July 15, 2004 -- Gas prices have come down from their record highs in May, but they're still nowhere near as low as they were a year ago. And gas prices can vary by more than 20¢ per gallon even within the same city; multiply that by a few tanks, and you've got the price of a pretty good dinner out.
Several websites track gas prices around the country, relying on legions of dedicated volunteers to report trends in their areas. The most usable gas-price site is GasBuddy (www.gasbuddy.com), which is actually a collection of 170 separate sites for different metro areas. GasBuddy is great because it gives you a clear, concise list of the 10 lowest and 10 highest gas prices in your area, and then lets you search further by town or neighborhood name. You don't have to know any zip codes, and the gas price charts are easy to read and easy to print.
Within the west LA area, for instance, we found you can save 30¢ per gallon by filling up at the Chevron on Santa Monica west of the 405 as opposed to at the Union 76 at La Grange and Sepulveda.
Gas prices change quickly, so GasBuddy tells you exactly when its rates were last updated, and throws out any price more than 36 hours old.
GasPriceWatch (www.gaspricewatch.com) is glossier than GasBuddy, but it's also harder to use. GPW lets you sort results by gas type (regular, premium or diesel.) But you have to use the 'advanced search' page if you don't know the zip code of the city you're checking (and who knows zip codes if they're just passing through?), you can't search by neighborhood without those zip codes, and the results pages feel clunkier than GasBuddy's.
GasPriceWatch also seems short on stations. When we checked, GasPriceWatch didn't show any prices at all for Santa Monica, and only reported on ten gas stations in Phoenix and five gas stations in Los Angeles.
Taxes and different environmental regulations mean you'll sometimes see sharply different gas prices when you cross state lines. If you're taking an interstate road trip, check out the AAA's state-by-state gas price page to strategize where to fill up, and then find the cheapest prices in cities you'll be passing through by using GasBuddy. If you're driving from California to Nevada, for instance, you can save an average of 12¢ per gallon by filling up in Nevada, according to the AAA.
Gas prices change quickly, but still, we'd recommend printing out a few pages from GasBuddy right before you hit the road.
Do you have a tip for saving on fuel prices at the pump? Do you know of other sources worthy of note? Tell us the news on our Road Trip Message Boards today.