Is Costco gasoline good? (vehicle, fuel, octane, credit)
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I have tried many times without success to find out who is supplying Costco with it's gasoline. In our area it is delivered by an independant fuel delivery service so unless you followed the truck you would not know where it is comming and going to. The supplier could also change from time to time based on bidding.
All I can tell you is I have used their fuel exclusively in my current 2005 vehicle since new. I have 53,000 miles on it and have had Zero fuel related problems. I live at sea level and also have replaced the fuel filter twice.
I like the issue of their high volume which guarantees "fresh fuel" which is important in this day and age with the "short shelf life" of current generation gasolines.
I keep my fuel tank topped off constantly to reduce the chances of moisture from condensation. I live near the Ocean and there is a high moisture content at most times. Keeping my tank full also affords me some security if there is a prolonged power outage or some other event.
You might say I practice good car hygene.
You can also consider getting a Costco AMEX credit card which will save you from 3 cents to 5 cents more per gallon on your fuel expenses.
I used to use Chevron gasoline exclusively but it is considerably more expensive in most cases.
Currently in my area the price difference between the two is .22 cents per gallon and with my additional 5 cents rebate from the Amex card it's .27 cents.
I use standard 87 octane fuel.
Silverfox
Last edited by silverfox; 05-28-2008 at 07:42 AM..
Barring something illegal going on I bet Costco is using gas as a loss leader (or something like that). They probably make enough profit off of everything else they sell that presenting fuel buyers at their location incentive to stop in (for cheap gas) more than pays for itself when just a few of the fuel customers buy something else.
Regarding the Costco AMEX card. It is just more profit on top of it all (providing banking/credit services makes selling actual goods even more potentially profitable). Retail institutions have known this for quite some time now.
I always buy the cheapest gas available! If it's costco I go there, if it's a grocery chain I go there, if it's stop n go or 7-11 I go there. For most of my working life I was putting 50,000 miles per year on my cars. I've never had a fuel related problem and I put that cheap gas in our Lexus and Infinity, no problems.
Gasoline is a fungible product. Refineries are large scale operation. Not really any "boutique" refineries.
Like silverfox I find that buying from a high turnover station reduces the chance of crud and water being in the gas.
I a curious about this OP question too and about Sheets gas,
I had a mechanic I respect tell me Sheets gas gums up something.
There has to be a definite answer out there on cheap gas.
Does it matter to the engine ??
I a curious about this OP question too and about Sheets gas,
I had a mechanic I respect tell me Sheets gas gums up something.
There has to be a definite answer out there on cheap gas.
Does it matter to the engine ??
I never had a problem with Sheetz gas, I used to go there all the time. Now Sheetz is a little more expensive than other local stations closer to me, so I don't usually go there anymore unless I have a hankering for cheap chili dogs or something.
Costco buys their gas from which ever company is selling it the cheapest. They don't have to buy from the same distributor due to some franchise contractual agreement.
Barring something illegal going on I bet Costco is using gas as a loss leader (or something like that). They probably make enough profit off of everything else they sell that presenting fuel buyers at their location incentive to stop in (for cheap gas) more than pays for itself when just a few of the fuel customers buy something else.
Regarding the Costco AMEX card. It is just more profit on top of it all (providing banking/credit services makes selling actual goods even more potentially profitable). Retail institutions have known this for quite some time now.
I do not care what Costco makes in profits. They are a publically held Corp. and if you want to profit on the other side then buy their stock.
What about Chevron, Shell, Exxon etc. What are their profits in comparison??
Costco has always been constantly cheaper. Loss leaders are ususally for a shorter period of time.
The bottom line is you get a reasonable quality product on a consistent basis for less money. You can count on the fact they have good equipt. and regular maintanance to insure your value is there.
I guarantee you if there was a problem ...like a bad batch of gas...it would be taken care of in a more satisfying way then it would be with most service stations out there.
Costco is one of the diminishing list of companys that still goes overboard to keep customers satisfied.
My Costco AMEX credit card gives me back,
5% on gas
3% on eating out
2% on Traveling
1% on everything else including Costco purchases in the form of a "non taxable cash rebate".
Whats wrong with that ??
Just pay it off in full every statement period for true savings.
The one thing I still see as an irritating issue is the annual membership fees. They are a big money maker for them and to high in my opinion.
I a curious about this OP question too and about Sheets gas,
I had a mechanic I respect tell me Sheets gas gums up something.
There has to be a definite answer out there on cheap gas.
Does it matter to the engine ??
I had a situation come up several years back where I was in to my Chevrolet dealer service Dept. having some warrantee work done. I happen to know the service manager very well and noticed he was in a discussion with another customer about the fuel system problems they were trying to resolve.
It sparked my intrest and I continued the discussion with him based on what I had just heard.
He pointed out to me that whenever they had a fuel system issue come in, the first thing they did was to send a sample of the fuel in the tank to be tested. He then took me back and showed me some examples.
After looking at the information it was obvious what the problems are. The additive ie. Alcohol etc. contents were all over the place and usually way out of line with the State standards. In many cases it voided the repair as a legitamate warrantee claim.
Bottom line is, I like fuels blended with lower alcohol content but how do you know?
Have each tank full tested ? or buy fuels where you trust them the most.
No Guarantees.
Step right up folks....we have here a gallon of gas here for less...
Silverfox
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