When Is Finding Cheaper Gas Not A Bargain?

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago drivers are going the distance, trying to beat those high prices at the pump, but is it worth it?

It now costs more to fill up in Chicago than anywhere else in the country. The average price for a regular gallon of gas here is $3.31, but it's not hard to find prices as high as $3.69.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker examines whether you actually can save money if you drive that extra mile for a cheaper fill-up.

At the Delta Sonic station in Melrose Park, $3.23 for a gallon of gas has customers lining up.

"It's a lot cheaper," Liz Anton Giorgi said. "At my work, it's $3.49 -- over here, it's 3.23."

Finding the cheapest gas is almost a sport in the Chicago area and some consumers are almost willing to go anywhere.

"I'll travel about 20 miles," one motorist said.

But is it worth it? The experts who run chicagogasprices.com, a site that lists gas prices in the Chicago area, say it depends.

"Generally the savings have to be at least 10 cents in a two-mile radius to make it worth it or 20 cents in a five-mile radius," Patrick DeHaan said.

Let's do the math. Say you're driving a car that gets 25 miles a gallon and takes 15 gallons to fill the tank. If gas in your neighborhood is $3.49, it'll cost you $52.49 to fill up.

If you see a better deal two miles away at $3.45 a gallon, with the gas you're using to get there, you're only going to save 28 cents.

If you drive a little farther -- five miles away where the gas is $3.39 a gallon -- you're still only saving 82 cents. It's not a really good deal unless you find a price of $3.29 a gallon to save $2.34 a tank.

That's 20 cents a gallon cheaper than the gas in your neighborhood, and now it's worth the drive.

Still, some motorists are satisfied if they can get a better deal at the pump, regardless.

"It makes me feel better," Rosetta Kearse said.