Ride, Sally, ride.

April 8, 2007 1:15 PM

If I were to drive from Columbia, SC, to Montgomery, AL, in the next few weeks, how much money would I need to set aside for gas?

I dug around google, but couldn't quite find what I was looking for- a site that I would input my starting and ending locations, year, make, model, and engine type of my car (since it's stock) and it would give me a dollar amount for approximately how much money I would need for gas, taking into account average gas prices at places along the way at which I'd start to run low. I'm not sure of the capacity of my gas tank- this car was bought used, and the user manual did not come with it.

So, riddle me this, Hive Mind...

Assuming I'm driving a well-kept-up 1998 Ford Mustang Convertible, Automatic, with a 6 cylinder engine, and that gas prices shouldn't fluctuate TOO much within the next few weeks...

...how much would it cost me (rounding up to the nearest ten dollar amount) to drive from Columbia, SC, to Montgomery, AL?

posted by Glitter Ninja to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

couldn't you just divide 369 (miles for the trip according to google maps) by average highway economy (28 mpg according to the government) and multiply that number by the average fuel price (2.76 according to AAA) and get 36.37, or 40 rounded to the nearest 10 dollars?

Note, though, that ymmv.
posted by jourman2 at 1:33 PM on April 8, 2007 [1 favorite]

This AAA tool says $51.78. I saw a GMaps-derived one somewhere that I'll try to find.
posted by djb at 1:33 PM on April 8, 2007

Average gas mileage for a sedan should be about 24 mpg. Googling around the fuel tanks on Mustangs from late 1990s seem to be around 15 - 16 gallons.

Average gas price per gallon along the route
x number of gallons in tank
x mpg
x miles in the trip
= the number you want.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:33 PM on April 8, 2007

Mapquest or Google Maps or someplace could tell you how far it is. GasBuddy has historical data about gas prices. And your past experience, or your future experience (your Mustang probably has a trip odometer--with that and a full gas tank, you can measure your mileage), could tell you about the kind of mileage you could reasonably expect. With that information, you could take a good stab at it.

(on preview: heehee)
posted by box at 1:34 PM on April 8, 2007

Nope. I'm a dope. It doesn't matter how big your tank is. Forget what I said above.

Distance of trip in miles
divided by mpg
multiplied by price per gallon
= number you want.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:36 PM on April 8, 2007

Of course, if this is a round trip you need to double the amount.

But you know that already.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:39 PM on April 8, 2007

Response by poster: in regards to box: this car is very new to me- I've had it a total of a week and change. I'm not sure what I should expect mileage-wise.

Thanks everyone so far for all the helpful answers!

And no, it is not a round-trip. :) So I'm just worried about getting there.
posted by Glitter Ninja at 1:42 PM on April 8, 2007

The capacity of your gas tank does not really matter for the purposes of this question -- it is your average fuel consumption and the distance that you need to know.

Google maps claims that the distance is 369 miles. Edmunds
reports average highway fuel consumption as 28 miles per gallon.

With a 15 gallon fuel tank, you can drive all the way there on one tank, and you know what your local fuel prices are. The cost will be (369/28), which will tell you how many gallons you will use, multiplied by the cost per gallon you are paying for gas.
posted by Forktine at 1:42 PM on April 8, 2007

I don't believe 28mpg for one second. I had an '01 V6 mustang and barely got 20mpg on the highway (75 mph here). I would want enough cash along to make it at 20mpg, and then ... some more cash, and then ... a credit card too.

Since you seem to be an inexperienced driver (sorry if not), be sure before a trip like this to also check to make sure all five (!!) tires are at the proper inflation, and that you have all the parts of the jack and lug wrench, and the little tool to take off the security lug nuts if you have them.
posted by putril at 5:20 PM on April 8, 2007