With the average price of petrol steadily climbing, drivers are being advised to follow two crucial steps to potentially save hundreds of pounds at the pump.
The average price of petrol sits at an eye-watering 187.01p per litre, according to RAC Fuel Watch, marking a 56p hike since last year.
Diesel, meanwhile, is at an average of 193.30p per litre, up 60p from last year, with drivers being warned that prices are still likely to rise further.
Anything to save money can go a long way, especially during the ongoing cost of living crisis, and there are two simple steps to follow when you're at a petrol station, the Express reports.
Motorists have been advised for years to buy their fuel from supermarket forecourts, with estimations showing drivers could save £74.10 every year by filling up at these locations instead of branded garages.
A spokesperson for car dealership Peter Vardy quashed the rumours surrounding the quality of the fuel from supermarket pumps and said: "It’s rumoured that supermarket fuel is of a ‘lower quality’ and not the same as you would buy from a branded garage, but that’s not the reality.
“Supermarkets sell such vast quantities that operating costs are spread over higher volumes, making it cheaper to buy from than a branded forecourt.”
Drivers can also save hundreds of pounds a year when avoiding premium fuels, especially for standard cars.
Retailers sometimes claim that premium fuel offers performance and economy advantages and can even protect the engine, but unless you're driving a performance vehicle then you are unlikely to feel much difference.
Currently, premium fuels are around 10p more expensive per litre. RAC Fuel Watch shows that the average UK price of super unleaded E5 petrol is now at 198.63p per litre.
This makes it more than 11p more expensive than standard unleaded petrol and 5p more expensive than diesel, and many supermarkets and branded garages will usually have a few different grades of premium fuel for both petrol and diesel.
And the RAC has previously called on the main UK supermarkets - Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons - to pass on cost savings to drivers when they can be made.
To improve efficiency, drivers are also advised to use the right specification of engine oil, with more modern engines built with finer tolerances and therefore require thinner oils - those with lower viscosity – that can also improve fuel economy by around three per cent.
This means over a 50-mile journey, drivers could save 26p in an average diesel car.
The average UK mileage was 7,090 miles every year, according to pre-pandemic data, so drivers could effectively save more than £35 just for making an easy, hassle-free switch.
