Donate Car to Charity California, Donate Car for Tax Credit, Donate Cars in MA, Donate Your Car Sacramento, How to Donate A Car in California, Donate Your Car for Kids, Donate a Car in Maryland, Donating a Car in Maryland, Donate Cars Illinois, Donate Old Cars to Charity, Met Auto, Car Donate Scooters offer one solution to high gas prices In today’s market with high gas prices, scooters sales are up nearly 50% from a year ago, according to a trade association for the motorcycle industry. I got my first scooter 6 years ago. I love it and it costs next to nothing to fill up. My tank holds 1.25 gallons. Last time I went to fill up, I pulled up next to a Ford Expedition that was already in progress of filling up. I got off my scooter, filled up and drove off for just a little over $4 while the Expedition was still guzzling gas. Who knows how long it would have been there and how much the final bill would be?! But a scooter is not for everybody. My wife wishes I wouldn’t ride mine because she’s worried I’ll wind up as road pizza. I will say this: Riding a scooter certainly has made me much more alert as a driver in a car. Because on a scooter, you really find out how clueless people are when they’re driving in a car or SUV. Owning a scooter is now a lot cheaper thanks to a slew of Chinese models that price out below $1,000 for a 50cc model. These are not for the freeway because they cap out at 45 miles per hour; they’re just for surface streets. Depending on your state, you may need a plate or tag, or you may be able to ride it like a bike without any registration. Many people buy a scooter and decide they don’t like it and quickly resell. Very often, you can go to Craigslist and find nearly new scooters people are looking to unload for around $500. You’ll have very little risk at that price. Even if you want to turn around and need to resell, you may not lose any money at all. Taking control of gas prices in uncertain times With regimes in the Middle East and North Africa going up in flames, the price of oil and gasoline is being driven higher and higher. So what can you do about it? When gas prices at wholesale rise significantly in a short period of time, you’ll notice there will be big differences in the price of a gallon from station to station in most metro areas. During a pre-show planning meeting, some of my co-workers told me they saw disparities of around 35 cents per gallon from station to station — sometimes at stations located directly across the street from one another! If you fill up at major oil company gas stations, their prices are almost always dictated by a district office, not by the individual station operator. These chains tend to use a pricing method based on a competitive analysis of who they compete against and the driving patterns and income levels of motorists who go by their stations. On the other hand, independent gas stations such as those at supermarkets, convenience stores or warehouse clubs usually set their prices based on market conditions that are happening dynamically around them at that moment. Right now, we’re in an odd situation when the major oil company filling stations may be cheaper than the independent discounters. The reason is because the discounters turn over gas as much as a couple times each day. Major oil stations, however, tend to go through deliveries at a slower rate and don’t get new supply that often. So when prices run up, the place where it’s usually more expensive to fill up may be cheaper right now, because it’s a little behind the market in terms of pricing. Ultimately though, there’s no one size fits all rule to follow. Know that price spreads are much wider right now and it pays to shop around when you go to fill up. You might also try using websites like GasBuddy.com and GasPriceWatch.com to help find the lowest gas prices in your area. To avoid traffic, I like a free app called Waze.com, which will also show you gas prices.
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