One way is to avoid gas stations that overcharge. It may be worth the savings to go out of your way in order to avoid stations that are located off the freeway and traditionally charge more. The post says:
In most regions, you will find the cheapest gas prices in the same areas. In major metro areas, this seems to be outlying suburbs. It is best to avoid affluent areas when looking for a cheap fill. People in these areas are less price sensitive, and the gas stations realize this fact. Not only that, the gas stations are located on more valuable land, and land taxes will be higher. They pass on these higher costs to customers. Gas stations near major freeway exists can be more expensive that stations further away. It can pay to drive a few blocks from the freeway to find a deal.
The article links to a list of 10 ways you can reduce fuel costs by tweaking the way you drive, such as keeping windows closed, properly inflating your tires and avoiding weighing down your ride with heavy, mileage-killing cargo.
Fuel and Money Saving Tips [Gas Buddy]
(Photo: blue_j)
It's not that I'm 'at the top of my game', it's that I was given proper driving instruction. Here in Ga, you don't even have to know how to read, and you can get a license. The tests need a complete overhaul, with a written test, maybe a Situational Awareness test, and retests every 10 years. Lets get the deadly drivers either off the road, or under tuition.
]]>A Tc should get a HELL of a lot more than 25-30mpg, you've got a smaller, more efficient engine, and a lighter car that's more aerodynamic.
]]>@catastrophegirl: south park episode reference. its the one where stan writes a song and gets everyone to drive a hybrid, epa gets involved, turns out smug is worse the smog... humor is kinda lost if you havnet seen the episode.
]]>isolated gas station was 2.55 saturday, i filled up sunday at sams for $2.25
]]>@karmaghost: It is an easy formula. Use the MPG as an input to calculate cost per 100 miles.
Formula - 100 miles / (X MPG) * (Y cost/gallon) = $z.zz / 100 miles
In my case
Passat TDI - 100 miles / (40 MPG) * (2.68 cost/gallon) = $6.70 / 100 miles
If you're trying to decide on buying one car over another, you can take it further and average how much you drive in a month and then add the monthly payment of one car vs another to get total ownership cost.
]]>(The far station is near a friend's house and a community garden I volunteer at, so I fill up when I happen to be there, but otherwise it's not really worth my effort.)
]]>when I get my own gas, I'm done fueling in just a couple minutes. When it's full service it takes at least twice as long.
]]>When I was in Europe this summer, I noticed diesel was much cheaper than unleaded. Right now I'm looking online and it's about €.10 cheaper per liter (about €.38 cheaper per US gallon). Turns out this is because diesel is subsidized by the gov't.
]]>@Starfury: probably due to all the smug in your area. seems like they are trying to discourage the driving of hybrids
]]>Most cars will run on 'standard' in the US, It's just the way the engines are tuned, for low-end power and smoothness (usually because of the standard slushbox) and higher performance, and import-only cars run the higher octanes (because 'premium', is actually 'standard' in the UK for instance).
]]>Try clicking on "Money Saving Tips" at the top and see if any of those dozens of tips help.
Perhaps you're a helpless cause to save money via gasoline, as you are already on the very top of your game and maximizing your gas mileage.
]]>The A/C in my car is disabled so it's going to be windows anyway.
]]>Wow, I just tried that, it gave me 6 options, 5 I already do, and the other completely inaplicable (I live in rural Ga, with 55mph winding 2lane roads around and nothing for 10-15 miles, walking isn't an option and biking isn't safe)
Still claims I just learnt how to save $274 and 113gal (or about 1.5 weeks worth - its a 60 mile trip to work each way). I'm curious to know how doing what I already do, has saved money/fuel etc. It also doesn't factor in usage. Lumina's a 91. We got it last June with 70k miles on it. He got it from his grandmother (the original purchaser) 5 years earlier with 30k miles. My 'saving' would be greater than theirs, since it now has 130k miles.
