In the never-ending quest to save money on gas, when are the best and worst times to fill your tank? According to a recent study, you’ll find the best prices when you visit the pump on Mondays. However, filling up on Fridays will cost you the most.
The fuel-savings app GasBuddy arrived at these conclusions by looking at gas price numbers from January through March of this year.
GasBuddy’s analysis found that Monday gas price averages were the lowest in 30 states. Tuesday is also a great day to buy, offering the lowest average prices of the week in 19 states. The study recommended Wednesday and Thursday as good days to “top off,” meaning you’re unlikely to find the lowest average prices — but won’t get hit with the highest ones either.
The worst day for national average fuel prices is Friday. Saturday is the worst time for the most states — 16 have the highest average prices on that day. Sunday isn’t much better.
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If you decide to fill up on the weekend, says GasBuddy analyst Patrick DeHaan, “you might as well flush money down the toilet.”
To put that in a bit more perspective, GasBuddy notes that drivers who switch from Friday to Monday could save $20 to $30 a year.
It’s worth taking a look at GasBuddy’s state-by-state breakdown here, because there are plenty of exceptions to be found. For example, in Ohio, where The News Wheel is headquartered, the best day to buy gas is Tuesday, but the worst day is Thursday.
GasBuddy also looked at gas station wait times and found that you can fill up the fastest on Sundays, followed by Monday and Tuesday mornings. Not surprisingly, the longest waits can be found on Friday at 5 p.m.
According to GasBuddy, when you combine price and wait time information, the optimal time to fill up your tank is Monday or Tuesday morning between 7 and 10 a.m. Even if this doesn’t always work for you, it’s probably worth planning ahead so you can time your gas purchases for a cheaper day instead of getting stuck filling up with everyone else after work on Fridays.
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News Sources: USA Today, GasBuddy
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.