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Petrol Prices Melbourne Australia
DIY Cheapest Petrol Prices Melbourne

The DIY Cheapest Petrol Prices Melbourne page has been put together to give you knowledge and links to help you determine the cheapest petrol prices in Melbourne, or in fact any location across Australia. These are the tools and techniques I've come across as a result of letting people know when petrol prices are peaking.

The single biggest saving that can be made on petrol roughly each month, is when prices bottom out and they start to peak. Find a cheaper petrol station and you can save 30-40 cents a litre, or for a tank fill up of 50 litres, that can save $20. Do that 10-12 times a year for one or two cars and the money certainly adds up.

They say slow and steady wins the race, which in the case of petrol, is also true. By shopping around and using petrol discount vouchers, the regular savings add up over a long period of time.

Determining when petrol prices are about to bottom out

In Melbourne, the petrol prices are about to bottom out when the petrol price drops to around the average wholesale or terminal gate price. At this point keep an eye on the prices. The following site allows you to check the current average gate price for petrol.

AIP gate price

Watch petrol prices to see when they're peaking

When petrol prices in Melbourne bottom out, they can sit at the bottom for up to a week, or they can rebound quickly. One area may continue to go down in prices for a couple of days, whilst the rest peak. There seems to be little logic except that once the prices bottom, they will peak and it usually takes around 2-4 days for the market the adjust to the new peak.

The best tools I've found for knowing when prices are about to hike is the PetrolSpy site or app. Once unleaded prices approach the Average Terminal Gate Price, I start to check the PetrolSpy site or app. Unfortunately PetrolSpy may be unreliable on prices so I also use the Woolworths Fuel app and 7 Eleven Fuel app to check prices.

The images below of the desktop version of the Motormouth site show how the prices change over time. At first there will be a few red dots and mostly green/dark green dots. As more petrol stations adjust their price to the new peak, more red dots appear. Don't panic at the first sign of more red dots, as sometimes some petrol stations break from the pack putting their prices up, sometimes only to lower their petrol price again. However, once there's about 20% of red dots, the price is heading in the peak direction again.

Lock in a low price for an extra week using the 7 Eleven fuel app

Previously I really didn't use 7 Eleven for fuel, but now they usually get a purchase around once every other month. The reason, their Fuel app. With the 7 Eleven Fuel app you can lock in the lowest petrol price near where you're currently located.

The way I use the Fuel app is to fill up my car where I get the cheapest petrol. Often this is a Woolworths Petrol station using the discount voucher. I then watch the prices going up. I wait anywhere from half a day to a couple of days and then lock in the 7 Eleven fuel price, which is still low. Wait too long and I risk missing locking in the discounted price. Lock in too early and I've locked in whilst prices are still low. This can get a bit stressful if you take it too seriously. If I lock in as late as possible when prices start going up, I get the most number of days to fill up using 7 Eleven.

I recently locked in too early with the Fuel App, as the prices at 7 Eleven were staying low for longer than expected. That's OK. I topped up at a 7 Eleven, releasing the lock and then I locked in the low 7 Eleven fuel price again. That gave me another 7 days.

The 7 Eleven Fuel app often gives me another $7-$10 a month saving.

Another tip with the 7 Eleven Fuel App, is you don't have to be in your area to lock in a fuel price. Often other areas will have better prices. If you're travelling through the area by car, bus, or train, you can lock in a lower price in another area. One time I was waiting for a plane at Sydney airport and locked in the local Sydney price, which I then used in Melbourne saving around 10 cents a litre.

The 7 Eleven fuel app is not very handy for watching fuel prices, as you can only check one petrol station at a time. I use the PetrolSpy site or app to check the prices of 7 Eleven petrol statons to find the lower prices where I may be going past. The PetrolSpy site or app isn't the most reliable so if I do find a 7 Eleven petrol station I'd like to lock in, I then double check the price on the 7 Eleven Fuel app.

Woolworths Fuel app and discount voucher

Yep. I used to buy petrol at my local Shell/Coles Express most of the time from habit. But then I realised that a number of Woolworths service stations I'd often drive past, had prices 3-4 cents per litre or more cheaper. The closest Woolworths Petrol is similar in price to the local Shell/Coles Express, so I don't use that service station much anymore either.

At least once a month we purchase $30 of groceries at Woolworths, which gives us a fuel discount voucher. I then use the app to show me the cheapest Woolworths Petrol stations closest to me and pick one I'll be driving past. The saving is 4 cents a litre for the discount voucher and around another 4 cents a litre for the lower priced petrol compared to my local petrol stations. Petrol can easily vary 4-6 cents per litre in an area.

The Woolworths Petrol Fuel app is also an excellent way to confirm prices are going up as mentioned above.

PetrolSpy petrol price app or site

The PetrolSpy fuel app is a handy app or site, but it is best used in conjunction with other apps. I use PetrolSpy in the following way.

To see the lowest prices in an area, or across all of Melbourne, I open PetrolSpy, press the zoom out button (the minus sign) a couple of times. Wait between each press otherwise you may get a "too many" message appear. Now you see all the area, or all of Melbourne. Then press the list icon at the top left, which then shows the list of petrol stations starting from the lowest price.

Once I have a price that is of interest, I then crosscheck the price when I can using the Woolworths Petrol app or the 7 Eleven Fuel app.

Areas or petrol stations regularly having good prices.

It is a good idea to become aware of where there may be better petrol prices. In my area, petrol stations near us, or to the north, are often up to four cents a litre more expensive. A couple of Woolworths petrol stations in Doncaster East, when you add in the discount voucher, are often the best prices in the area. In the south Costco offers petrol at very good prices and influences prices in the area.

Whilst you find patterns of lower prices at times, sometimes there's service stations that simply offer a good price out of the blue. Our local Shell/Coles Express is often more expensive, but then suddenly offers a good price when combined with their discount voucher.

Avoid making a specific trip to get petrol, or deviating too far out of your way. The kilometres add up and that uses petrol, which can end up costing more than the savings. Whilst you can see cheaper petrol prices using the apps, sometimes it simply isn't cost effective for you to get to the petrol station.

Use the apps and websites when planning a trip and check out petrol prices along the way. We used to fill up before we left on a longer trip, but now if appropriate, fill up somewhere on the trip.

 
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