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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Use this test: subtract the farther station’s price from the nearby station’s price, multiply by the gallons you will actually buy, and compare that saving with the fuel cost of the extra round trip. In symbols: net fuel saving = ((near price − far price) × gallons bought) − (extra round-trip miles ÷ realistic MPG × far price). A positive result means the detour saves money on fuel; zero is break-even; a negative result means the extra driving costs more than the pump-price discount.
The calculation in one minute
There are two separate amounts to calculate:
- Gross pump saving: (nearby price − farther price) × gallons purchased.
- Extra-drive fuel cost: extra round-trip miles ÷ realistic miles per gallon × farther station price.
Subtract the second amount from the first. Use the farther station’s price when valuing the detour fuel because that is the fuel price you would pay for the additional gallons consumed on the trip.
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| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Positive | The farther station saves that amount in fuel dollars. |
| Zero | The stations are fuel-cost break-even; the detour is not financially better before valuing your time or other costs. |
| Negative | The detour fuel costs more than the pump-price discount saves. |
This is a fuel-only comparison. Time, tolls, parking, traffic, vehicle wear and the inconvenience of an added stop can change the personal decision even when the arithmetic shows a positive fuel saving.
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1. Price at the station you would otherwise use
Call this P1. Record the price per gallon, or per litre in a metric calculation, at the nearby or on-route station. Use the price you can actually buy at, including any conditions that apply to you. Do not assume a sign price is available to every customer if the station has membership, payment-method or other restrictions.
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2. Price at the farther station
Call this P2. The farther station must be cheaper for a fuel-only detour to have any chance of paying off. If P2 is equal to or higher than P1, the detour has no pump-price benefit and only adds driving costs.
3. Fuel you will buy
Call this n, measured in gallons. Use the amount you expect to put in on this stop, not automatically the vehicle’s full tank capacity. A person buying four gallons to reach the next trip may get a different answer from someone filling a nearly empty 16-gallon tank.
4. Additional route distance
Measure only the distance caused by choosing the farther station. If the cheaper station is already near your route, do not count miles you would have driven anyway. For a station that requires driving away from the route and then returning, count both legs. The model uses total extra round-trip miles.
5. Realistic fuel economy
Call this f, measured in miles per gallon. Use an estimate for the actual detour, not necessarily the vehicle’s official combined rating. Speed, congestion, hills, weather, air-conditioning, load, road surface and maintenance can all change real-world fuel use.
Step-by-step method
- Find the price difference: P1 − P2.
- Calculate the gross pump saving: multiply that difference by n, the gallons you plan to buy.
- Measure the added round trip: use the route distance, not a straight-line map measurement. If m is the one-way distance from the on-route station to the farther station, the added distance is 2m.
- Estimate detour gallons: divide extra round-trip miles by realistic MPG.
- Price those gallons: multiply the detour gallons by P2.
- Subtract: gross pump saving minus extra-drive fuel cost.
- Add direct charges: subtract any toll, paid parking charge or other expense caused by the detour. Keep the value of your time as a separate personal judgment unless you have a specific hourly value you want to use.
In reusable notation, with m as the one-way detour distance:
Gross saving S = (P1 − P2) × n
Detour fuel cost T = P2 × (2m ÷ f)
Take the detour when S > T.
Worked example from the GAIMME model
The GAIMME report gives an illustrative classroom example rather than a current-price recommendation. The added round trip is 12 miles, the vehicle gets 35 MPG, and fuel at the farther station costs $3.44 per gallon.
- Detour fuel is 12 ÷ 35 = about 0.34 gallons.
- The fuel consumed by the detour costs 0.34 × $3.44 = about $1.18.
- The pump-price comparison produces $2.25 in gross savings for the amount purchased in the example.
- Net fuel saving is $2.25 − $1.18 = $1.07.
Under those stated assumptions, the farther station saves $1.07 in fuel dollars. The result does not mean every 12-mile detour is worthwhile: changing the amount purchased, prices or vehicle economy changes the answer.