I have an 88 civic, 40-45mpg (its got the dual-point injection, and 290k miles on it)
I also have a 91 Lumina (with the 3.1) - not exactly a small sedan - and I can get 33-35 from it, the wife gets 30 from it. Used to have a fully loaded town+country, and even that (with the 3.8) averaged out about 25, and it's kinda hilly out here in rural Ga (and windows or AC are essential)
The keep your windows up tip is stupid.
Here in Kansas, a significant part of the year if I keep my windows up I'll suffocate due to the heat (even an 85 degree day, when your car has been in a parking lot for a couple hours, can be stifling). If I run the air conditioner, it wastes gas too-- probably more-- so not sure who these people are who can suffocate in their car and get all sweaty on the way to important business meetings all in the name of saving 15 cents.
]]>But...this all depends on how much you actually have available in your bank account ;)
]]>Coming from: I drove across the country searching for bigfoot (okay...that's a lie...I moved and took an ill advised road trip). Worst-best place to drive: Colorado in winter...gorgeous to a crapulose t but deadly nontheless.
]]>Frankly, in my experience...if you have a naturally aspirated v6 or above (or a turbocharged or supercharged 4 or above) you need to run the highest grade gasoline available. Basically regular and medium grades are for 4 bangers and older vehicles (which will have knock anyway). It's probably in the manual somewhere but I assume the fuel mapping is set for premium octane (91 or above) in those vehicles.
]]>SF Bay Area prices are crrently around $2.85 to $3.10 for regular gas....and the refineries are 35 miles up the road.
]]>I have a BP card that gives me 5% back on gas. It's great getting the gift cards in the mail, and getting a free gas week every month or so*.
*other purchases also give % back, obviously.
]]>One thing not mentioned in the article is the grade of gas. Your car manufacturer may suggest 89 octane but your car may run fine on 87 octane. If there's no knock or ping with the lower octane, it should be OK. If there is some knock, ping or hesitation, go back to the higher grade. This doesn't apply to high performance engines that require 92 octane. There you're pretty much stuck.
]]>i dont waste my time if im not saving 10 cents or more. i dont use gas cards /store cards so i dont look for a discount. i drive a 1.5liter honda, i get 36ish highway i fill my car once every three weeks thats 10.5 gallons. so if we do the math 20 times a year at 10.5 and a savings of 10 cents a gallon... i came up with 21 dollars. about a 1.75 a month of savings, and thats IF i can find a 10 cent diff, usally its 1 - 3 cents and its just not worth the drive.
also in my area 1 mile away from the freeway/expressway/highway the price of gas will vary only by 3 cents on average. not worth it in my opinion
]]>@yentaleh: 2.15 average here before any discounts. gas is always been a little cheaper here in south texas.
]]>we have a grocery store that does the gas rewards as well. 5c per 50$ spent. My hubby and I don't have a car, so I save it up and give the card to my parents when we need to do our once monthly big trip to the store. Works out well for both of us.
]]>I've completely stopped being in tune with how much gas is around my area because I don't drive. Mr. Pi can tell you where the best gas prices are, but I'm at a complete loss when I'm around the area on errands.
]]>Oh, and of course pay your balance off every month.
]]>@ximmaculatex: If it's extra five cents per gallon, that can add up to a lot of lost money. And obviously, your common sense compass is broken if you drive completely out of your way to get to the cheapest gas station, but gasbuddy.com can tell you which gas stations are on your route home or to work, and you can save money by either stopping for gas earlier, or waiting just a little longer til you hit that cheaper station.
]]>I do monitor the stations along my normal commute and try to pick the cheapest, but I don't sweat it if the next one is a couple of cents cheaper/gallon.
]]>@chrylis: " It is best to avoid affluent areas when looking for a cheap fill. People in these areas are less price sensitive, and the gas stations realize this fact. Not only that, the gas stations are located on more valuable land, and land taxes will be higher. They pass on these higher costs to customers."
They covered this.
