MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

Fuel costs are up 23% in just over a year. Running a car is becoming costlier and now car insurance prices are climbing too. So this week we want to help drivers put the brakes on accelerating prices...

1. Take seconds to find the cheapest fuel near you. Even in the same town forecourt prices can vary significantly, so use this speedy fuel price checker for the cheapest forecourt near you. For example, for a postcode in Gloucester today (Tue), we found unleaded prices ranging from 162p/L to 196p/L within just five miles.

2. RAC warns potholes could get worse - check if you can claim compensation. This summer's heatwaves may make bad road surfaces deteriorate further, according to RAC. In England, you can check road conditions in your area using Gov ratings showing how your council is tackling potholes.

The AA averaged 1,681 pothole-related callouts a day in 2025, and reckons damage cost UK drivers an eye-watering £645m in repairs. If your car's been pranged by a pothole, see our step-by-step guide to claiming pothole compensation. Colin emailed us last summer: "Thank you for the help and advice I got from your website to assist me with making a successful claim of just over £2,500 for pothole damage to my vehicle from my local council."

3. Car insurance prices expected to keep rising - put yourself in the driver's seat to save £100s. The cost of car insurance has jumped nearly 10% this year (source: MoneySupermarket), and consultancy firm Ernst & Young warns rises could continue for another two years after almost three years of falling prices. But there are still £100s to be saved by switching.

Don't assume that if your renewal quote is about the same, or even a bit cheaper, than last year, it's a good price. It probably isn't. The golden rule: always check how your renewal price compares against the market - and the easy route is via our Compare+ Car Insurance tool.

As Michael emailed last month: "I was autorenewing my car insurance quote which was £1,048. But I then used your tool and got an online quote with the same company for £524. You saved me £524!! Many thanks."

Not at renewal yet? Don't ignore this. It's still worth a quick check. Switching mid-policy can sometimes save enough to beat any cancellation or admin fees and lock in a price until late 2027. This is especially true if you've changed your car, address, added drivers - or even just had a birthday.

4. Got an electric vehicle (EV)? Energy Price Cap predicted to rise 24% in Jan - is an EV tariff a MoneySaver? Our very rough rule of thumb is - if more than 20% of the total energy you use is for charging your EV, it's worth checking to see if a specialist EV tariff is cheaper for you. We've a full round-up of what's available in our special EV energy tariffs, but in a nutshell, there are two main types of EV tariffs:

Add-on EV tariff: You get a cheap rate for charging your car at any time of day, but ONLY for charging the car; the rest of your home's energy is charged at your normal rate. The advantage is you can add it to any tariff that provider offers.
Two-rate EV tariff: You get a cheaper rate on all your energy at certain times of the day, usually overnight, on the assumption you'll charge your car then. It's best if you can shift other usage overnight too, such as storage heaters or appliances you can run (though don't run appliances such as a tumble dryer unattended, as that's dangerous).

If you're below that rough 20% threshold for EV charging, it's likely worth sticking with a regular energy tariff (though you can still check EV ones to see how they stack up). Do a