Martin Lewis reveals five common checks you can make to save thousands on fuel
MONEY saving expert Martin Lewis has revealed the common checks drivers can make to save thousands of pounds on fuel.
The welcome advice comes amid rising fuel prices at the pumps as the cost of a litre of petrol hits nearly £1.67 and diesel at £1.79, according to the RAC.
Martin Lewis teamed up with the RAC to detail the way by making small changes to your car and how you drive.
Step 1: Make your car more fuel-efficient
It’s estimated drivers can save up to 30 per cent on their fuel bill by simply following these steps.
Keep your tyres inflated
Keeping your tyres inflated to the correct pressure will save on fuel. Lower tyre pressure increases the drag on a car, while higher pressure will also use more fuel.
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Declutter your car
By clearing out junk from the boot and not carrying any unnecessary weight, you can save a little money. Added weight increases fuel consumption.
Take your roof rack off
Even an empty roof rack adds extra weight and increases wind resistance, reducing the efficiency of your car.
Turn off air con at lower speeds.
The general consensus is it's more fuel efficient to drive with the windows down and the air-con off at lower speeds. But at higher speeds it's better to use the air-con and keep windows up due to the extra drag caused by having windows down.
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Save cruise control for motorways
On long, flat roads, cruise control helps you save on fuel by maintaining a constant speed, thus reducing any unnecessary acceleration. But used regularly on roads that aren't flat, it will increase how much fuel you use because it's slower to react to changes in gradient, meaning it could accelerate for longer than a driver typically would when going up a hill.
Step 2: Tips to drive more efficiently
The key here is to drive smoothly making it better for your wallet and the environment.
Accelerate gradually
The more you press on the accelerator, the more fuel will flow. As a rough rule, stay under 3,000 revs.
Change up a gear sooner
Always drive in the highest gear possible without labouring the engine.
Think about road position
This helps you plan ahead and move gradually which means more efficient driving.
The brake is a money burner
Where possible, slow the car naturally rather than jumping on the brake. It’s best to use the car’s momentum, and good road positioning will help with this. The more you brake, the more you’ll have to then later accelerate, burning more fuel.
Listen to the noise of your engine
If you hear sharp acceleration and screeching brakes you know you're doing it wrong.
Keep moving if you can
The first metre you drive is always the most expensive as it takes a huge amount of energy to get a car going. If you can safely roll gradually up to a traffic light as it changes from red to green, without stopping, it is more efficient than stopping and restarting.
There is a word of caution though when trying to save money on fuel - coasting in neutral may feel cheaper but it’s dangerous.
Step 3: Find the cheapest petrol and diesel prices in your area
Prices comparisons can be made via a useful online tool . Once you’ve registered you can enter your postcode, how far you are willing to travel for fuel, and what sort of fuel you want.
It will list the cheapest filling stations in your area and covers around 8,500 forecourts across the UK.
There is also an app you can download.
Use loyalty schemes
Many petrol stations including the supermarket ones run some form of loyalty scheme, it's worth signing up to schemes for the forecourts you'll use most regularly to get a little bit extra back.
Although don’t just pick a petrol station for the loyalty scheme.
Other filling up tips include:
- Always fill up at least 50 miles before your tank is dry – this gives you time to look around for the cheapest option
- Only use ‘better fuel’ if your car can cope – ‘high performance’ fuels make little difference to the performance of non-performance cars
- Filling up at night won’t be a big money saver – it’s a slight urban myth as the difference is minuscule – pennies at best.
- Don’t try to put more in after the clunk - don't keep going after the petrol nozzle 'clunks'. If you do, you're overfilling.
Step 4: Pay using a cashback credit card
Cashback credit cards pay you back each time you spend on them. But you must obey the golden rule of setting up a direct debit to repay the card in full each month, so you never pay interest, which would outstrip any gain.
The interest cost of all cashback cards dwarfs the cashback you'll earn.
Step 5: Share the driving to cut your petrol cost
An obvious way to cut your petrol costs is to drive less, so if you can share a ride to work with a colleague this can make big savings.
There are also sites like Liftshare and BlaBlaCar which can connect people making the same journey.
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How much can you save?
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Martin Lewis estimates that for someone who drives 15,000 miles a year averaging 35 miles per gallon, just buying petrol at the average UK price would cost £2,963 annually as of March 2022.
Cutting this by 25 per cent could save £741 a year.
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