A few years ago, I visited a fledgling operation in an Ohio airport hangar. GasPriceWatch.com was using the Internet to help consumers track bargain gasoline prices.
Within months, they had 20 thousand volunteer price-spotters in cities and towns across North America. By March, 2003, the number has climbed to more than 70 thousand; the last count was 130 spotters, 128 thousand gas stations in the data base, and 109 thousand new prices in a recent week.
But this service is no longer a novelty in the consumer world. It has plenty of company.
The Automobile Association of America now offers its own pricing site with some very nice features.
By the way, the folks at AAA also link to a fuel cost calculator that computes your gas tab based on distance and make of vehicle. I discovered that my $99 USD one-way flight from Memphis to Washington is only $23 more expensive than the gasoline bill for that trip if I had chosen to drive.
GasBuddy.com is the home page for scores of local sites that can be bookmarked. For example, if you live in or around Shreveport, La., there is ShreveportGasPrices.com. Americans can punch in a zip code at the home page to find their local prices, and Canadians can click on the appropriate province.
These sites are only as good as the subscribing spotters are diligent. It's not unusual to find two- or three-day-old prices. But this is not as big of a problem as it might first appear.
Oil companies employ "zone pricing" that requires stations in higher profile locations to pay more for product. These Web sites allow consumers to spot those patterns from their computer screens rather than straining to see them from their windshields.
You can also save money by looking in places where gas prices are likely to be low.
One such place: the grocery store.
Growing numbers of grocery chains are getting into the fuel business. They tend to price gasoline on the low side.
Just as cheap milk prices will bring shoppers into the store to buy more profitable items, the same is true with bargain gasoline.
Some chains will even make the discounts deeper if you carry their "frequent shopper discount" cards. One example: Kroger sometimes gives its frequent shoppers a 10 cent/gallon discount if they scan the frequent shopper card at the pump.
So-called discount clubs also offer very low prices to their members. You must weigh whether or not joining will save you enough money in other areas, but if so, you'll probably save money on gasoline, too.
All the shopping in the world won't help much if your car is in poor condition. Click "next" to see how you can save money with a tune-up.
