Covered car transporters get your vehicle to its destination safely so you don’t have to drive it there yourself – preventing unnecessary wear and tear on finely tuned engines and hundreds of extra miles on the clock that can reduce the resale value of a collector car.
But they also mean you won’t face a costly pit stop at a motorway service station to refuel your vehicle and yourself, all of which can add up to a significant extra cost that makes self-driving a long journey and false economy.
Figures from Admiral Insurance reveal the extent to which the service stations add a motorway mark-up on the items they sell, including snacks, drinks and the petrol in the pumps.
And once you add it all up with anywhere from one to several rest breaks in a long drive to a track day, motor show or other event, the difference can be staggering.
Counting the cost of motorway munchies
One of the biggest mark-ups is on bottled water, which Admiral found on sale at Beaconsfield Service Station for a massive mark-up of 420% compared with the typical supermarket price.
Burtonwood Services on the M62 and Hartshead Moor Services in Yorkshire both charge 309% more for a 500ml bottle of water at £1.80 a bottle, and prices are up 10-15p over the previous year.
Putting together a basket of snacks including water, cola, a cheese sandwich, sausage roll, bag of crisps, chocolate bar and bag of sweets, Admiral found Durham Services most expensive at £16.21, a 135% motorway mark-up compared with supermarket prices.
All of the ten most expensive service stations they surveyed came out at 128% or more above shop prices for the equivalent basket of snacks.
Thirsty for fuel?
Refuelling will cost you more at motorway service stations, which most motorists probably know – but just how much more?
Admiral found on average, service stations charge 14% more for both diesel and petrol, while some charge as much as 16% more for unleaded and 17% more for diesel.
That’s a mark-up of between a sixth and a seventh, but if you’re driving a long way and in an area you don’t know well, getting off the motorway to find cheaper petrol prices might not be a realistic option.
All of this is on top of the potential maintenance and repair costs if your car breaks down en route, and the loss in value as it clocks up hundreds and thousands of extra miles driving between events.
Get there by covered car transporter
Ontime’s covered car transporters get your vehicle to its destination safely, without clocking up miles of engine wear on the way.
We provide end-to-end service, so you don’t face that ‘final mile’ drive from the motorway down bumpy country roads.
And we offer vehicle care programmes and battery charging services so your car gets there ready for the track or looking its best ready for exhibition.
So avoid paying through the nose for service station stuff and instead, treat your vehicle to a trip in our covered car transporters so it arrives in style.