Cheap fuel

There have been a few newspaper articles about some garages being all too keen to put prices up but failing to bring them down promptly. I thought it would be worth sharing those that are cheap.
A couple of weeks ago, Sainsbury's in Hereford were charging 175.9p per litre, yet at the garage at Church Stretton, 15 miles south of Shrewsbury, and on the same day, I paid 160.8p per litre.
 
There have been a few newspaper articles about some garages being all too keen to put prices up but failing to bring them down promptly. I thought it would be worth sharing those that are cheap.
A couple of weeks ago, Sainsbury's in Hereford were charging 175.9p per litre, yet at the garage at Church Stretton, 15 miles south of Shrewsbury, and on the same day, I paid 160.8p per litre.
We are finding the same Trevor our local Texaco has been one of the cheapest in the whole area..up to 9 p per litre difference 😱..
 
Some of the supermarkets are not as good at maintaining the fuel tanks as the big boys…. can clarify that a certain supermarket has cost me several injectors through poor fuel (Garage’s words of wisdom) Guess you pay your money you takes your chance. I am happy with expensive fuel (not much difference really) at the BP garage🤫
 
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Costco price at my nearest Costco nothing near me can get close to Costco price and the queue is constant .

E10 £1.37.9
E5 £144.9
£155.9 Diesel


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It's Shell all the way for me. At one point when the prices started falling fast, there was a 9p/litre difference for diesel across the three that I keep an eye on, in Chesham, Tring and Leighton Buzzard. The one that was the most expensive then (Chesham) is now the cheapest of the three, currently by 3p and 4p/litre. The Tring one is the only garage in town and usually (as now) the most expensive, but was remarkably the cheapest for quite a while in the run up to Christmas. The LB one has a Tesco opposite, with BP and Morrisons less than a mile away, yet seems to be able to get away with +2p or even +3p on whatever Tesco are charging. You'd think that what the local competition is doing would be some factor in it, and I'd be surprised if the brand franchise garage owners aren't talking to each other on the quiet - the two at the other end of Chesham are opposite each other and are owned by the same family! - whereas the supermarkets and directly brand-owned ones might not.
 
I use the confused.com petrol price checker LINK - I generally follow that for an idea of where to go in a given area. I generally find Sainsbury’s and Asda to be the cheapest retailers no matter where I am (although I guess Morrisons and Costco would be even cheaper if you’re near one) - Tesco can often be the same as my local BP.

If I used supermarket fuels then I always use at least 1.5x the recommended dose of the Millers Oils diesel additive to ensure my fuel system isn’t sullied by the lower-additive fuels they sell, especially this time of year when the cetane level is down as well due to the winter diesel blend.
 
I have been using Esso Supreme E5. It is more expensive petrol than Esso E10 but I understand it has fewer additives so runs cleaner in my A2. Not sure if this is correct, but buying from supermarkets has always been cheaper though I've never been certain what their petrol contains.
 
Get the Petrol Prices app for your phone and join the people updating prices around the country. It let's you search by fuel type, brand and radius from your position. Well worthwhile given fairly large swings of pricing over the last few years.

Around my way the independent garages often seem to be leading the way on low prices over the last eighteen months
 
My Dad has bulk diesel delivered for his truck. He was chatting to the driver recently who said that it used to be that the supermarket/cheap fuels used to fill their tankers from a different supply of a lower quality. Now they all queue up and fill up together. I guess it's what they do with after that makes a difference?
 
My Dad has bulk diesel delivered for his truck. He was chatting to the driver recently who said that it used to be that the supermarket/cheap fuels used to fill their tankers from a different supply of a lower quality. Now they all queue up and fill up together. I guess it's what they do with after that makes a difference?
Yes, the base diesel is a to a BS standard, it's the brand specific additives, that are injected during tanker loading that makes the difference.
Mac.
 
