Gasbuddy.com Review

Gasoline prices have been on everyone's mind for the past year or two and for good reason. Gasoline reached record high levels last year before retreating quickly and dropping down to levels not seen in nearly a decade. It is best to keep a step ahead in the game, and one site that helps consumers track gasoline prices is Gasbuddy.com, a web service that keeps you informed on the highs and lows of retail petroleum.

Web Service Commentary:

Gasbuddy.com is a web site with consumer interests in mind. This web service can be used to search an area of the country (or Canada) by state and then city, or by zip code, to find the cheapest and most expensive gasoline prices. Gasbuddy.com will quickly provide a summary of prices in your area, including the current prices, previous day's prices, the price one week ago, the price one month ago, and the price one year ago. It will then indicate the present trend in gasoline prices (just in case you cannot tell, from the quoted prices), followed by a list of the gasoline stations offering the best prices in your local area. There is even a link to click to view a map showing the exact location of the retailer and another link to find more information on the retailer. Searches can also be limited to only a specific brand (Shell, BP, Phillips, etc) or a certain type of fuel (premium, regular, diesel, etc.).

Gasbuddy.com is a useful tool to find the best deals on gasoline and it gets its updates each day from its members. The list mentioned above- the one that shows the lowest prices in your area- includes the member name of the Gasbuddy.com person who submitted the price, along with the time and day that the submission was received. Gasbuddy.com, therefore, relies on its members to keep the prices updated and timely. As a reward, Gasbuddy.com offers points that can be exchanged later for prizes. Along with the points and prizes, Gasbuddy.com gives away a $250 gasoline card each week.

Gasbuddy.com is used primarily as a resource to find gasoline prices, but this service offers more than that. Besides the prices, there are tools like a trip cost calculator, fuel log, gas price charts, a member forum, etc. There is even a tip section with some simple advice on ways to keep your gasoline costs under control. Then, there are trivial facts that can be viewed, like the average gasoline prices by state and even a map that shows each county in the United States with a specific color to indicate how high or low the gasoline prices are. Last time I checked, California, Washington, and Michigan had the highest prices while the southern states and mountain states had the lowest prices.  

It is nice to have a resource like Gasbuddy.com and it certainly comes in handy when a frugal consumer wants to know where the prices are lowest. However, one needs to keep in mind that Gasbuddy.com receives its information from its members. Thus, it is only as good as the data that its members supply. Looking at my own area, I can think of several gasoline retailers that are not mentioned at all. Some of them- especially the privately owned gas stations- can often be counted on for the lowest gasoline prices around. Yet they are not included in the listings because none of the Gasbuddy.com members has submitted the price. This is probably the greatest problem with this service. The prices it shows are fairly accurate (it tells you last time and day they were updated), but the prices do not include every retailer in a given area, so the lowest price listed may not be accurate.

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Gasbuddy.com is, overall, a good resource for finding the best deals on gasoline and a good informational source for those who want to calculate trip prices, look for ways to save money on gasoline, and share some gasoline- related moments with other members. The data is supplied by members, so it isn't always going to be 100% accurate, but this service is still pretty good and it certainly has the consumer's interests at heart.