Cheap Gas Web Sites: Waste of Time or Gas?
With ever-rising gas prices more people are turning to Web sites that claim to steer you to the cheapest prices for gas in your neighborhood. But the question I had is, do these sites deliver what they promise and is it really worth it to drive 5 miles out of my way to save at the pump?
Since my Honda Accord's gas tank was near empty, I decided to do a bit of a reality check and see if prices on cheap gas sites matched those at my local gas stations in Highland Park, Illinois. I chose three local gas stations and looked up the gas prices for regular on three different gas price sites: Automotive.com, Mapquest Gas Prices, and Gasbuddy.com.
In Search of Cheap Gas
I estimate the average price for a gallon of gas is about $4.15 where I live and surrounding towns. Some stations are charging as much as $4.30 a gallon. But I already steer clear of those stations. I was hoping even a 5 cent savings might be worth visiting a gas station I don't usually go to.
My first snag in using these sites is proximity. By far the cheapest gas was a Speedway gas station that was selling a gallon of regular for $4.05 according to gas prices listed at Mapquest. That would have been a big savings, only if I lived closer. The gas station was 10 miles away. Never mind my time, any savings at the pump would be lost on the gas used for the roundtrip to the gas station.
I chose to keep my search within 2 miles of my home. Now the cheapest gas near me, according Automotive.com, was at a Clark gas station about two miles down the road from me. Automotive.com listed a price of regular at $4.13, but when I got there prices were actually $4.15. Mapquest got it wrong also telling me the price would be $4.14. Gassbuddy.com did get it right.
I also checked prices with a local Shell station. It had gas for $4.15 a gallon. But prices for the Shell were listed as $4.16 on Automotive.com and $4.17 by Mapquest. Gasbuddy.com again had the right price.
A BP station near me had gas prices listed on Gasbuddy.com and Automotive.com as $4.19, and by Mapquest at $4.20. Mapquest was once again wrong, as the actual price at the BP station was $4.19.
Waste of Time and Gas
After looking at these sites I'm not impressed. The ratio of Web research to money saved at the pump was unimpressive. Perhaps this wouldn't be the case in other markets where is there is a greater concentration of gas stations.
Overall, Gasbuddy.com got all three gas station prices dead on, while Automotive.com only got one price right and Mapquest failed on all three accounts.
Gasbuddy.com also has the easiest site to navigate. It took under two minutes using Gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gas prices around me.
It took much longer to find cheap gas using Mapquest. That is because when searching for the lowest priced gas using Mapquest you are given the lowest gas prices in a large area. This is nice for finding the cheapest overall price, but I had to scroll through five pages of gas stations to find a station with a cheap price that was actually within a reasonable distance to where I lived.
How They Get Their Numbers
The reason for the difference in accuracy might be in how the three sites get updates on gas prices. Automotive.com gets its gas prices from credit card transactions at the pump, which should be accurate, but relies on a process of gas stations uploading data to a third-party company that relays the data to Automotive.com.
The lengthy process can take time, resulting in less accurate gas price listings. Mapquest is similar to Automotive.com and gets its updates through the Oil Price Information Service but admits that not every gas station updates their prices to the service every day.
Gasbuddy.com on the other hand relies on people at the pump sending in the most up-to-date prices. While this can result in rather hit-or-miss results, Gasbuddy.com does list the last time that a price for a specific gas station was uploaded, so you can always have a sense of how recent the prices are.
My suggestion for those looking for the cheapest gas, check Gasbuddy.com first, and if the prices haven't been updated recently, use Automotive.com as a second choice.
Ultimately though, none of the sites saved me any money. Things may be different where you live. Let me know if these sites have worked for you and how much they've saved you.
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I've had good luck using gas buddies in the St. Louis area. There are a lot more stations to choose from, but it can be very helpful. There are a few ways to improve its usefulness, however.
1. Don't use it just to look up a price for a station to drive to from home. When you're getting low, keep an eye on the prices and stop at a station on a trip home from work or to a store etc.
You can customize the site to have it display areas you are interested in. I used to drive about 18 miles to work and set it up to display the stations in the areas I'd be passing through on the way to work and back.
(to be continued)
Hi, I see that my favorite site isn't listed here. It's fmcgas.com and what's wonderful about them it's that they have a free mobile service that let's you see the prices while your are on the move.
They've also have a subscription service available and I think that after them the Gasbuddy.com is the closest one to the cheap gas prices listings.
What do yout think?
http://wowgas.com is another gas price listing site; however, the difference here is that it is only covering the Bay Area with Campbell, CA the only city that get the comprehensive and up-to-date price listings. I find that wowgas.com has Campbell gas stations that are not listed on gasbuddy. I like the sorting feature on wowgas by lowest to the highest gas prices. Neat.