How far will you travel to save a few cents on petrol?
Quite a distance if the people The Canberra Times talked to are anything to go by.
Prices in Canberra and the favourite coastal destinations are are not expected to rise over the holiday period, according to the experts who monitor prices across the country. One expert thought they might fall slightly.
All the same, there were queues at the cheapest pumps to fill up before the weekend.
"I'd go 20 kilometeres for a cheaper litre", said Slavko Grgic as he filled up his tray back ute at one of the cheapest places in Canberra, the Metro servo on Barrier Street in Fyshwick. He said it was a matter of principle.
Peter Wilson felt the same as he filled up his gleaming, scarlet Mustang. "It's a principle. I can afford fuel. I've got a Mustang and a Ranger but it's a matter of principle," he said.
He doesn't make a special trip but he does seek out the cheapest fuel wherever he happens to be. He said Curtin was very expensive so he filled up in Fyshwick. "I vote with my feet," he said.
A few people from Yass were filling up in the cheap Barrier Street servo. They had come to Canberra on other business but had then sought out the lowest price. "There's a petrol station on the main road," said one, "but I came here through that pain-in-the-arse intersection."
As the first holiday weekend looms, the NRMA said it wasn't expecting any significant movement in prices from the current average of $1.47 a litre in Canberra, $1.46 in Queanbeyan, $1.49 in Batemans Bay and $1.53 in Bega.
Canberra prices have been cheaper than Sydney's but the NRMA expected the difference to be eroded as prices in the NSW capital fell.
Prices in Canberra have been relatively low in recent months, according to the analysis done by the online comparison site, "comparethemarket".
"Canberra motorists enjoyed the second lowest average price in the country ($1.48 a litre) over the December quarter," it said.
That was a slight rise from the previous three months. "Canberra fuel prices have been stable since the end of September, only falling slightly."
"We expect prices to drop further over Christmas and New Years - but not enough to change petrol purchase schedules."
The usual advice stood. "Shop around before you fill up," NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said.
And Rod Attrill, finance expert at "comparethemarket", said: "Drivers hitting the road this Christmas should shop around to find the most competitive price in their area."
But are they right?
Where you fill up depends on your journey, of course, but if you are heading for the coast, prices there seem comparable to those in Canberra. There's no gain in arriving with an empty tank to fill up cheap.
According to one price monitoring website, a litre of "Unleaded 91" costs an average $1.48 in Batemans Bay which was about the same as Canberra where the range was $1.39 to $1.50.
But is it worth driving around to find a few cents off a litre of petrol?
It is 176 kilometres from Canberra to Batemans Bay.
In Canberra, at the time of writing, the range of prices (from $1.39 to $1.50 a litre) meant that the cost of driving to Batemans Bay in a car with average fuel consumption differed by $2.13 from filling up in the most expensive petrol station to the cheapest.
If you drive a Holden Colorado tray back ute, for example, at a consumption rate of 8.6 litres of fuel for every 100 kilometres, the saving from buying at the cheapest servo in Canberra compared with the most expensive and then driving to Batemans Bay would be $1.68.
Some of the cheapest petrol stations in Canberra are also the most crowded, with queues of cars waiting to fill up.
Some people go to expensive ones just because there aren't queues - the saving in time and hassle is worth the higher price.
It all depends on priorities.
