| 1) Find out the time your
local station usually updates its prices. If
it's late at night, you'll know that you shouldn't
wait until the next morning to fill the tank.
Prices also tend to change in cycles, with one
station leading and the others following suit. The
length of the cycle depends on where you live.
Taking notes can help you figure out which station
is the leader and which lags.
2) Getting gas close to home might not
be your best bet. Write down where you go each
day, including your commute and other regular trips.
Then pay attention to the prices in those different
areas. Gas prices vary by zone and you'll generally
pay more in affluent neighborhoods, downtown areas,
and near major roadways.
3) Don't count on any gas station,
no matter how big or small. Discount stores like
Costco and Sam's Club often have low prices. They
are known to sell their gas at a loss to drive
people into their store.
4) Search on the Internet to locate the
best gas prices in your area. Some get their
numbers from consumers who call in to report what
they are spending, while others get data from credit
card transactions. If the site depends on consumer
call-ins, be sure to check how often the prices are
updated.
Here is a list of some of the sites we have
visited to check our local gas prices: |
GasPriceWatch.com
The site which covers more than 128,000 stations
nationwide, relies on consumers calling in their
local gas prices, so some areas have more thorough
details than others.You can search by
intersection, zip code, city, state station or
latitude/longitude coordinates. Plus, you can extend
a search to a 20-mile radius and filter out stations
based on how old the report is.
FuelMeUp.com
You can search for gas prices by zip code. This is a
consumer-driven site, so it doesn't necessarily
include every station in an area. Many price
postings aren't updated on a timely basis.
MSN - Gas Prices
MSN tracks gas prices at more than 90,000 gas
stations, updated nightly. Look in lower right
portion of site, find 'Driving Tools' topic, click
on 'Gas Prices' - then just enter your zip code
to locate the lowest gasoline prices in your local
area.
AAA
Fuel Price Finder
This site works with the Oil Price Information
Services, which analyzes U.S. petroleum prices, to
report on more than 85,000 stations nationwide. When
customers pay for gas via credit card, the
price-per-gallon amount is relayed to AAA's site.
Not every station makes reports, and the prices
aren't always the most current.
This site also has a Fuel Cost Calculator that
lets you search along a driving route for the
cheapest prices. Major cities are listed for
start and end points.
GasBuddy.com
This site covers more than 220,000 stations in the
U.S. and Canada, by linking you to more than 170
state, regional and city-based sites. You can search
for prices by city, town or by chain. Reports on
prices also come from consumers, but listings are
thorough. In your search, you can eliminate prices
that were reported before a set time - say - four
hours earlier. |
