6 Steps on How to Save Money on Your Car’s Gas Costs

I’d like to add

- Plan your journey to avoid traffic jams
- Car pool to save costs

Also, keep your eyes open for any gas coupons. Around here, you’ll find them in the back of grocery store receipts and in the local papers. And as part of my gym membership (Lifetime Fitness), we get a few local perks, one of which is a nickel off a gallon at the nearby Kwik Trip. Every little bit helps.

Also, in my area, they have certain days of the week where they discount the gas. like Wcky Wednesday for five cents off a gallon. WE always fill up those days.

That would be Wacky Wednesday…LOL…. not Wcky

Even just knowing the general prices in the area helps- the street by my office is least expensive, and I pay attention as I drive along it- sometimes one gas station has raised the price and the others always follow suit right away, so if I see one that hasn’t raised the price yet I stop in.

Using the AC can really eat into your MPG. Some of my vehicles I had to turn it off to pass. Gives you an idea of how much it uses.

Good call. Some gas station chains seem to be the very first with the price changes (up OR down), so it gives me a good indication of what to expect from the other stations on my route to work. For some reason, it always goes up a lot more than it goes down though.

AC is a big gas hog. I’ve noticed that my mpg goes down about 4mpg when the AC is running. So if it’s not too hot, the windows go down instead. But sometimes, that extra cost is sure worth it, especialy if I’m trying to listen to some music or podcasts. There’s always a tradeoff.

I strongly disagree with Ms Aguire’s suggestion #1. When a driver buys cheap gas, that’s all he’s getting, cheap gas. Cheap gas has numerous additives, is sometimes even watered down, and will cause poor performance, thus, lower gas mileage. In order for a motor to run at maximum efficiency, along with regular maintenance, burning a good grade of gasoline is essential if one cares about their car, as well as the environment. I’ve tried gas from numerous stations, as well as varying octane levels, for my 2003 Toyota 4 Runner, and have found that it runs far better with Chevron Plus as opposed to Fred Meyer’s plus or even their premium. Perhaps the author needs to do a little more homework on this subject.

And,

For those fo you who think you don’t know anything about cars–alot of this maintenance can be doen on your own–saving lots of dough.

An air filter could be changed by a monkey.

Most fluid levels as well.

Air pressure is another one.

Ask a friend or research the internet for five minutes to find out how to do these and get on a schedule.

These “little” things really do go a long way.

Carpool or ride your bike when you can! Also, try to plan routes ahead of time. For example, pick up groceries when you pass by the grocery store on the way home vs running out at the last minute.

I read somewhere that not using your AC is only effective at certain speeds. If you’re going faster than 45, using your AC is more fuel efficient since having windows down creates drag.
I used to always try to get the best gas price, but it’s too much of a hassle. Not stopping at Starbucks once a month is pretty much the same savings for me. I suppose it depends on how often you have to fill up your tank.

Gasoline must conform to the same requirements. That is the law in most states. If you feel you are getting sub standard gas report it to the state. I pulled into a station and put 15+ gallons in my car and had never added over 13. I reported it to the state. They confirmed that 12 of the 13 working pumps were cheating customers.
PS. I think the author did a pretty good job.

The A/C drags you down at all speeds. The windows open drag you down on some models more than the A/C at higher speeds. If you can drive with the windows rolled up and A/C off you will get the best mileage. If it is hot I am going to use the A/C and pay the money for gas.

I only use the A/C and the heater when it has become unbearable for me to drive. Another thing that I use to determine whether or not I need them is the distance of the trip. For anywhere that is less than 5 minutes, I will try not to open the A/C and roll down the windows instead during the hot summer. Since I have heard about the potential drag that an open window might cause, I only have the windows half way down.

A block away from my house, there are two gas stations right across each other. The new one has better location as it is right on the corner of the intersection while the old one is a bit obscure from the streets. When the new gas station was built, they had the lowest price all around, so I made a change and started to get my gas over here. Over time, I didn’t bother to check because for the several times that I have checked, the new one always had the better price. That is until recently when I stumbled up Gasbuddy and found out that the old one now has the lowest price all around. So now, I get my gas at the old gas station right now.

A friend of mine told me that there is a gas station that offers this type of discount on Sunday from two to four o’clock. The discount, if I remember correctly, was 10 cents off per gallon. The problem is that it is too far away from my house. And also for the six years that I have been here, I have never came across that place. So I can’t take advantage of discount.

Hybrid autos are comparatively less polluter than diesel and petrol autos. Carbon emission is lower .Dust particle emission is also lower. Most of all its low maintains cost; it will be the next generation automobile.

very good steps to save money.
thanks Sally Aquire to share these steps

Using the heater will affect your mileage as much using your headlights. The only way that you would be hurting your fuel mileage while trying to warm your car would be while using the window defroster (not the rear window defroster) as it uses your AC pump, thus making the engine work harder.