9p, 154.9p and 155.9p a litre. One, a supermarket, is usually the cheapest. But you can save considerable amounts by using an app that shows the cheapest fuel near where you are – either at home or out on a journey.
The Government is helping people do that with its new Fuel Finder service, which it estimates will save the average driver £40 a year. Every retailer must report a price change to it within 30 minutes of making it. This data is used by third-party apps and websites that show the local petrol stations on a map and lists the cheapest. You simply put in your postcode or location to find them.
You can search for unleaded (E10) or diesel, as well as super unleaded (E5) and premium diesel. But do check if your car really needs those more expensive fuels, which are only necessary for high-performance cars or some older vehicles. Putting them in an average modern car does not make the engine run better.
Fuel-finder.uk is the newest app and shows when the price at each service station was last updated. That may be a few days ago if it has not changed its prices since. Petrolprices.com was one of the earliest fuel price comparison apps and now uses Government data as well as information from site owners and the public. If you want an overall picture of how petrol and diesel prices are changing, then RAC FuelWatch gives averages by brand (rac.co.uk/drive/advice/fuel-watch).
Using an app on your phone enables you to find cheaper petrol nearby if you are running short, but a bit of forward planning may help, too: motorway service stations are the most expensive, charging from 10p to 20p more per litre.
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You can see all seven apps that use the official data on the gov.uk website by searching “fuel finder factsheet” – you can even download the 7MB of raw data yourself!
QUESTIONS? Send any questions to Paul.Lewis@radiotimes.com. Paul cannot answer you personally, but I will reflect them in his column.
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