When is the best general time to buy gas?

Question

I always seem to choose wrong days on which to buy gasoline. Is there a general rule of thumb for what day of the week to buy gas to generally save a little?

Answer 1

when its the cheapest,the way its been doing here lately it goes up and down so much that you cant keep track of it anymore,i usually wait for it to drop a few cents,but lately that strategy has failed ,it keeps going up,good luck.

Answer 2

Mid week is normaly cheapest but I have noticed if u see oil prices riseing prob not a bad idea to fill up...

Answer 3

It's hard to say what day, but night time is better than day time, because Gasoline like all fluids expands with heat, and you therefore get less gas for your money when it is hot.

By the way, gas stations know this, and in the Winter, when it's colder, they adjust their pumps to give the right amount of gas for the price, but in the Summer when it's hot, they do not adjust the pumps, and therefor you get less gas for your money.

Just another reason to hate gas companies and encourage the development of non-gasoline based transportation.

Answer 4

He ^ is right.

I just read it somewhere the other day.

Answer 5

Watch for when the station gets their delivery - then go the day before if prices are going up - the day after if they are going down.  Price changes happen more frequently the day that the station gets their fuel.

Answer 6

best time to pump gas is in the morning hours, before the sun has time to heat the ground that the tanks are stored in. and you shouldn't fill your car when the tanker is filling the tanks at the station your at.

Answer 7

Any time that the tanker is not there. The fuel flowing into the station's tank will raise sediments which may end up in your fuel tank. Another thing is to not search around for cheaper fuel or go out of your way to get some. It doesn't matter if you save a buck or two if you end up spending more on the fuel to get the discount.

Other "rules" are pretty much B.S. for practical purposes. Usually they will save you of the order of a couple pennies at best.

Answer 8

BUY gas early in the AM, NEVER buy gas after  you see the tanker filling the tanks of a station.

BUYING in the Am your not paying for gas fumes

that the pump reads as gas.

After a tanker filles tanks you are getting part

trash mixed with gas.

A friend of mine workes for a oil company told

me.

Answer 9

the day before it goes up...

i refill mine when it gets to half....

Answer 10

like now tomorrow its gonna be 5cent more!

Answer 11

Whenever it's cheap fill up(even if you only need like 10L)so when the price spikes you set for a good 2 weeks.

Answer 12

The best time to buy gas has passed .......................unless you can get your self one of those nifty little time machines and go back    way back !!!............ but good luck with the search in the here and now!!! but seriously I use to manage a gas station and there really is no method to the madness . no day is better than the next and it will always seem as though you have some how gotten the shaft !!! There were days I changed the gas price 3 times in 1 day sooooooo ya that's all i got to say about that !!!

Answer 13

Normally the best time to buy gasoline is Wednesday morning. The prices usually go up on the weekend and by wednesday competition has set in which drives prices down.

Answer 14

when its cheap

Answer 15

gasbuddy.com has price charts for many metro areas.  Check them and look for patterns.  In many cases, fuel will increase thursday/friday to take advantage of summer travelers.  Watch the prices and always fill up when it drops.  Every time it drops, fill up again, this way you paid the least possible to fill your tank each time.

Edit: Sorry Philip, but your friend is wrong.  Gasoline draws off the tank bottom, fumes are a non-issue.  Besides, fumes fill the headspace in the tank no matter what time of day.  As a matter of fact, fumes are captured and returned to the terminal to minimize environmental impact.  Deliveries occur 24 hours a day, unless you see the drop occurring, there's no way to know when the last or next delivery is scheduled.  Particulate, then carbon filters prevent any "trash" from entering your tank and they would damage the dispensers before they would damage your car.  Fuel in most modern stations is very clean, due to safeguards against opening the tanks like they did in the old days.  The only way for c**p to enter the tanks is when they are opened by the station attendants.  During deliveries, the hoses are attached to  specially designed ports that prevent any foreign matter from entering the tanks.  Drop velocity is much, much higher than draw velocity, so gunk stays away from the standpipes.  Regular tank cleanings also remove the bottoms.

How do I know this?  I manage the inventories at hundreds of stations and schedule the deliveries to resupply.  Those deliveries occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a weeks, 365 days a year.  We never, ever stop refueling stations, because the public never, ever stops driving.  Our tanks are cleaned regularly and any issues are reported and addressed within 24 hours by a network of contracted station maintenance contractors across the US.  Tank volumes are measured automatically, so attendants don't need to open tanks.