Save Gas With a Tune Up

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This is a guest post from Andy Hough of Bank Bonuses.

With the recent rise in gas prices there have been many blog posts about ways to save on gas. I decided to test how well one of these tips would actually work.

Many posts suggested that keeping your car tuned up would help your gas mileage. Since my car needed a tune-up, I decided to see what the difference in my miles per gallon actually was.

Before the tune-up I was getting about 25.5 MPG. After the tune-up I managed 34.5 MPG, 9 more miles per gallon. That is 90 extra miles per 10 gallon fill-up. With a gas price of $3 a gallon it would have cost me $10.59 more to drive those 90 extra miles before the tune-up. The cost of the tune-up was $60 so I will more than make up for its cost in 6 fill-ups. Of course your vehicle might not need a tune-up as badly as mine needed one so your savings will vary. It is clear though that getting a tune-up when your vehicle needs one is maintenance that pays for itself.

Published on June 29th, 2006 - 8 Comments
Filed under: Automotive, Energy
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Comments (scroll down to add your own):

  1. So, what did this $60 tune-up consist of?

    Comment by Anon — Jun 29th 2006 @ 1:16 pm

  2. This tune-up was simply replacing the spark plugs. The price also included a state inspection so the cost of the “tune-up” was actually less than $60. Different shops include different services in their tune-ups and you need to compare prices with that in mind.

    I know I could have saved even more money by changing the spark plugs myself but that is something I will have to learn in the future.

    Comment by Andy — Jun 29th 2006 @ 2:00 pm

  3. The link to my site in the post seems broken. It should be bankbonuses.blogspot.com. Thanks.

    Comment by Andy — Jun 29th 2006 @ 7:24 pm

  4. And how long does this improvement last? If this keeps fuel efficiency up for 6 months or between tune-ups, then its great. But if after the first month the efficiency drops….

    Comment by Charles — Jun 29th 2006 @ 9:37 pm

  5. Fixed the link. Sorry for the glitch.

    Comment by nickel — Jun 29th 2006 @ 11:47 pm

  6. You know, it also would help if you did routine maintenance, especially if you are about to take on a road trip this summer. It also saves you from extra expenses because of car breakdowns.

    Comment by Mark Clarkson — Jul 3rd 2006 @ 11:58 pm

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