Finding cheap(er) gas on the 4th

Posted by Ted McEnroe July 2, 2008 at 12:11 pm

With the 4th of July coming up, and people heading out, what are the resources you can use to find cheap gas, both before you leave and while you’re on the road.

Before you leave:

First, get the official word on prices where you’re headed. AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report shows you the average prices for cities and states all around the country.

Then, you can start drilling down to sniff out the best prices locally before you leave, and in the places you’ll pass through along the way. The site Gas Buddy has exploded in traffic as the number of people sweating gas prices rises. You can sort their lists by state, or search for gas prices in a community. Gas Buddy counts on reports from actual people out in the field, so information may vary depending on how many people are reporting.

The stripped-down Gas Buddy to Go service is set up to work well with mobile phones - I didn’t give it much of a test, but it is limited in its fuctionality. But if you know where you are, it can give you a quick roundup in that town.

MapQuest is trying to get into the act as well, putting their gas price reports on local maps, in case you aren’t sure which towns are where along the way. A quick check of the Boston-area map seems to leave a little to be decided in terms of number of stations, but the mapping feature can be helpful if you’re trying to explore multiple towns.

Or maybe, you’ve done the math and realized you can’t afford to move across town, never mind across the state for the 4th. Why not stay home and shop for a new car at Fueleconomy.gov? There are also ideas there for making your car more fuel efficient. It’s not the most exciting site ever, but considering it’s your tax dollars at work - might as well check it out.