Feeling the pinch at the pump?

Petrol prices in the UK have increased by an enormous 25% in the last twelve months, and whilst Gordon Brown may have decided to postpone the 2p rise in fuel duty for the time being, an end to the increase in prices seems, for now at least, to be just wishful thinking.

However, despite all this doom and gloom, there are numerous quick and easy things that you can do to fight the costs of petrol and diesel and make running your car a little less expensive.

Here are some top tips for saving money on petrol or diesel.

1. Always buy the cheapest petrol

This may sound obvious, but so many people always buy their petrol from the same petrol station and don't think to shop around and see if they could be paying less just round the corner.

Now, if you're thinking that any money you save by buying the cheapest petrol will already have been lost whilst you were driving around looking for it, take a look at www.petrolprices.com.

At www.petrolprices.com you can enter a postcode or town name and it will tell you immediately where to find the cheapest (and the most expensive) petrol and diesel in your area. Then you can just go straight to the cheapest petrol station.

I must admit, when I first heard about this I didn't think that it would help much. All petrol stations charge about the same, give or take 0.1p. Right?

Wrong!

I just typed in my postcode and discovered that in my area alone, there is currently a difference of 5.6p between the highest and lowest prices for unleaded petrol, and a difference of 4.0p between the highest and lowest prices for diesel. If I were to fill up a 50 litre tank with petrol, by going to the cheapest petrol station I could be saving myself a tidy 2.80 each time I filled up.

So shop around, you could save pounds!

2. Be smart when you fill up

When you fill up your car, you are charged by the amount of petrol or diesel that passes through the pump. Usually, when you stop filling up, there is still a small amount of fuel left in the tube that connects the nozzle to the pump. Make sure that you shake every last drop out of the pipe and nozzle before you hang it up. After all, you'll be paying for it.

Another tip is to try and fill up in the early morning or late evening, especially during the summer. Fuel is charged for by volume, but it expands as it warms up. This means that you may actually get less fuel for your money when it's warmer, than when it's cold.

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