Do you always go for the cheapest fuel?

cormie · 18-08-2008 11:41pm #1

Just curious, how many of you always go for the cheapest fuel? For example, on Friday, my tank was almost empty, I saw Diesel at €1.29 near Blackrock, about 5 or 6c cheaper than the average. I knew I had to do go into Dublin and back 3 times between Friday and Saturday and I knew I'd have enough fuel to last me the 3 journeys so decided I'd wait until the last journey home to fill up a full tank at €1.29 per litre. So I passed it on the Friday at €1.29 but then on the Saturday, it had gone up to €1.31

It was still the cheapest and my fuel light had come on so I filled her up. Then today it's €1.29 again :rolleyes:

Another time I was near empty, the garage closest to me was always 1 or 2c dearer than another about 1.5km away or so, so I drove past the first one and about 100m past it, I ran out of fuel, for the sake of going to the cheaper one :P

So if I know I'm going to be passing cheap fuel, I'll always aim to fill up there. Is anyone else the same? I know my brother is the complete opposite, he wouldn't even be able to tell you how much petrol is these days and would never look at the displays outside garages or anything.

Be interesting from a business perspective to know because I always swore that if I had my own garage, I'd always keep fuel prices 1 or 2c cheaper than the cheapest and once the word gets on the street, my pumps will be pumping non stop and I'll be getting far more customers into the shop buying other things.

Zonda999 · 18-08-2008 11:49pm

When i'm a passenger i always take note of wheres cheap and wheres a rip-off.However, oddly enough, as a driver i never keep a look out for this and just fill up wherever when my fuel light comes on.I hate the fuel light in my car because it goes into the red almost straight way after it comes on.Acoording to the user manual, the car is supposed to have 8 litres left when the light comes on but it the gauge doesnt exactly fill me with confidence that it does!!I dont think i'll ever find out because the thought of ending up in some whole of a place when i dont have any petrol doesnt exactly excite me:D

Biro · 19-08-2008 12:53am

I'd be concerned about some places regarding the quality of their fuel. Too much dirty diesel will cost more than the savings!

cormie · 19-08-2008 7:06am

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

Could be the case with the more expensive places too. How would you know who to trust?

cyrusdvirus · 19-08-2008 8:02am

place out my way that drops his prices every weekend to 1 or 2c below the average. I fill up there every week, even if i have half a tank of fuel on board.

cabrwab · 19-08-2008 9:38am

I try to find the cheaper garage! This day and age its hard work they all seem a similar price.
With diesel in a work vechile the only way to go is the fuel card the savings after vat can be good!

cormie · 19-08-2008 9:47am

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

What's this fuel card anyway? Will it always be the cheapest or will it always be average? The difference between the cheapest and most expensive garage is about €8 for a full tank for me, so it adds up.

Rowley Birkin QC · 19-08-2008 9:49am

I usually only get fuel from Shell because I seem to get better mpg. That and those Shell to Sea protestors bug the hell out of me.

The one exception is when I am up at my other halfs place in Longford where there is a guy that's usually 5c below the going rate.

2 Espressi · 19-08-2008 10:09am

The cheapest fuel in our area is a no-brand, fuel-only place (no shop attached) I've noticed a few times that I don't get as much from a tank as I would at some of the bigger places. It can be a false economy togo for the bottom line every time. I'm using Maxol e5 at the moment, so there are only one of two place I can go to fill up.

Stephen · 19-08-2008 10:12am

I'm finding that I get better mileage out of Maxol's E5 than regular Unleaded 95 from Statoil/Shell. They charge about 2c/litre more for it around here though.

bazz26 · 19-08-2008 10:31am

I will try and find the cheapest filling station within a reasonable distance. To the point where it doesn't cost me more to get to the cheaper filling station than the savings I am making from going there.

If I am stuck for fuel and the closest place is expensive then I will generally put a minimum of €10 in just to get me going again. I am not mean but I am not going to make someone rich quick either. Like other things I do generally shop around for my fuel.

