More than one in five car owners have considered carpooling to save money on gas as prices hover around $4.67 nationally, according to a survey recently conducted by ConsumerAffairs.
Gas prices fell this week, according to new data from AAA, but are still $1.53 per gallon higher than they were at this point last year. Just last month, gas prices reached an all-time high, surpassing $5 per gallon, the highest point since AAA began tracking prices in 2000.
ConsumerAffairs asked 1,000 car owners what they were considering doing to lower car-related costs:
- 39.7% said finding ways to lower car insurance
- 38.4% said doing small maintenance themselves
- 31.2% said buying a car in cash instead of taking out a loan
- 30.6% said buying a fuel-efficient or electric car
- 21.7% said carpooling instead of driving daily
- 21.3% said paying our car lease while 19.3% said swapping car lease
- 20.5% said selling car
- 19% said skipping unnecessary repairs
New cars have increased in price by 18% since November 2020, according to Cars.com, while used cars are up 45% from one year ago.