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Find the break-even detour before you drive
You can calculate the maximum one-way detour that still breaks even. Rearranging the equations gives:
Break-even one-way distance m = (P1 − P2) × n × f ÷ (2 × P2).
A one-way route deviation shorter than that value has a positive fuel-only result; a longer deviation has a negative result. This shortcut is useful when comparing several stations because it tells you the distance limit without calculating a separate net value for every route.
For example, suppose the nearby price is $3.80, the farther price is $3.50, you plan to buy 12 gallons, and realistic economy is 30 MPG. The gross saving is ($3.80 − $3.50) × 12 = $3.60. The break-even one-way distance is:
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$0.30 × 12 × 30 ÷ (2 × $3.50) = about 15.4 miles.
That is a fuel-only limit. A toll, a long queue or the value of your time would reduce the distance you personally consider worthwhile.
How much fuel you buy changes everything
The price difference applies only to the fuel purchased. A station that is 15 cents cheaper saves $1.50 on a 10-gallon purchase before detour costs, but only 75 cents on five gallons. The detour fuel cost, meanwhile, depends on the route and vehicle rather than on how much you fill at the pump.
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| Input change | Effect on the decision |
|---|---|
| Buy more gallons | Raises gross pump savings and can make the detour worthwhile. |
| Price gap widens | Raises gross savings for every gallon purchased. |
| Detour gets longer | Raises fuel consumed and the detour cost. |
| Realistic MPG falls | Raises gallons used on the detour. |
| Farther-station price rises | Raises the value of detour fuel and reduces the price advantage. |
If you are not sure how much you will buy, calculate a low and high case. For example, run the formula for the few gallons you need today and again for a full tank. Do not present the full-tank result as your likely saving unless you really intend to buy that amount.
Measure the detour correctly
Count the return leg
The common error is counting only the miles from your normal route to the cheaper station. If you must drive back to the route, those return miles consume fuel too. A six-mile trip away from the route is normally a 12-mile added round trip.
Use route miles, not map radius
Road layout, one-way streets, ramps and restricted turns can make driving distance substantially different from the stations’ straight-line separation. Use the route you would actually drive at the time and direction of travel.
Subtract miles already on your trip
If your planned route passes within a half-mile of the cheaper station, the relevant distance is the extra distance created by entering, exiting and rejoining the route—not the station’s total distance from home. A station can be geographically farther from home yet cost almost nothing extra when it lies along the route.
Include direct charges
Add a toll, paid parking fee or other unavoidable detour charge to the cost side. If the toll is $2, a calculated $1.50 fuel saving is not a net saving after that charge.
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Official ratings are useful starting points, but they are not a guarantee for a particular short trip. The EPA’s gasoline-label explanation says fuel economy and emissions may differ because of how you drive and maintain the vehicle, air-conditioning and other accessories, weather, road conditions, vehicle load and other factors. The EPA updated that text on January 20, 2026.
For a route-specific estimate, prefer a recent vehicle trip-computer reading or your own fuel log under similar conditions. Adjust downward when the detour involves stop-and-go traffic, steep grades, cold weather, a heavy load or sustained high speed. Do not make a precise adjustment from a broad rule of thumb when the route data are unknown.
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s consumer guidance says fuel economy typically decreases rapidly above 50 mph and estimates at least an additional $0.18 per gallon for every 5 mph above 50 mph in its fuel-saving context. That figure is general guidance, not a route-specific correction factor, so it should not be mechanically inserted into this calculation.
Why MPG cannot be treated as a linear score
Fuel consumed is miles divided by MPG, so moving from a low MPG value produces a larger fuel reduction than the same numerical increase at a high MPG value. The EPA’s 2026 explanatory examples illustrate this over 1,000 miles:
| Efficiency change | Illustrative fuel saved |
|---|---|
| 10 MPG to 15 MPG | About 33 gallons |
| 30 MPG to 35 MPG | About 5 gallons |
These are EPA teaching examples, not estimates for your station trip. For the detour calculation, always divide the added miles by the MPG you expect on that specific drive.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Metric and UK calculations
Keep distance, consumption, fuel quantity and price in compatible units. If your vehicle is rated in litres per 100 kilometres, use:
Detour litres = extra kilometres × (litres per 100 km) ÷ 100.