Steve · 19-08-2008 10:49am

I use E5 for better performance - I'm not sure about the better milage out of it - I used to keep track of it but have given up caring.
And, no, I don't mind paying a few c extra for it - I prefer the better performance.

Edit: maybe a mod could add that option to the poll please?

cormie · 19-08-2008 10:55am

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

Interesting poll results anyway. So far over 50% of people will not give any more than they need to to garages who aren't the cheapest and will fill up where it is the cheapest. If these results reflect the whole population, then 50% of motorists in an area/their commute will be using the cheapest station as opposed to maybe the other 4 or 5 in the area/or that they pass on their commute. So if a garage is the cheapest, instead of being the same as the others, out of 200 motorists, they will get 100 customers as opposed to maybe 40 if they were just the same as everywhere else.

bazz26 · 19-08-2008 11:03am

From what I have been told, the filling stations that sell fuel at a cheaper level than others generally make very little profit from the fuel itself, there revenue is generated from selling customers other services such as their shop or deli.

Shaving a cent or two off the price at the pump is a way of getting customers onto the forecourt and buying other products or services other than fuel.

From my experience filling stations that just sell fuel tend to be more expensive as that is their only source of revenue.

-Chris- · 19-08-2008 11:08am

I never even look.

I think a saving of 4 or 5c per litre on a 50 litre tank is worth less than the brainpower it would take to monitor petrol prices continuously and the time it would take to go out of my way to get the cheaper petrol.

That being said, I do commuting mileage. If I was doing 30,000KM+ per annum, then the savings would be more significant.

Mitch Connor · 19-08-2008 11:27am

I do a decent amount of miles - about 15k per year. I keep an eye on the prices, but if I need petrol, i'll just fill the car up. I try not to go to rip off places, but an extra cent doesn't really bother me.

Andrewf20 · 19-08-2008 11:31am

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

If price is way out expensive, then its a fiver in the tank if im on fumes, but if its from 1.23 - 1.25 euro / L, ill usually fuel up.

Clare hall Tescos - queues out the door. Shell 50 metres up the road, same price, half empty. Am I missing something? So far it seems like the only thing im missing is the 10 minute queue.

cormie · 19-08-2008 11:32am

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

clubcard points? :P

oeb · 19-08-2008 11:39am

I do about 25k (km) a year so I generally keep an eye on the prices alright. There is one particular place in Killarney alright where petrol is 10c per litre higher than most other places, pulled in without checking the last day and I had 20 quid in the tank before I noticed =/

At this stage though I know what garages are usually cheaper, so I just fill up there usually.

endplate · 19-08-2008 11:40am

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

Used to go to Tesco in Maynooth and then realised that the Esso near the N4 is only 1 or 2 cent dearer usually (not so last night tho) so why drive into and out of Maynooth to increase more wear and tear and use fuel on my car. But yeah I do take note of where's cheaper eg last night went to stop at above Esso but turned and drove to Foxhunter later (near my home) as I knew it was 4 cent/L cheaper

Mickk · 19-08-2008 11:44am

What I don't get is people queing up at tesco for 10-15 mins to save a cent or two, I put in 100 litres of petrol usually and I would only save 1-2 euros a tank...

cormie · 19-08-2008 11:50am

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

If I do 30,000 miles per year, that's 6,000 litres approx in my van. At €1.34 that's €8,040, at €1.29, it's €7,740, but I have seen on certain days places 10c cheaper, so it's a saving of about €600 a year for keeping my eyes peeled and as long as I don't go off route for fuel, then it's money well saved

pburns · 19-08-2008 11:52am

AudiChris wrote: »

I never even look.

I think a saving of 4 or 5c per litre on a 50 litre tank is worth less than the brainpower it would take to monitor petrol prices continuously and the time it would take to go out of my way to get the cheaper petrol.

That being said, I do commuting mileage. If I was doing 30,000KM+ per annum, then the savings would be more significant.

+1 I'm afraid (most of the time)

Mickk wrote: »

What I don't get is people queing up at tesco for 10-15 mins to save a cent or two, I put in 100 litres of petrol usually and I would only save 1-2 euros a tank...

