Delaying an eventual purchase (assuming gas prices are stable) will only save you the time value of money (dollars spent in one week are less valuable than dollars spent today), so there isn't a great savings...total savings 1.9 cents per tank, assuming a one week delay in purchase of a $50 tank and money in the bank earning 2% ($50*2%) /52 .
If gas prices are rising, you might be better off filling the tank today at (say $3.65/gal) rather than next week (say $3.75).
But, hey, if it makes you happy, go for it!

 

Well you see I am looking at it in a different way.

I recently switched from a 2002 Pontiac Boneville SSEi which required Premium fuel.

I used to fill up every 3 to 4 days at an avg fillup of $50 or $100wk.
For 50 weeks (minus 2 for vacation) that's $5000yr.

Since I have owned my TCH I now have an avg fill up time of 7 days. (I am keeping very good records).
My avg fillup costs me $43.65.
For 50 weeks that's $2182.50

That is a $2817.50 savings just by switching vehicles.
Now if I can extend my fillup time so I can save 1 week fill up per quarter then I can save and additional $174.60 for a grand total of $2992.10.

That's why I am trying to squeak out as much as I can. If you'd like to see the spreadsheet that I have where I am doing my analysis against my Boneville let me know and I will send it to you.

At my last fill up I had owned the TCH for 57 days with an avg savings of 55.16% for a total of $483.17 saved so far.

 

If you want to get _really_ technical, reducing number of transactions means reducing the gas station's cost for credit/debit transactions which ends up with the possible results of reducing the need for stations to hike prices slightly to compensate, or helping keep from driving them out of business. I know while the oil companies are upset at anybody trying to interfere with their raking in of billions, I've seen stories about actual gas stations whose margins are so incredibly thin just to be able to sell competitively that they're barely staying in business. Not sure how common that is, but.... Either way, even if we don't pay more for the purchase, it does cost the station per transaction for plastic (vs cash), so there is cost associated with it...

And as to the cruise range issue... I wouldn't be too surprised if your cruise range won't go up if you don't actually go beyond it. If every time it tells you you can go 550 miles this tank, you actually fill up before you go past it even if you could actually go further, it might decide it was right, hehe. And remember it's always going to leave a solid margin for safety by underestimating the cruise range. Remember nash went something like 750 miles on the tank when he ended up with the 700 mile cruise range.

 

I agree. I figured that there would have to be some kind of safety margin in there otherwise if someone tried to go the reported cruise range and the tank actually fell short then many people would try and hold the manufacturer liable for anything related to the incident.
Also reducing the number of transactions was geared towards me personally. I'm sure not many people are too worried about it. Me...I guess I am being **** now.

Haroldo - On the flip side since I've owned my TCH there have been times when I have been able to hold out and see a 6 cent drop in the price. It's all a crap shoot when it comes to that.

 

If you fill up once a month for $50 or twice a month for $25 each time, you aren't spending more nor less (much like the guy who wasn't hungry so he asked the pizza guy to slice the pie into four pieces, rather than eight).
If you drive 15,000 miles a year and get 40 MPG, you are spending the same amount on fuel (give or take a few pennies) if you fill up daily, weekly or monthly.

 

You're missing my point totally. If I fill up 1 time a week that is 4 times in a 4 week month. If I know I can go farther and stretch that to 9 days between fill ups then in a 4 week month I will have eliminated just about 1 week. That's only 3 fillups in a 4 week period, thus saving $50. It's not about how many pieces you divide the pie into it's how big they are.

Heck if you could do that once a month that a savings of $600.

 

I need to stop multitasking. I get your point.

 

...aren't the fill ups more expensive when you go longer periods of time between fillups? (e.g. Fill up once every 6 days, cost $40. Fill up once every eight days, cost $50.)

If not, I think you may have redifined the laws of economics and mathematics...unless I am missing something here.

 

Glad I didn't bet any money on this.....I see the error of my ways Mr. Keynes. Now that I have stopped working completely to digest to words on the screen and call myself a dumba$$ like everyone else is doing!!!

 

Lol!