# I saw gas for $1.99 today! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565 "2008-11-26T15:58:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/41 "2008-11-26T19:26:45Z")
FILL UP? Are you all crazy? With the prices dropping like this I just put in half-tanks or less. I will let the station store the gas. When they are rising I top off and fill cans. ---
**Author:** ![Momofgirls](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/momofgirls/32/21798_2.png) [@Momofgirls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momofgirls)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/42 "2008-11-26T19:27:58Z")
Free tank for me yesterday! My grocery store gives you $.20 off for gas for every $50 spent at the grocery store. It took longer over the summer to save for a free tank, but recently it’s been easier with the lower gas prices. This is my 5th free tank of gas so far this year. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/43 "2008-11-26T20:54:55Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > $1.61 on the way to work this morning, \*and _they pump it for you_. Boo-yah! > > \*New Jersey. Yeah, baby! I just go mine pumped. That’s how I roll! 😃 I got PREMIUM for 1.98! THPPPPPPPPT!!! 🆒 (Cause it’s REQUIRED in one of my cars, beyatches!) REQUIRED…not RECOMMENDED. New Jersey. Low fuel tax and get it pumped. Who wouldn’t want it pumped? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/44 "2008-11-26T20:59:32Z")
It’s been at $1.69 here in Michigan for the past couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/45 "2008-11-26T21:01:32Z")
> [@Momofgirls](#): > > Free tank for me yesterday! My grocery store gives you $.20 off for gas for every $50 spent at the grocery store. It took longer over the summer to save for a free tank, but recently it’s been easier with the lower gas prices. This is my 5th free tank of gas so far this year. Doesn’t that mean you’d need to spend $5,000 on groceries to save $20 for gas? ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/46 "2008-11-26T21:29:43Z")
I filled my tank today for a mere $12. I was happy. Even though it was that cheap because I only put 5ish gallons in the tank as much as because gas was $2.19 a gallon. ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/47 "2008-11-26T21:49:34Z")
$2.09 here. Man. It feels really weird to see prices that low. And no, I don’t think you’re the only one who’s noticed how fast the gas prices fluctuate these days. It seems they change every other day or so, at least in this neck of the woods. :dubious: I didn’t drive until I was 18, but even so, I don’t recall the gas prices changing that fast when I was younger. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/48 "2008-11-26T21:52:06Z")
It has been less than 2.00 for over a week here. I don’t know exactly when because now that I’m laid off I get much less gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/49 "2008-11-26T21:54:38Z")
I saw regular gas for both $1.89 and for $2.39 today. Quite the price disparity! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/50 "2008-11-26T22:19:43Z")
$1.85 in NW suburban Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/51 "2008-11-26T22:31:40Z")
> [@fifty-six](#): > > FILL UP? > > Are you all crazy? > > With the prices dropping like this I just put in half-tanks or less. I will let the station store the gas. When they are rising I top off and fill cans. Our local grocery has a thing where you get 1 cent off per gallon of gas for every $10 spent (good for up to a month). So it’s better for us to wait until we’re low on gas and then fill up, because of the stacking effect of the discount. It works out well for us, because we only need to buy gas about once a month anyways. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/52 "2008-11-26T22:45:02Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > According to [GasPriceWatch](http://www.gaspricewatch.com/new/default_V3.asp), the lowest right now is $1.33 in St Loius MO. > > I didn’t look this morning, but we’re in the neighborhood of $1.50. Yup. I saw it for $1.39 last night. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/53 "2008-11-26T23:31:56Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Who wouldn’t want it pumped? How about the guy (me) who has lost a total of three gascaps in his life - 2 in NJ, one in OR (despite having spent little time in either state). There’s also the point that some tanks will accept a lot of gas after the automatic shutoff (I had a van that would routinely take 5 more gallons). It’s hard to get the pump guy to do that - they want to spend the minimum possible time on you. Since they often take longer and essentially never do a better job (and often a worse one) I don’t see much of an argument for so-called full service. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/54 "2008-11-26T23:40:37Z")
> [@fifty-six](#): > > With the prices dropping like this I just put in half-tanks or less… When they are rising I top off… I (and I’m sure many others) do this as well. It makes you wonder about the broad-scale effects. The US has something like 250 million 2-axle vehicles. If falling prices tend to make owners keep an average of 5 gallons less in the tank, that’s 1.25 billion gallons - a couple billion dollars worth, even at today’s low prices. Is that enough to have any important effect? ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/55 "2008-11-27T01:26:30Z")
$1.67 here in NJ. And yeah, I don’t have to get my hands smelly pumping my own; the attendants must do it for us here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/56 "2008-11-27T02:33:12Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I (and I’m sure many others) do this as well. It makes you wonder about the broad-scale effects. > > The US has something like 250 million 2-axle vehicles. If falling prices tend to make owners keep an average of 5 gallons less in the tank, that’s 1.25 billion gallons - a couple billion dollars worth, even at today’s low prices. Is that enough to have any important effect? Wouldn’t make any difference at all. If you’re getting half as much gas, you’ll just be replacing it twice as often. The only deciding factor is how much gas you use, not the rate at which you replace it. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/57 "2008-11-27T03:06:03Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > The only deciding factor is how much gas you use, not the rate at which you replace it. My point is that there’s a huge amount of gas in the tanks of cars, and that the amount can vary a lot, depending on price trends. With prices falling, people are happy running around with partly full tanks, in expectation that the cost will be even lower next week. If the price decline reverses itself and folks start keeping their tanks topped up, they will then need to buy a billion or so gallons more than they burn, to fill those partly empty tanks. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/58 "2008-11-27T03:25:56Z")
> [@Danalan](#): > > I saw regular gas for both $1.89 and for $2.39 today. Quite the price disparity! Yeah I saw something like that around here. No doubt the much higher-priced place doesn’t sell much gas and bought it at a higher price a month or so ago. ---
**Author:** ![Momofgirls](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/momofgirls/32/21798_2.png) [@Momofgirls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momofgirls)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/59 "2008-11-27T04:52:26Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Doesn’t that mean you’d need to spend $5,000 on groceries to save $20 for gas? What? No - I usually spend about 200 on a grocery trip (family of four plus two dogs and a cat; I go every ten days to two weeks). That gets me .80. With gas at the grocery store filling station at $1.79 right now, it took me just three grocery trips for a free tank of gas, leaving me with a little extra to start building me up to my next free tank. I might not have been clear before - it’s $.20 off per gallon of gas for every $50 dollars spent, not per tank. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565/60 "2008-11-27T05:05:46Z")
Okay, am I the ONLY ONE just a little suspicious about all of this? From four fucking dollars a goddamn gallon to $1.70 and dropping? Is nobody the least bit nervous about this? “Woo hoo, we can gas up the Hummer ag’in, Mabel!” What, were we starting to show just a little independence from the Petroleum Conspiracy? Is this just a ploy to re-addict us to high-octane gasoline? Hmmm? What is really going on here? Where’s my tinfoil? I gotta’ go make a goddamn hat! WHERE’S MY TINFOIL, DAMMNIT!? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-gas-for-1-99-today/474565.md?page=4)