Cheapest Fuel
You can find the cheapest gas in your area by going to the website Petrolprices.com. Here, you can register, enter your postal code and then give it a radius of distance, whether 2, 5, 10 or 20 miles. It will list today’s cheapest prices in your area for diesel, unleaded, LPG and other fuels. If you check this site before you fill up, it should save you some decent money.
In May 2008, inputting data for a sample postal code gave an average price within a 10 mile radius as £1.11, with the highest price £1.17p and the cheapest price £1.07p. It’s typical to have this range regardless of what the price really is. Even though the difference is pennies, it can save you as much as 5% in overall cost. Therefore, if you spend £50 a week, it can save you over £100 a year.
Where does this data come from?
This comes from the data that corporate fuel card companies collect. Big company fleet drivers use these cards when they pay for gasoline. For example, the company behind Petrolprices, Fubra, has set up the site based on this data, which it purchased.
Because the site requires you to register, it’s also collecting your data and the data of many other customers, which it can then use to develop other referral systems and services. It will capitalize on this data in this way. It already links to home and car insurers on other places on the site. In fact, industry rumors that have not been confirmed have suggested that it originally paid £70,000 for a year’s worth of data. Website technology is cheap to set up, so this is a very cost effective way to build a popular consumer service website.
You can also cut your gas costs in other ways.
· Make sure you fill up at least 50 miles before “empty.”
Not only will you save yourself from panic, but you’ve given yourself enough time to go to a cheaper gas station if one is close by. If you leave it longer than with 50 miles to go, you’re going to have to fill up because you need to and not because fuel prices are better. Of course, a lighter car also uses less fuel, but 50 miles worth of fuel left is not much difference at all when you compare it to a car with an empty gas tank.
· Do you really need “premium fuel”?
Of course, stations sell “premium” fuels, but do you really need them? It really makes very little difference as compared to regular fuels for most cars; only some sports cars truly need a “high-performance” fuel. Fill up with the lowest quality fuel your car will accept and run well on. You’ll see no difference in performance and you’ll save yourself some money, too.
· Fill up at night without overfilling.
Filling up at night or in the very early morning will save you a bit of money because you’ll get a bit more gas for your money, but it’s only a very small amount.
· If you’re filling to the top, don’t put more gas in after the gas pump cuts you off.
Filling up to full isn’t always great because it adds extra weight to your car, but if you have a lot of driving to do and want to fill up, don’t keep filling up after the pump nozzle cuts you off. If you do this, you’re overfilling.