I've seen that at weekends sometimes. Madness. Some people don't place much value on their time.

Cabaal · 19-08-2008 12:30pm

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

Do about 450miles a week, tend to hold out for cheapest fuel, past three weeks its been 124.9

No real queing , most I might have to wait for it is 5min at the very most

mumhaabu · 19-08-2008 2:11pm

Ran the car for two years exclusively on Tesco Petrol, however in the last 3 months I have ran exclusivly on non-Tesco petrol and I feel I am getting better MPG went from 29.9MPG to 46.2MPG or one tank and the car also feels much more zippier with the non-Tesco stuff in.

I fill up in a multitude of places so can't really compare. I think if the car is running on Tesco grade it is quite dead and it seems as if the Tesco stuff is of a lower octane and it reminds me of the lazy watered stuff that the big Chevy V8's in the United States will happily guzzle doing 8 or 9MPG.

I use a good bit of fuel and my carbon footprint for 2008 has climbed above 115tonnes of C02 and it will be my heaviest ever output, Unless I fly long haul again my carbon footprint will come in at 190 to 200tonnes of Co2 for the year. Up yours John Gormley! :cool:

cormie · 19-08-2008 2:17pm

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

For every van load I deliver, it would need about 20 runs with a car, so that's my carbon excuse :P For the greater good

Balfa · 19-08-2008 2:39pm

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

I have four main places I fill up (one near home, one near work, and two in between), because I just know from experience that they're always a bit cheaper than the others. Consequently, I rarely look at their prices any more, and if they were to pull a sneaky and charge 5c more than other places, I wouldn't notice

If I'm somewhere I'm not familiar with, I'll always look for the nearest Racetrac or QuikTrip. Again, I just know the brands and trust them to be not only cheap, but nice, clean establishments if I need to nip in for a Red Bull or what-have-you.

Heroditas · 19-08-2008 9:08pm

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

mumhaabu wrote: »

Ran the car for two years exclusively on Tesco Petrol, however in the last 3 months I have ran exclusivly on non-Tesco petrol and I feel I am getting better MPG went from 29.9MPG to 46.2MPG or one tank and the car also feels much more zippier with the non-Tesco stuff in.

It's changed by that much? :eek:

I am lucky enough in that I live near the Texaco on the N4 and pass the Shell in Palmerstown every day so can always avail of cheap fuel. I have to say that my MPG (or MPL) hasn't noticeably changed from one fuel to another. I'm getting approximately 38-39MPG.
Also depends on whether I have the A/C on too much. I'm more likely to have it on in the summer.

Avns1s · 19-08-2008 9:24pm

I cover about 20K miles per year and I'll shop around for branded petrol. No Tescos stuff when I'm away from base!

Having said that, when the local Shell is within 2 or 3 cent per litre of the cheapest, I'll support them for the sake of the bit extra!. You never know when you might get stuck late at night or something!!

Toots · 19-08-2008 9:27pm

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

The two petrol stations nearest my place are easily the dearest in my area. One's a maxol, which was at 1.43 when everywhere else was around 1.35/1.36. The other's a statiol, which would be cheaper than the maxol, but not by much. The only time I ever fill at either of those is if I'm really low, and I'll only put about a tenner's worth just to keep me going until I can get to either the Tesco (usually at some ungodly hour of the morning so I don't have to queue) or the other statoil, which is about 10 mins drive further away (in no traffic).

Sully · 19-08-2008 9:37pm

What? Fuel prices are different in each garage??

I always take note of where the cheapest ones are and fill up there. If its closed (as I mainly fill up at night) ill head to the next cheapest station (usually statoil, with the fuel guard working cheap enough). Tesco I used a lot but there no longer the cheapest. I get unleaded at 121.9 cash. No idea what there asking for on the statoil card last I checked it was 125.5 (or there abouts).

Do you always go for the cheapest fuel?

Do you always try and get the best price? 62 votes

Comments