Then multiply detour litres by the farther station’s price per litre. Gross pump saving is:
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(near price per litre − far price per litre) × litres purchased.
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Subtract the detour cost from that gross saving just as in the gallon/MPG version. Do not combine miles with litres per 100 km or gallons with kilometres unless you first convert the units.
A practical calculator or spreadsheet layout
You can do the calculation on a phone calculator. A spreadsheet makes repeated comparisons easier. Enter these fields:
| Cell or field | Value to enter |
|---|---|
| Nearby price | P1 |
| Farther price | P2 |
| Gallons to buy | n |
| One-way detour miles | m |
| Realistic MPG | f |
| Direct detour costs | Tolls, parking or other charges |
The fuel-only net formula is ((P1-P2)*n)-((2*m/f)*P2). If direct costs are entered separately, use ((P1-P2)*n)-((2*m/f)*P2)-direct_costs. Format the result as currency and retain enough decimal places during the calculation before rounding the final answer.
When the fuel result is not the whole decision
Time
The cited gas-station model measures fuel dollars, not the value of your time. If the detour adds 20 minutes, decide what that time is worth to you. A small fuel saving may not justify lost work time, a missed appointment or additional family travel, while a detour that takes almost no extra time may be attractive even for a modest saving.
Traffic and route reliability
A route that is short in distance can be slow at a congested intersection. Compare expected travel time, not only miles, especially during commuting hours.
Vehicle wear and operating costs
The formula counts fuel consumed on the extra miles. It does not assign a monetary value to tires, maintenance, depreciation or accident exposure. Those costs may matter for frequent, long detours, but adding an unsupported universal per-mile number would make the result look more precise than it is.
Price uncertainty
Prices can change between checking them and arriving. If the advantage is only a few cents, a small price change can erase it. Treat a marginal result cautiously and use the price available at the time you make the decision.
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Queue length and station access
A cheaper pump with a long line can consume more time than the price difference is worth. Include waiting and complicated access in your time judgment, even though they do not change the fuel-only formula.
Common mistakes and fixes
- Using the sign-price difference alone: multiply by the actual gallons purchased.
- Counting only the outbound leg: include the return leg whenever you must rejoin the original route.
- Using full tank capacity automatically: use the amount you will actually buy.
- Using the vehicle’s best advertised MPG: use route-appropriate, realistic economy.
- Valuing detour fuel at the nearby price: use the farther station’s price for the extra gallons consumed.
- Mixing units: convert miles, kilometres, gallons, litres and price units before calculating.
- Ignoring tolls: put direct extra charges on the detour side.
- Calling a fuel-only win a total financial win: consider time and other trip costs separately.
- Rounding too early: keep full precision until the final currency result.
A decision checklist
- Are the two pump prices current and applicable to your payment method?
- How many gallons or litres will you really buy?
- What is the added route distance in both directions?
- What fuel economy is realistic for the detour’s speed, traffic and weather?
- What is the gross pump saving?
- What is the fuel cost of the added driving?
- Are there tolls, parking charges or other direct costs?
- How much extra time will the stop take?
- Is the result still positive if the price gap shrinks or your MPG is worse than expected?
If the answer remains positive under reasonable high-cost and low-saving assumptions, the detour is more robustly worthwhile. If it changes sign with a tiny assumption change, treat it as a convenience choice rather than a dependable saving.
What the result can and cannot tell you
The calculation tells you whether the cheaper pump price offsets the fuel burned to reach it, based on your stated prices, purchase amount, route and fuel economy. It does not predict future prices, assign a universal value to your time, or prove that one station is always cheaper for every trip. Recalculate when the route, amount purchased, vehicle load, driving conditions or station prices materially change.
Quick Recap
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