Fuel at the pump has become even more expensive recently with some reaching over $3 a litre for petrol, Stuff has investigated the cheapest and most expensive gas stations around the country.

There is nothing more annoying than filling up your car and driving past a gas station afterwards only to find it was cheaper there.

Luckily, Gaspy, a New Zealand petrol price monitoring app, has almost 1.4 million ‘gas spies’ who spot the cheapest fuel spots in their area.

On Wednesday morning prices for 91 were above $3 a litre at most stations in Auckland and Wellington so to narrow down the top five cheapest stations around the country at the moment, the spies got to work and did some digging.

BP 2go Te Puke – Bay Of Plenty

The cheapest petrol in New Zealand at the moment is BP 2go in Te Puke and sat at a whopping $1.79 per litre on Friday.

This is almost half the price of the most expensive fuel in the country. For all those after the bargain, BP 2go Te Puke is on Jellicoe St and connected to the main Pacific Coast Highway.

Kawhia Motors Limited – Waikato

The second-cheapest petrol on Friday was in the mighty Waikato, at $2.52 a litre in Kawhia.

Located on Kawhia Rd the automotive company repairs and services vehicles along with providing the public with the opportunity to fill up – and cheaply!

Pak 'n Save Hastings – Hawke's Bay

Buy your groceries and then fill up your car at Pak’n Save Hastings in Hawke’s Bay because it was the third-cheapest petrol spot at $2.53 per litre on Friday.

NPDs– Timaru

In the same rural area of the South Island NPD Washdyke and NPD Redruth in Timaru were tied for fourth and fifth on Friday at an equal $2.54 per litre.

At the end of June, prior to the price increase, both NPD Redruth and NPD Washdyke sold the cheapest petrol in the South Island at $2.15 per litre.

And now the not so good news...

In comparison, we also found the dearest petrol in the country – not including Waiheke Island stations – and they are all above the $3 mark.

Allied Glacier Motors – Franz Josef

The top price for petrol per litre is $3.13 on Friday in the West Coast town of Franz Joseph. This is almost double the price of the cheapest petrol up in the Bay Of Plenty.

Mobil Reefton Motors – Reefton

Further north of Franz Joseph but still on the coastline is Mobil Reefton Motors at $3.11 per litre on Friday. The Reefton township is a popular tourist spot.

BP Connect – Waihi

There is only one cent that divides the second and third-highest petrol fill-up spots. On Johnston St in Waihi you will find filling your car with petrol would have cost $3.10 per litre on Friday.

BP 2go Whakapara – Northland

In Northland, Whakapara’s BP 2go cost $3.09 per litre to fill your vehicle with petrol on Friday. Again only one cent lower than Waihi.

Mobil Seddon St, Waihi

Waihi was back at it again with the fifth most expensive spot to fill up your car on Friday with petrol at $3.08 per litre at the Mobil on Seddon St.

Gaspy director Mike Newton said that since the fuel tax was re-added on July 1, prices continued to gently decline for a couple of weeks “but the past month has seen significant increases with the national average for 91 now sitting at $2.87, an increase of almost 23 cents.”

The average price for 91 in some regions remains close to breaking the $3 mark.

Newton said Auckland leads the pack with an average of $2.98 followed by the West Coast on $2.96 and Northland on $2.96.

“For context, when the fuel tax was first removed in March 2022 Auckland was sitting around $3.19,” he said.

AA principal adviser Terry Collins said, as a generalisation, “we should expect to see prices go up and over the next few years it will be less about international price of oil and more about internal drive”.

-Poppy Clark/Stuff.