Personal finance experts find out if it’s worth “going the extra mile” to save money on car fuel

Gas prices are the highest they’ve been in eight years, according to AA, and it’s prompted a personal finance blogger to look at how much we’re spending and if we can save money.

Most drivers know the price can vary slightly depending on where you choose to fill up, but Andy Webb of BeCelverWithYourCash.com wanted to know if our savings efforts were worth it.

The difference can sometimes only be between 1p and 5p, but that cheaper gas station might be further away, so is it worth the trip?

Andy found out if it was necessary or not, how much we should spend and how we can find the cheapest places to refuel.

He chose to look at his own car, a Ford Fiesta and found that with a fuel tank capacity of 42 liters it would cost £55.86 to fill up, based on current average prices.

He said: “Every penny of difference in the price of a liter is 42p per full tank.

So a difference of 5 pence per liter on a full catch would be £2.10. It’s not huge, but do it every week and it’s over £109 saved in a year.”

If there is only a 1 pence difference, he would save £21.94 if he filled up every week for a year.

Andy also did the math on whether it was worth driving a few more miles for the cheapest fuel.

He assumed the nearest pump is 2.5 miles away and not on your normal route and found that a return would cost 64p, return, in petrol.

He said: “Well that cost would mean that if we only save 1p per litre, going those 5 miles would actually cost more money (and that doesn’t take into account the time it takes). More than 2p saved and it brings savings on this particular example.”

So, in short, the more gas you use, the more you’ll save, and those savings are likely to add up over the year.

He also makes these suggestions for those looking for a better value fuel:

• Motorway gas stations are expensive, so only top up what you need.
• Supermarkets have the cheapest options.
• Look both sides of the road for prices as sometimes there is a huge difference.
• Confused.com has a free price comparison tool for cheap gasoline choices.

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