When gas prices are low, it doesn’t always make sense to drive around looking for a station where it’s a few cents cheaper. Time is money, after all — not to mention the extra fuel you’d burn in the hunt.
But as prices pass $4 a gallon and the cost of filling a tax exceeds $50, saving money on gas starts to look more important.
If there weren’t an app for that, we’d be surprised. Of course there is.
Gas Buddy helps you find the gas stations with the lowest price anywhere you want to look. You can use it on your computer, download it for an iPhone, Android or Windows phone or use a mobile version with other devices.
It operates with user-supplied data, so you can earn points and win prizes such as gas cards by submitting information on prices in your neighborhood.
Entering Miami as my search location, I found prices ranging from $3.75 to $4.15 per gallon.
You can compare prices of regular, mid-grade, premier and diesel fuels, calculate how much it will cost for gas to take a particular trip, see charts on historic gas-price trends and read tips on how to be a gas-frugal driver.
Gas Buddy is one of several apps and services that help you find the cheapest gas, including services that are part of Motor Trend, MapQuest and MSN.
The other way to save money on gas, of course, is to be mindful of the useful tips: Avoid quick starts, carpool when you can, do all your errands in one trip and keep your car tuned. Sorry, no apps for those.
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