Pump prices are falling and some are concerned that the over-excitement caused by this phenomenon could distract drivers, resulting in the wrong fuel being used to fill up at the petrol station.
Back in 2009 the crude oil supplies enjoyed by the industry seemed plentiful, certainly by today’s standards. Drivers could fill up their tanks at only £1 per litre at the pump, a price significantly cheaper than the prices seen on the forecourt in recent years. Despite reserves having not risen to previously held levels the prices are for the first time dropping once more, although this has a lot less to do with the fuel market than the supermarkets.
Fighting each other for prime position in the moneysaving stakes and looking to attract the most customers supermarkets have been slashing their prices so that currently you may pay as little as £1.03 per litre. Prices in the UK as a whole have dropped somewhat however they have not been as close to the round pound since spring 2009.
The price of crude oil has dropped and is expected to continue to drop so while the supermarkets do seem to be leading the race to the cheapest at-pump prices at the moment it would appear that overall prices may continue to fall. This is great news for drivers and especially anyone who drives more than the average mileage such as commuters or commercial vehicle owners whose profits have been slashed in recent years due to rising fuel prices.
In order to keep the price of driving low however it is important that drivers don’t counteract their savings by causing damage to their car by getting overexcited by pump prices and putting petrol in a diesel car or diesel into a petrol engine car. It might sound like a ridiculous concern and a very rare thing to occur however thousands of motorists every year use the wrong fuel. If you are in a rental car or using an unfamiliar garage, or perhaps distracted by something the mistake is easily made.
Thankfully the issue may be fairly easily rectified thanks to our Wrong Fuel Expert mobile fuel drains, removing the contaminated fuel there and then so that the correct type of fuel may be used and the driver may once more be on their way. It would of course be cheaper overall to not get over-excited by falling fuel prices and pay a little more attention to which fuel is being used. If someone who has used the wrong fuel makes that “I’ve put the wrong fuel in my car” call before turning their engine over though it could be a fairly quick fix.
With the prices dropping and the supermarket industry fighting over customer loyalty now is the time for consumers to cash in, not only choosing the pumps with the best price, also maximising savings by using loyalty cards, points or any supermarket linked saving scheme which proves beneficial.
With crude oil prices dropping who knows how low the fuel prices at the tank will fall, especially with the battle between the supermarket chains reaching such a fever pitch. Time will tell whether we could in 2014 see fuel available at under £1 for the first time in a very long time. Drivers should make sure that they save our number somewhere in the car, just in case the unthinable does happen when people rush to fill up before someone sees sense and bumps the prices up again.