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With fuel prices throughout Spain on a bit of a rollercoaster ride these days, it makes sense to find out where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck. And it can make quite a staggering difference if you shop around.

 

A study by Facua-Consumers in Action looked at more than 10,000 filling stations and found that the price for a 50-litre tank can differ by as much as €39.50.

 

In Murcia, the differences are even more noticeable. Drivers can pay up to 79 cents more per litre at one station than another in the same province.

 

Facua points out that consumers "can save hundreds of euros a year if they choose the right gas station."

 

For example, someone who fills a 50-litre tank twice a month could save €948 in a year by picking the cheapest station in Murcia. Meanwhile, in Ceuta and Melilla, there is almost no competition, so choosing the cheapest station would only save you €24 a year.

 

Across Spain, diesel shows some of the biggest swings. Murcia tops the list at 79 cents per litre, followed by Lleida and Girona at 76 cents and Granada at 65 cents. Ceuta and Melilla have the smallest differences at just two cents per litre for both diesel and 95-octane unleaded.

 

For 95-octane petrol, Granada is highest at 62 cents, Barcelona at 53 cents and Murcia at 51 cents. Ceuta and Melilla again have the smallest gaps, two cents, followed by Ourense at 20 cents.

 

LPG prices also vary a lot, with Córdoba leading at 40.5 cents per litre, Madrid at 28 cents, Asturias at 24 cents and A Coruña at 23 cents. The lowest differences are Palencia at three cents, La Rioja at 3.5 cents, and Badajoz, Soria and Vizcaya at four cents.

 

While drivers are trying to figure out where to fill up, petrol station owners in Murcia have been dealing with a more alarming problem. A gang of masked burglars has been hitting stations in quick, early-morning raids that last just over two minutes. The Region of Murcia Service Station Association says there have been at least sixteen robberies or attempted robberies since June.

 

And if you were hoping to save on petrol by buying a used car, think again. The average asking price hit a record €17,795 in July, an 8.7% jump from a year ago and the biggest increase in the past thirty months.

 

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