Whether you’ve hired a car in Spain or are on a road trip around Europe, you can save money by comparing prices every time you fill the tank with petrol or diesel.
Fuel prices are lower in Spain than in the UK but you can make your €uros go further by avoiding motorway service stations and taking advantage of cheaper prices at independent or supermarket-owned petrol stations. (Look out for gas stations at Carrefour, Bonarea and Alcampo supermarkets).
By shopping around it’s possible to save up to 20c per litre of fuel purchased.
The big name brands will tell you that their fuel contains special additives which clean your engine and make it more economical. I don’t know how true this is but I suspect that it has more to do with marketing than engineering and however good the additives may be I seriously doubt whether they justify the extra cost.
B-OIL: The Cheapest Petrol Station in Barcelona
The cheapest petrol station in Barcelona is B-OIL in the Poblenou neighbourhood.
Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, the station has 4 self-service pumps selling diesel and 95 RON unleaded petrol.
There are no attendants to help you fill up. You pay at the cash terminals next to the pumps before refuelling (see photo above). If you miscalculated how much fuel you need, simply insert your credit card into the terminal again to get a refund and receipt.
Obviously, the fact that the petrol station is unattended is a cost-cutting measure which helps to keep the price of petrol low. The downside is that there is no-one to clean up fuel spillages and there are often small amounts of diesel on the ground next to the pumps. Take care where you step when you get out of the car!
Address: Carrer de Bac de Roda 130, Barcelona
Opening hours: Monday – Sunday 00:00 – 24:00
Map
Carrer de Bac de Roda 130, Barcelona
Hi Richard,
Definitely good to know when we visit Barcelona; we will eventually. Mindful of smaller petrol shops too; here in NZ we are driving a car for the first time abroad. It had only been motorbikes until now, in SE Asia. I enjoy this different experience and am also thinking of ways to save on gas consumption although I suspect we’ll not spend much. Old car with great mileage methinks.
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for stopping by and for your comment, you’ve got me thinking about when I was travelling in SE Asia.
I’ve not been to NZ but in Spain and the UK the independent and supermarket petrol stations are definitely the way to go.