How to drive down the cost of petrol and diesel

The cost of filling up an average family car has now shot up to £100 in some areas, according to new research by Santander.

Dumfries is the most expensive town to fill up in at 145.90p per litre, while Torquay is the least expensive at 135.90p per litre.

The average price of unleaded petrol has risen by an average of 5.5% in the past two months, although some areas have seen price rises of up to 9%. And, despite the Government scrapping a 3p rise in fuel duty planned for September in the Budget, prices are set to keep on rising.

However, there are ways to pay less for your diesel and petrol.

Compare pump prices

Why waste fuel driving around to find the cheapest prices, when the PetrolPrices website does the legwork for you? This brilliant, free site will find the cheapest forecourts in your area for petrol, diesel and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). All it needs to get cracking is your postcode and how far you're willing to cruise for cheaper fuel.

Fill up when you see a cheaper petrol station

If you happen to be passing a petrol station that's cheaper than the ones in your area and you need some fuel, why not take advantage?

Grab supermarket coupons

The Big Four supermarkets – Asda, Morrison, Sainsbury's and Tesco – occasionally provide money-off coupons to redeem at their own forecourts. Usually, these promotional vouchers give you 5p or 10p off a litre of fuel, as a reward for spending, say, £50 in-store.

For instance, a 5p/litre discount would save you £2.50 when filling up a 50-litre tank. This is a saving well worth having, but only if this exceeds any additional shopping and driving costs.

Right now, you can also earn £15 back on a £50+ spend at most Shell petrol stations by syncing your American Express card with location-based app Foursquare.

[Related link: Earn cashback on your fuel spending with a cashback credit card]

Use loyalty cards

Most petrol retailers (and supermarkets) have some kind of loyalty programme designed to encourage you to spend more and keep coming back.

While these freebies are worth having, it's obviously not worth driving halfway across your county purely to grab reward points.

Avoid getting caught short on the motorway

Pump prices at motorway service stations are notoriously expensive so make sure you have enough fuel before setting off.

[Related link: Cut your car insurance costs too – compare quotes now]

Reduce your usage

How many trips do you make each week in an empty car?

By arranging to travel with three other colleagues who live relatively close (sometimes called a car pool) you could drive just one out of every four days, significantly reducing the wear and tear on your car, as well as fuel and parking costs.

Ask around at work to see if any local colleagues would be keen to car share – or register with websites such as Liftshare (although obviously use your common sense and exercise caution if arranging to travel with people you don’t know).

And car sharing doesn't need to be limited to commuters – if you regularly meet up with local friends in the evening, why not take it in turns to drive?

Stay-at-home-mums who meet up each week could pick each other up. Parents could offer to collect and drop-off their kids’ friends who attend the same ballet/football/rugby session.

And why not offer a lift to someone travelling in the same direction as you at the weekend and split expenses?

Cheaper driving

If you can avoid leaving home during the rush hour you can greatly reduce your journey time, saving fuel (as you won’t be queuing in stationary traffic) as well as reducing stress levels!

Smooth and gradual acceleration, driving in the correct gear, slowing down early and regularly servicing your car can all save on its wear and tear and improve your fuel economy.

Tyres that aren’t properly inflated can wear down unevenly, cause you to use more fuel and may even be dangerous, so check them regularly.

And emptying out any unnecessary clutter from the boot and removing the roof rack/tow bar when not required will make the vehicle lighter, and improve your fuel efficiency.

[Related link: Cut your car insurance costs too – compare quotes now]