By Lauren Fix, The Car Coach
Is there anything more painful these days than watching your gas gauge head toward empty, knowing it’ll soon be time to fill your tank again?
For the first time ever, the nationwide average for a gallon of gas has $5 this summer. Here 11 ways to slash the cost of buying gas.
Reduce your Vehicle’s Weight
Are you carting around a bunch of unnecessary objects? It’s time to clear out the clutter. When you drive around with a lot of items in your car, it becomes heavier and requires more fuel to propel it forward. If you frequently transport stuff on your roof, you should consider alternate solutions because this can drastically increase drag and decrease fuel efficiency. Get the junk out of your trunk.
Properly Inflate your Tires
Under-inflated tires reduce a car’s fuel economy. Keeping your tires properly inflated to their recommended PSI can save you up to 11 cents per gallon. As an added savings bonus, your tires will also last longer, as proper tire inflation can extend a tire’s life by up to 4,700 miles. Use the correct tire pressure, which is located inside your driver’s door, and check the pressures in the morning when the tires are cool.
Sign Up for Gas Station Loyalty Programs
If you’ve avoided these in the past because the pennies didn’t seem to matter, you can save three to five cents per gallon. The savings really add up. Some gas stations, like Exxon Mobil and Costco, have a great rewards program where you can save up to 10 cents per gallon for every five to ten fill-ups. That adds up to significant savings over time, especially if you drive a good amount each week.
Check your Tire Alignment
Properly aligned wheels work together, so the engine does not work overtime and burn more gas to move the car. Rotation of tires will give you better tire life too
Get Regular Maintenance
You can avoid fuel-economy problems due to worn spark plugs, dragging brakes, sagging belts, low transmission fluid, or transmission problems just by getting regular maintenance on your car. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve mileage by as much as 40 percent.
Slow Down
Jack rabbit starts and aggressive driving will use up more fuel than driving at a calmer pace. You could always post to a traffic light and that will help save on fuel as well.
Schedule your Gas Run
Wednesday is typically the best day to fill up for less. Prices tend to rise on Thursdays in anticipation of weekend travel. It also pays to fill up early. Station owners tend to hike prices after 9 AM or so, once they’ve had time to check the competition.
Don’t Top It Off
That extra squeeze may round out your purchase price, but it’s also likely to splash out or evaporate, along with your hard-earned cash. Remember to screw the gas cap back on until it clicks, so none of your fuel escapes as fumes. Last year 147,000,000 gallons of gas evaporated because of loose, missing, or broken gas caps.
Pay with Cash
Most people use credit cards at the pump, but carrying cash can save you as much as 10 to 15 cents a gallon. Some stations charge less when you pay cash because they save on credit card fees.
Follow the 10-Second Rule
Whether you’re picking up the kids or waiting at the drive-through, turn off the engine if your wait is longer than 10 seconds. Idling drains your tank by a quarter to a half-gallon of fuel per hour, whereas restarting only sips 10 seconds worth of gas, according to the Department of Energy. Sitting in the drive-through lane will give you 0 miles to the gallon.
Look for the Best Prices
Stop wasting fuel driving around in search of the lowest price. Download the GasBuddy app or AAA to find the best prices.
Here’s the Bottom Line
In addition to curbing your need for speed, bundling your outings to be more efficient can go a long way toward reducing your gas expenditures.
What is your strategy for keeping your gas budget as low as you can?
There is so much more to discuss on this, put your comments below and let’s start the conversation.
Lauren Fix, The Car Coach®, is a nationally recognized automotive expert, analyst, author, and television host. A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and aspects, energy, industry, consumer news, and safety issues.
Lauren is the CEO of Automotive Aspects and the Editor-in-Chief of Car Coach Reports, a global automotive news outlet. She is an automotive contributor to national and local television news shows, including Fox News, Fox Business, CNN International, The Weather Channel, Inside Edition, Local Now News, Community Digital News, and more. Lauren also co-hosts a regular show on ABC.com with Paul Brian called “His Turn – Her Turn” and hosts regular radio segments on USA Radio – DayBreak.
Lauren is honored to be inducted into the Women’s Transportation Hall of Fame and a Board Member of the Buffalo Motorcar Museum and Juror / President for the North American Car, Utility & Truck of the Year Awards.
Check her out on Twitter and Instagram @LaurenFix.
