If It's Wednesday, This Must Be Gas Day
While we’re on the subject of gas…
The average electric vehicle user has to drive his car for eight years before making back what he spent in costs. When the price of oil skyrockets, the recovery time drops to three. We don’t even want to talk about this guy in NC who charges his electric cars with solar power.
Meanwhile, the rest of us have to buy gas. With one other exception--if you’ve already contacted a salvage car buyer, or if you’re looking to sell your junk car, you’ll want to drive it as far as it can go on the gas that is left in it before you take it to the yard, so you can disregard the whole putting-gas-in-the-car thing.
Choices, choices...
- Where to go
Make it easy on yourself and get Gas Buddy. This app will tell you the price last seen at stations all over the country. This makes it a good app for travel, too, so you aren’t forced to use the gas stations right by the highway. It makes a good app if you stick close to home, too, because you can watch for better prices. Maybe someone can tell us if prices really are cheaper on Wednesdays.
- What to take
Got your gas card? Seriously, any gas card will do. Some, like Fry’s or Kroger’s, save you on the price of gas if you buy groceries. The Shell fuel rewards vary by location.
Shell
- When to go
The car version of a cold one.
They say.... Prices drop after midnight. In this case, ‘they’ is identified as Matt Granite, from WKYC station in Cleveland, as quoted by USA Today. Is this fake news? We hope not, but can’t say for sure because after midnight, we’re sleeping.
Wednesday is the cheapest day, but not if Wednesday is a holiday, and the prices go up on weekends and holidays. Also, avoid filling up if the tanker is fueling the underground tank. Those tanks have a lot of sludge at the bottom and adding gas stirs it up. This sludge at the bottom is also true of your gas tank, so if you have an older car, consider keeping it above ¼ tank. Your fuel filter and fuel tank will thank you.
- What to buy
First, you have to decide if you believe your car needs better-quality gas. We’ve seen reports that gasoline quality matters (AAA), and also reports that gas quality doesn’t matter (also AAA). The bottom line is, do what your car manual recommends.
Some people think gas doesn’t matter, and it may not, for them.
For those of you who saw Michael Moore’s movie, “Super Size Me,” and believe poor quality gas is the equivalent of fast food, here is a list of places that sell ‘clean’ gas.
Who could forget these prices, right?
Hopefully, these suggestions have given you some ideas for putting money back into your pocket. It might be fun to see exactly how much money you could save using all these tips.
Drive safely, everyone!