U.S. Citizens Cross Border for Cheap Gas
SAN DIEGO -- U.S. citizens here looking to relieve the pain from the pump have turned to Mexico for the remedy. There, a gallon of regular gasoline retails for $2.54, and less if you pay in pesos, The Associated Press reported.
The difference is more than $2 per gallon, as San Diego gas prices average $4.61 per gallon, according to the report.
"I used to buy exclusively in the U.S. before gas started really going up," Patrick Garcia, a drama teacher at an elementary school in San Diego, who lives in Tijuana, told the AP. "Since then, I've been buying all my gas in Tijuana."
The difference in price could mean a U.S. motorist could save almost $54 filling up a pickup with a 26-gallon fuel tank in Mexico. The price for diesel is even greater, as it sells at $5.04 a gallon in San Diego County and $2.20 in Tijuana, the AP reported.
Paul Covarrubias, 26, a resident of Chula Vista who works in construction in San Diego, crosses the border each week just to refuel his dual-cab Ford F-250 pickup.
"I fill it up with diesel in Tijuana for $60," he told the AP. "It would be almost twice that in San Diego."
While it can make for big savings, international gas-buying trips don't make sense for everyone -- the wait to get into the U.S. at the border in Tijuana frequently takes longer than two hours and cars can burn about a gallon of gas for each hour they idle, according to the report.
The difference is more than $2 per gallon, as San Diego gas prices average $4.61 per gallon, according to the report.
"I used to buy exclusively in the U.S. before gas started really going up," Patrick Garcia, a drama teacher at an elementary school in San Diego, who lives in Tijuana, told the AP. "Since then, I've been buying all my gas in Tijuana."
The difference in price could mean a U.S. motorist could save almost $54 filling up a pickup with a 26-gallon fuel tank in Mexico. The price for diesel is even greater, as it sells at $5.04 a gallon in San Diego County and $2.20 in Tijuana, the AP reported.
Paul Covarrubias, 26, a resident of Chula Vista who works in construction in San Diego, crosses the border each week just to refuel his dual-cab Ford F-250 pickup.
"I fill it up with diesel in Tijuana for $60," he told the AP. "It would be almost twice that in San Diego."
While it can make for big savings, international gas-buying trips don't make sense for everyone -- the wait to get into the U.S. at the border in Tijuana frequently takes longer than two hours and cars can burn about a gallon of gas for each hour they idle, according to the report.