The cheapest – and most expensive – places to fill up your car
Coles Express has the most expensive average petrol price in Australia, charging 4 cents a litre more than Woolworths and 9 cents per litre extra compared with the cheapest servo chains, according to the consumer watchdog.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released its latest petrol report, which analysed the annual average petrol prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth for 2017.
The report found a large average price differences between retailers, ranging from 9.5 cents per litre in Sydney to 3.6 cents per litre in Melbourne. The gap between the highest price and the lowest price had also grown significantly in the last decade.
Based on prices across 2017, Coles Express was the most expensive in each city by between 12-18 per cent above the average.
The cheapest retailers were Speedway in Sydney, United in Melbourne and Brisbane, Liberty in Adelaide and Vibe in Perth.
The results show that if you bought 60 litre of petrol a week from Coles you would pay $300 more per year than if you had bought from Speedway, and $125 extra compared to the cost at Woolworths petrol stations.
“Our analysis of petrol prices shows the range between major retailers with the highest average price and lowest average price varied across each city considerably,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement on Sunday.
“Independent chains were the lowest priced in each of the five major cities and Woolworths was generally below the market average price in most cities.
“Average prices at Coles Express were the highest in all five cities, and average prices at retail sites where BP and Caltex head office sets the retail price were generally above the market average price.
“The majority of consumers tend to go to the same petrol station every time they fill up. This research shows it might be time to consider which station to fill up at.”
Mr Sims said he was surprised by just how much difference there was between the cheapest retailer and the most expensive, given the fuel being sold was almost always identical.
“I was surprised … that Coles and BP would be that much higher priced than Woolworths, 7-Eleven and United on the one hand and then the true independents on the other,” Mr Sims told The Sunday Telegraph.
“Those differences are huge — we are talking up to 9c/L.”
Mr Sims said it was not the case that cheaper stations were selling inferior quality petrol.
“You don’t have to worry about going into these places and getting some combination of fuel and water,” he said.
“They are getting their fuel from the majors. It usually comes from the same tank (as the petrol sold by BP and Coles).”
There are a number of apps available to find the best fuel deal, including 7-Eleven, Woolworths, NRMA’s MyNRMA and RACWA’s RAC Go.
In NSW and Northern Territory, retailers are required by law to report real-time price data, which apps like FuelCheck and MyFuelNT use. The MotorMouth app uses national data supplied by industry body Informed Sources, while the GasBuddy app relies on crowdsourced data.
A Coles spokesman said, “Coles Express always seeks to provide a competitive fuel offering to our customers, and our convenience stores lead the market in value on a range of food, drinks and everyday household needs at supermarket prices.
“In addition to the 4c/L fuel discount voucher received when spending a minimum $30 in Coles supermarkets, customers can also save 10c/L by spending a minimum $20 in Coles Express stores. The discounts can be used separately or combined to save a total of 14c/L.”