How much will you pay for essentials at a motorway service station?
If you’re taking a cross-country trip over the coming months, you’ll probably need to make a pitstop along the way. Whether refuelling the car or yourself, stopping at a motorway service station could end up hitting you in the wallet. But by how much?
Our team of mystery shoppers investigated 22 service stations across the UK to compare the cost of popular road trip items; from crisps and wine gums to coffee and fuel.
Overall, snacks and drinks bought at the service stations were 117% more expensive than a standard supermarket.
Buy water at the supermarket
The biggest mark-up was on water, which cost an average of £1.76 for a 500ml bottle but can be picked up for around 44p at a supermarket. All the service stations we visited had free water refill stations.
Plan ahead
Motorists could save £8.10 on our basket of goods if they planned ahead and bought them before they headed off.
We also compared the price of fuel on the motorway with the UK average, and found a price hike of 16% on both unleaded and on diesel. This means that a motorist filling up a large car could save over £8 on fuel alone.
Take a look at our findings below, and next time you’re going on a journey, it could pay to think about stocking up on supplies before you hit the road.
Highway robbery!
How much are snacks, drinks and fuel at UK service stations, and how much you could save by shopping before you hit the road?
Cold food and drink prices
|
Average service station price |
Average shop price |
Amount saved |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
500ml bottle of water |
£1.76 |
£0.44 |
£1.32 |
|
500ml bottle of Coca Cola |
£2.19 |
£1.48 |
£0.71 |
|
Cheese sandwich |
£3.40 |
£1.45 |
£1.95 |
|
Single medium sausage roll |
£2.31 |
£1.03 |
£1.28 |
|
Standard pack of Walkers ready salted crisps |
£1.24 |
£0.63 |
£0.61 |
|
Standard Cadbury's Dairy Milk bar |
£1.08 |
£0.63 |
£0.45 |
|
Medium sized bag of wine gums |
£3.02 |
£1.24 |
£1.78 |
|
Total |
£15.00 |
£6.90 |
£8.10 |
Hot food and drink prices
|
Standard sized latte |
Small portion of chips |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Average service station price |
£2.76 |
£0.99 |
Petrol and diesel prices
|
Average service station price |
Average UK pump prices* |
Total saving |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 litre of unleaded petrol |
146.3p |
126.4p |
19.9p |
|
Price for 40 litres |
£56.55 |
£50.46 |
£8.09 |
|
1 litre of unleaded diesel |
151.8p |
131.3p |
20.3p |
|
Price for 40 litres |
£60.70 |
£52.52 |
£8.18 |
*source BEIS price as of 21/10/19