Driving costs: how to save on petrol, insurance and more

theguardian.com:

The cost of running a car is rocketing, with UK petrol prices soaring to an average of about 167p a litre. But there are small changes you can make to save money, such as using the free PetrolPrices app or website to find the cheapest fuel in your area.

According to the consumer group Which?, it is usually a few pence a litre cheaper to buy petrol from supermarket forecourts. Supermarkets sometimes run petrol promotions with money-off vouchers if you spend a particular amount on a shop, too, so check for these.

Wherever you buy fuel, sign up to the supplier’s loyalty scheme. For example, you get one point for buying one litre of fuel with Texaco’s Star Rewards scheme. Each point is worth 1p, and once you reach 500 points, you get a £5 voucher.

Insurers can no longer offer new customers cheaper premiums than they are quoting those who renew, after a shake-up of the industry rules. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t save by shopping around for a policy. According to Comparethemarket, you can save about £300 a year on average by switching your car insurance 20 days before your existing policy ends, although the cost varies over the year.

MoneySavingExpert has launched a car insurance comparison tool that offers bespoke tips for driving down the cost of a policy, such as whether it would work in your favour to add a responsible additional driver. Other comparison sites to compare quotes include Confused.com, Comparethemarket, and GoCompare.

You may be tempted to buy third-party cover, which is the legally required minimum level of insurance, but it’s not always the cheapest. Alex Hasty, a director at Comparethemarket, says: “These policies provide less cover for claims but can cost more as insurer’s risk modelling anticipates