]]>@JerryMouse: No, you're completely right. I've never been able to understand the rationale of people who drive around, wasting gas, hunting for the lowest price so they can save MAYBE $1 on their $40 purchase. It's not like they're going to find some magical hidden gas station that charges 1/2 of the going rate.
]]>I hate you. Living here on the west coast I'm lucky if I can get away with 2.19 a gallon. Mostly we're hovering around 2.49-2.69 a gallon on average.
However its worse back home in Canada, I just got back from Vancouver and we filled up there for 1.22 a litre. (Thats around 4.00 a gallon give or take.)
]]>@JerryMouse: I agree! Sure all those pennies add up, but how much is your time worth driving around looking for the cheapest gas station?
Now where I live I know which stations usually are lower and which are higher, so I try to swing by the cheaper stations. But if I'm in an unfamiliar area and I need gas about the most effort I'll put in is making sure the place across the street isn't cheaper.
]]>No, your math is pretty spot-on...it's only worth it to find a cheaper place if you happen to be close. I laugh at the people that used to drive 40-50 miles in their SUV to fill up at a spot across state lines or somewhere far off, just to get gas .20 cheaper. "But umm...you get 15 mpg in that behemoth...so you actually spent what you were going to save on the 3 gallons of gas it took you to get there..."
]]>Buy this car to drive to work, drive to work to pay for this car.
]]>I don't agree with the statement that you find higher gas prices near the interstate. I have also found that at some exits with several stations (aka, competition) you can find some of the lowest gas prices. This weekend I saw a station near an interstate with gas at 2.09 a gallon, by far the lowest in the area.
]]>Brilliant advice.
]]>I don't really think there's a hard or fast rule. I drive to my parents pretty regularly, and find some exits are stupidly overpriced and some are great deals. Usually exits in the middle of nowhere with one station are high. Exits with a bunch of stations, especially if they are truck stops or have big convenience stores, are often a deal.
]]>Just enter in your make and model of car, and it'll give you a few tips. You can also see an entire list of tips by clicking "Money Saving Tips" at the top.
]]>@JerryMouse: I own a monster truck SUV and you're right it's not worth the time. You're not going to save any money. But I also don't fill up three times a week.
]]>@JerryMouse: In my area the difference in costs is more along the lines of 15-30 cents. Even if it's less, if you're just going up a block or two or across the street that $.75 for a weekly fill turns into $36 over a year.
]]>Unless there is a huge discrepancy I usually figure I'm going to burn off more gas driving out of my way to find a cheaper station than I would save on gas there. Same thing with idling in line at a warehouse club waiting for a pump to open up.
FWIW, I drive a small pickup, so I use more gas than a sedan but less than a Hummer.
]]>Penfed has 5% cashback on gas, 2% on groceries and 1.25% on everything else. No caps to start earning and you get credited automatically.
]]>At 10 gallons x 3.35/gal = $33.50
Now if you were to find a place that had gasoline for $3.30 a gallon and you needed 10 gallons of it...
At 10 gallons x 3.30/gal = $33.00
...you have saved $0.50.
Is it still really worth the time of searching out a gas station, one that is not along your daily route/out of the way to save a whole $0.50 a week?
Maybe my math is off? Maybe my priorities are backwards? Can someone please help?
BTW, I dont drive an SUV or a monster truck that requires a 50gallon fuel-up, three times a week. I drive a nice little sedan that gets roughly 25 to 30 mpg and has a 14gallon tank.
]]>also to add u will use more gas looking for a cheap station then spending the extra 5 cents on the one by you.
]]>"Gas stations near major freeway exists can be more expensive that stations further away."
Do stations on the freeway or off the freeway charge more?
]]>Amex Blue Card - 5% off gas after you spend $6500 per year.
Inflate your tires fully.
Buy a diesel car.
]]>krogers is the best deal for me 3cents off when you use your card. and if u spend 100 10cents off filled up yesterday for 1.95 a gallon
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