The cheapest towns to fill your tank

Fuel bills are one of the biggest costs that drivers have to stump up. However, fuel prices are thankfully on the way back down again, thanks to increased supply from Saudi Arabia. Don’t think that all motorists across the country will benefit to the same degree though; prices vary drastically depending upon where you top up.

Shop around to find the best prices

Though average UK petrol prices currently stand at 129.69p and diesel at 133.74, drivers in Cardiff could be stung with prices of up to 143.9p for petrol and 146.9p for diesel. This means that a motorist filling up a typical 55-litre fuel tank could have to pay up to £79.15 for petrol and £80.80 for diesel in Cardiff – around 10 per cent more than the national average.

If your car runs on super unleaded or you use premium diesel, you’ll have to dig even further into your pocket at the pumps. The average price for a litre of super unleaded stands at 138.54p – 8.85p more than regular unleaded while posh diesel carries an even larger premium – 11.96p extra per litre, according to fuel price monitoring website, Petrolprices.com.

Shop around though and you can find good value fuel, even in towns with particularly expensive pump prices, like Cardiff, with petrol available from 126.7p per litre and diesel from 129.7p.

The easiest town to find affordable fuel however, is Brighton, with the lowest maximum prices for both petrol and diesel. This should mean that you don’t have to trawl around between forecourts looking for a good price. Despite being at the other end of the country, prices in Edinburgh are very similar.

Drivers in Leeds should be able to find the lowest prices

The place to find the cheapest fuel though if you are happy to shop around, is Leeds, with the joint cheapest petrol at 125.9p and the least expensive diesel at 128.9p. Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester all offer equally affordable petrol.

Minimum prices around London are pricey, though there is a much narrower variation in price, with just 3p to 7p difference between the cheapest and most expensive fuel. Plymouth, Coventry and Cardiff all have a much wider variety in price, with both cheaper and much higher prices at forecourts in these cities.

Make substantial savings by hunting out the best value fuel in your area

The difference in prices at the pumps may sound small, but if you regularly top up at a pricey petrol station, you could save a lot of money over a year by seeking out a better value garage. If you drive a diesel car which is capable of 60mpg and cover around 10,000 miles per year, finding the best value fuel could save you around £64 over picking a typical, more expensive garage.

The potential savings get even bigger if you have a less efficient car. A petrol car capable of 45mpg could cost £71 more to fuel over a year by filling up at the first garage that you see rather than shopping around. Likewise you could save £106 in fuel for a petrol car which returns 30mpg by finding the best value fuel.

Do you shop around for fuel or do you pick the first petrol station that comes into view. Alternatively do you stick to the same garage whenever you need to fill up? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Article published August 18th, 2014

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