Fuel price variance

[digitaria]

Filled the car this morning at Sainsburys Marshalswick (outskirts of St Albans). Price for unleaded was 140.9 per litre. Prices closer to where I live, near Welwyn Garden City, are in the 152 - 158p per litre range. I know that fuel prices vary a lot by location, but such a degree of variance within a small area means that it actually seems worthwhile to travel for better prices (with the proviso that traffic jams and roadworks might obviate any savings). There is an app called PetrolPrices which reports prices and can help you find the best place to buy.

Anyone else noticing such a wide variation in price?

[didds]

round here its a sort of double variance...

we either seem to have varying prices in a small radius, OR we get hardly any variance at all - so in effect we get variances between whether there is a variance.

its quite odd at times

[pochisoldi]

I'm in Rugby, Warwickshire the going rate is 152.9, which is anywhere between 8 and 4 pence more than I know I can pay else where

Other places:
Coventry - 151.9
Leicester Fosse Park (heading up the M1) - 147.9
Kettering (Heading up the A14) 144.9
Castle Bromwich (heading up the M6) 148.9

I have spent £789 on petrol since Jan 1st, of which one purchase worth £18 was purchased within 10 miles of where i live.

95%+ of my journeys are long distance, and I refuel en-route, not straying more than a a mile or so off course.
Some might say that the prices in my town are quite reasonable, personally I think they are a long standing ripoff. The situation improved about 10 years ago when Asda opened a petrol station which acted to push prices down. These days they charge what they can get away with. Anyone who doesn't visit other towns, or think that their fuel costs haven't gone up "because they only put £20 in" are being slowly rinsed.

[Bminusrob]

Prices in NorthDevon/North Cornwall show big range of prices, although they were even worse a couple of weeks ago. Barnstaple is usually cheapest i the area, with a current lowest price of £148.7. In Bideford, 8 miles west of Barnstaple, the current best price is 149.9, while in Bude, another 15 miles west, the best price is 155.9.
More noticeable is that the Bideford and Bude prices are at independent garages, a good couple of pence cheaper than the supermarkets. It has got to the point in Bude that we are boycotting Morrisons completely (food and petrol), as they are simply screwing motorists.

[DrFfybes]

It can vary quite dramatically, when it went up a lot last year is was (IIRC) nearly 20p/L more expensive at the Esso on the A5 roundabout than at the Sainsburys 650 metres away.

Shrewsbury seems to be a 'cheap spot' - 147 U/L and Diesel. Telford is unusually about the same today, but Oswestry (both circa 15 miles in opposite directions along the A5) is 150/155p

Prices in NorthDevon/North Cornwall show big range of prices, although they were even worse a couple of weeks ago. Barnstaple is usually cheapest

Barnstaple is the biggest conurbation, more competition, several large supermarkets. Plymouth was generally cheaper than Exeter, though today U/L is about 150p and diesel 152p, a penny or 2 more than Exeter. Trago in between is about 5p/L cheaper.

All according to petrolprices.com

Paul

[tjh290633]

Here in Mid Sussex there are some filling stations which seem to have a lower price, but not always. In Haywards Heath, Texaco and Shell, both on the Road eastwards out of the town centre, leading to Lewes Road, usually are about 3p cheaper than other stations. Burgess Hill seems to be fairly level at the moment, with Tesco at 154.9p and the other stations within a penny.

You could head for Brighton, where Asda at Hollingbury and at the Marina are noticeably cheaper. Alternatively you can go to Crawley, where prices are in the upper 140s. Tesco in Crawley and at Gatwick are usually well priced. Sainsbury likewise.

Not worth a detour to find the cheaper spots but, if you have to go that way anyway, well worth a minor diversion.

TJH

[dealtn]

Some might say that the prices in my town are quite reasonable, personally I think they are a long standing ripoff.

So what do you consider to be an acceptable profit margin then, and at what point does it become a "rip-off"?

What other industries have lower margins and giant price screens outside their places of business clearly advertising the cost of the product, enabling comparison with alternative suppliers?