I have been using Esso Supreme E5. It is more expensive petrol than Esso E10 but I understand it has fewer additives so runs cleaner in my A2. Not sure if this is correct, but buying from supermarkets has always been cheaper though I've never been certain what their petrol contains.
In general, fuel additives are good for your engine, mainly detergents, that help keep your engine free of carbon, and ash, by improving the burn. Big brands, like Shell, Esso, and BP, spend lots of pennies on developing their additives, and this is generally reflected in the price, as they are an addition to the base fuel. Fuel without additives still meets the E5 an E10 spec.
The good thing about E5, is that it contains little or no alcohol, (the 5 in E5 indicates no more than 5% alcohol), whereas E10 contains 10% alcohol. E5 is also higher octane, 98/99,compared with 95 octane for E10.
Alcohol is lower in energy than pure petrol, and older engines were not designed to run on fuel with alcohol. E5 is more expensive than E10, but you'll probably benefit a little in mpg, and general running. Your A2 will love you for it.
Mac.
 
Scotch Corner Shell garage, I nearly fell out my chair, 196.9 for diesel.... this was last Saturday evening last weekend.

Needless to say I didn't go anywhere near them, instead drove a mile down the road to an Esso which was charging 169.9

Absolute disgrace, they should be publicly named and shamed.
 
There's no debate in my case, both of my cars the A2 FSI, and the Mk1 TT are designed to run on 98/99. In addition the FSI has engine components that are not compatible with the 10% alcohol content of E10. So for me, it's a case of where do I buy it? I have always used Shell fuels, and unless I need to buy where Shell V-Power is unavailable, it's not going to change.
If I was running a 1.4 Petrol, I'd use Shell E10 with no qualms.
If you get your broadband, or energy from Shell, get a Shell Go card, and get 3% off your fuel.
As the BBC man says using quality oils, plugs etc for regular servicing is as important as the best fuel.
Sometimes spending a bit more on running the car, can provide savings, and prolong the time between breakdowns.
Mac.
 
If you get your broadband, or energy from Shell, get a Shell Go card, and get 3% off your fuel.
I do, and it's limited to 60 litres per month. Also, the theory's wonderful, but sadly a lot of the time I find I can't pay for my fuel using my bank card after my Shell Go+ card has been swiped and the discount applied. It tells me 'transaction not allowed' - it seems to expect a fleet fuel card or something. It's a software bug apparently, and not all till operatives seem to know how to get round it. I'm not sure what the ones who do know actually do, otherwise I'd tell the ones who don't!
 
I do, and it's limited to 60 litres per month. Also, the theory's wonderful, but sadly a lot of the time I find I can't pay for my fuel using my bank card after my Shell Go+ card has been swiped and the discount applied. It tells me 'transaction not allowed' - it seems to expect a fleet fuel card or something. It's a software bug apparently, and not all till operatives seem to know how to get round it. I'm not sure what the ones who do know actually do, otherwise I'd tell the ones who don't!
I have been using the Shell Go, Shell Energy scheme since it was introduced a few years back, (when Shell took over our energy supplier).
I have never had a problem. For the last year maybe more, I haven't use a physical card. Both the Go card, and my CC are on the phone, so the on screen card is scanned, then I pay contact less with Google Wallet. The limit of 60 ltrs is enough for us.
I've saved £118 so far!
I'd contact Shell Go direct, and ask for an explanation.
Mac.
 
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In general, fuel additives are good for your engine, mainly detergents, that help keep your engine free of carbon, and ash, by improving the burn. Big brands, like Shell, Esso, and BP, spend lots of pennies on developing their additives, and this is generally reflected in the price, as they are an addition to the base fuel. Fuel without additives still meets the E5 an E10 spec.
The good thing about E5, is that it contains little or no alcohol, (the 5 in E5 indicates no more than 5% alcohol), whereas E10 contains 10% alcohol. E5 is also higher octane, 98/99,compared with 95 octane for E10.
Alcohol is lower in energy than pure petrol, and older engines were not designed to run on fuel with alcohol. E5 is more expensive than E10, but you'll probably benefit a little in mpg, and general running. Your A2 will love you for it.
Mac.
Totally agree with you Mac. Last filled up with E5 at £1.69 Esso Supreme when their E10 was £1.55. Full tank was 30 litres so £4.20 more expensive but I think my A2 deserves it. The current E10 mix wasn't around when the engine was made in 2002 so not clear to me why I'd expect it to be okay to run on it now.
 
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