Rip Off???

Hi Everyone,

So there I was yesterday, in need of a tank of gas for my car. Like many of you, you probably have a favorite gas station. Maybe you get your vehicle serviced there and therefore buy your gasoline there. Most likely, the overwhelming reason is because of the lower price for gas. But how much lower is it?

Since I was already out doing errands and knew that I had to get gas, I started to notice the price of gas at every gas station I passed. Where I normally buy regular gas, the price was $3.59 per gallon.  There were other stations with prices ranging from $3.69 to $3.99. But the highest price I saw was at a Shell station that was selling regular gas for $4.09 Wow, that is a difference of $.50 per gallon or a $10 difference for 20 gallons. How can the price of a gallon of gasoline vary so much? I should add that where I buy my gas, is a mom and pop, no name brand gasoline. Can there be such a difference in gasoline's to command a 14% premium within a 5 mile radius?

Let's see if we can figure it out. First of all, there is a limited number of refineries in this country. So the no name gas is refined at the same location as the more expensive gas. Federal law requires gasoline sold in northern states to have added oxygen from November through March or maybe April. That means that both gasoline's must have it. The added oxygen makes the gasoline burner cleaner and more efficiently in colder temperatures. Additionally, all of the gasoline sold, at least in New York State, has 10% ethanol. So far, both gasoline's are exactly the same. Now if you believe their commercials, big name gas/oil companies, add even more additives to their gasoline that helps clean your engine, give you more power and burn cleaner. Not sure about their claims, but, it most likely doesn't cost $.50 per gallon. I believe that the difference is due to what they charge their franchises per gallon sold. That means that those big name gas stations pay more for their gasoline and therefore pass on the increased costs to their customers.

Now I know that some of you have cars, either new or old that requires premium gasoline with higher octane. In those cases, most likely the no name premium brand may not be a consideration. What I do know is that all our cars use regular gasoline and we have never, ever experienced any difficulties using the no name brand. If you haven't tried it, maybe you should. You will be able to save yourself a bunch of money, that you can then use on something else.

Happy New Year everyone.

Til next week.

Peter