Why wait so long to get gas? (save by filling up more often during rising prices)

[jamesqf]

Value of my time spent driving to station & putting gas in the tank is greater than any price savings. Those are mostly illusion: the price goes up, the price goes down. Unless you can predict the medium-term price in advance, you don't really gain anything.

Unless, of course, you can do as I did in the last $4/gal spike, and miss it entirely. But for that it helps if you have an Insight or other car that'll go 700+ miles on a full tank.

[abell75]

This reminds me of people I know that will drive 10 miles to save .02/gallon...they spend more getting there than they save.

I'm also in the camp of "spending an extra 10 minutes (and a little gas getting in and out of the station) is not worth the potential savings, if they even materialize"

[redyaris]

As my ecomodding succeeds in reducing my demand for fuel, the less the price of fuel matters. I have more control over how much I will use than over the price. So i focus my efforts on reducing my demand and worry less about what the oil companies are doing. As it stands now the price of fuel has gone up by 10% in the last week so the differance in the cost of driving 380 miles on 9 gallons [42.2mpg] of fuel is $4.-, or 1.05 cents per mile. If i get down to using 63.3mpg then a 10% rise in price will only amount to $2.67 increase in price for the 380 miles of driving! I think of this as the insulating affect of reducing consumption...

[moorecomp]

Another way to think about it :
I fill up a little more than once a week, I drive 104 miles a day (52 one way) to get to work. I usually get approx. 10 gallons each time (12.8 gal. tank). If I drive 200 miles and fill up, and gas went up 10 cents during those 2 days, and another 10 cents the next 2 days, I have saved 50 cents versus filling up with 10 gallons after 4 days.

OR:

If I filled up at $3.50/gallon, and drive 400 miles it costs me 8.75 cents per mile.
Or you can drive 200 miles on $3.50/gallon gas at 8.75 cents per mile and the next 200 miles on $3.60/gallon gas at 9 cents per mile. You can fill up twice and go 400 miles for $35.50 or once for $35.00.

So which is cheaper?

[cfg83]

redyaris -

Originally Posted by redyaris

As my ecomodding succeeds in reducing my demand for fuel, the less the price of fuel matters. I have more control over how much I will use than over the price. So i focus my efforts on reducing my demand and worry less about what the oil companies are doing. As it stands now the price of fuel has gone up by 10% in the last week so the differance in the cost of driving 380 miles on 9 gallons [42.2mpg] of fuel is $4.-, or 1.05 cents per mile. If i get down to using 63.3mpg then a 10% rise in price will only amount to $2.67 increase in price for the 380 miles of driving! I think of this as the insulating affect of reducing consumption...

I was trying to find the words earlier, but you did it.

Well said!

CarloSW2

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by wesman1299

I've been checking users' fuel logs on this site recently and I've been surprised to see how many people who are waiting until an empty tank to fill up. With fuel prices rising so rapidly as of late, why are people waiting so long?

Because for some of us a tank of fuel lasts for so long that it allows us to coast (pun intended) through the fuel crisis and fill up when prices drop again.

EDIT: Jamesqf beat me. Gotta remember to read the whole thread before replying...

[comptiger5000]

I typically fill up around 1/4 to 3/8 of a tank left (usually 15- 17 gallons in a 23 gal tank). However, on long highway trips, particularly the run to/from college (typically burn around 19-20 gals), I'll sometimes run it lower.

[gasstingy]

I drive around 300 miles per week and fill up once a week. My Rio holds 12 gallons per the owners manual, but I typically put in around 8 gallons.

I've always filled up when I go for gas as I hate going to the filling station. Filling up means fewer trips.

[rkcarguy]

My locale tends to be full of overpriced shell, chevron, and other high end gas stations with only a few Arco's and one costco which have the best prices. The cheap places are swarming with canadians and sometimes you can wait in line 20 minutes. I don't do it unless I'm filling the truck or there is only a short line. At about 30mpg and 38 miles a day commute the impact of gas prices is minimal in comparison to other bills....we pay more for our dumb internet/tv/phone combo than I do for gas each month.

[skyl4rk]

I don't use my car very much so I wait until it is at a quarter tank or less so the fuel doesn't get too old.