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PD Moderator	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2010 12:50:22 PM Ignore PD Report Abuse If you only fill up with regular octane gasoline, you may not have noticed what's been happening at some pumps across the nation lately. Some of you who fill your tanks with mid-grade and premium may have seen stations increase the price between higher grades and regular. Traditionally, it's been near 10-cents here in much of the Midwest, but I've noticed more than one chain attempt to charge more lately, even though their diffidence in cost hasn't necessarily risen between regular and higher grades. As much as I may like Pilot Travel Centers, I've noticed they are a big believer lately in charging customers more that use higher octane fuels. Pilot had traditionally charged 10 cents more for mid-grade and another 10 cents for premium... Visit GasBuddy Blog for full article

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Message Posted: Feb 9, 2010 12:50:22 PM

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If you only fill up with regular octane gasoline, you may not have noticed what's been happening at some pumps across the nation lately. Some of you who fill your tanks with mid-grade and premium may have seen stations increase the price between higher grades and regular. Traditionally, it's been near 10-cents here in much of the Midwest, but I've noticed more than one chain attempt to charge more lately, even though their diffidence in cost hasn't necessarily risen between regular and higher grades.

As much as I may like Pilot Travel Centers, I've noticed they are a big believer lately in charging customers more that use higher octane fuels. Pilot had traditionally charged 10 cents more for mid-grade and another 10 cents for premium...

Visit GasBuddy Blog for full article

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zornave Champion Author Louisville Posts:13,890 Points:2,204,700 Joined:Jul 2001	Message Posted: Feb 13, 2010 1:22:12 PM Ignore zornave Report Abuse ...because they can
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,599 Points:1,607,570 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2010 9:13:19 PM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse that's because high end car manufacturers recommend the more expensive fuel - most are large gas guzzlers, so why no increase the price on the fuel? After all, greed runs deep in Pig Oil land.
traindude Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:5,624 Points:1,494,355 Joined:Jun 2007	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 9:35:27 PM Ignore traindude Report Abuse still traditional 'round here
TJC47 Champion Author Indianapolis Posts:6,191 Points:1,140,660 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 9:09:34 PM Ignore TJC47 Report Abuse It's a scam!
OHMS Champion Author Orange County Posts:13,706 Points:1,689,930 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 2:32:16 PM Ignore OHMS Report Abuse Shane1936 YOU'VE BEEN A MEMBER FIVE YEARS; YOU'VE MADE 13 POSTS; AND you spend several hours each week looking for intelligent folks? CASE CLOSED. DIVE SAFE NOW; YAHERE OHMS Offering Homilies Mostly Sarcastic Rookie Author Atlanta Posts:13 Points:70,535 Joined:Mar 2005 Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 10:31:57 AM Ignore Shane1936 Report Abuse Gas Buddy; Great post! I spend several hours a week going through the postings just to see if there are any intelligent folks posting; don't see very many. Most seem to have very little knowledge about the subjects they are so quick to respond to! Thanks,,,, [Edited by: OHMS at 2/10/2010 3:32:58 PM EST]
FuelBarge Champion Author Long Island Posts:9,190 Points:2,074,340 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:48:38 PM Ignore FuelBarge Report Abuse I recall back in 1990 before Hussein invaded Kuwait that premium gasoline tended sell for about $.08/gallon more than regular. I usually sprang for the high grade as it made my 1988 CRX's engine run a bit smoother. After the invasion, prices skyrocketed and the price differential here in the NYC area has been $.20+/gallon since then. The last time I filled with premium was in November 2008 when it was selling for about $1.89/gallon and I figured "what the heck".
hank1326 Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:8,904 Points:1,731,110 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:45:32 PM Ignore hank1326 Report Abuse My wife is on Regular, I buy Premium due per manufactory specifications.
rissa2182 Rookie Author St. Louis Posts:52 Points:13,550 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:36:24 PM Ignore rissa2182 Report Abuse someone i know was told he should only use the premium grade fuel and b4 he knew it, his car was shaking and could barely pick up speed. when he decided to start using regular, he stopped having car trouble. i think in some cases, it's just a scam to scare a person into paying more. they like to make people believe that it will ruin their vehicles if they use the cheaper stuff.
CLM06 Champion Author Tampa Posts:6,882 Points:1,521,560 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:32:45 PM Ignore CLM06 Report Abuse Used to be 10 cents for each grade increase but now it's more like 15 cents per grade increase
lgwhitlock Champion Author Chico Posts:7,375 Points:1,683,545 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:32:03 PM Ignore lgwhitlock Report Abuse The only time I notice big differences is when prices are extremely volatile and changing quite often...
Shane1936 Veteran Author Atlanta Posts:257 Points:336,265 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:31:57 PM Ignore Shane1936 Report Abuse Gas Buddy; Great post! I spend several hours a week going through the postings just to see if there are any intelligent folks posting; don't see very many. Most seem to have very little knowledge about the subjects they are so quick to respond to! Thanks,,,,
madison8359 Champion Author Cleveland Posts:9,000 Points:1,591,345 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:26:40 PM Ignore madison8359 Report Abuse Due to manufacturers recommendation and the performance of the engine I am forced to purchase premium. It usually costs about .20 a gallon more than regular and that is still the case at most filling stations.
Cakes77 Champion Author Harrisburg Posts:5,145 Points:1,649,720 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:25:22 PM Ignore Cakes77 Report Abuse That's not right.
egd Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:8,083 Points:2,117,325 Joined:Mar 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:23:38 PM Ignore egd Report Abuse the net cost difference, what about supply and demand difference, and cost of having addtional sources per pump and tanks
rowing Champion Author Macon Posts:1,075 Points:939,985 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:21:50 PM Ignore rowing Report Abuse I buy regular myself
915Chief Champion Author San Antonio Posts:6,091 Points:1,226,295 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:15:56 PM Ignore 915Chief Report Abuse The bottom line in action....
carrollcreek Champion Author Minnesota Posts:3,107 Points:874,720 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:13:31 PM Ignore carrollcreek Report Abuse I agree with Gas_Buddy. I am required to put premium fuel in one of my vehicles and typically it is about 20 cents more then the regular grade. If it cost a penny or two more, then that is life, since I need to use it. Does it work better, on my vehicle it does. If I use regular, then I drop about 3 mpg. I noticed an earlier post where the opposite effect happened. I think that is because cars are tuned differently and you should use what the manufacturer specifies. With that said, I'm okay with the stations charging a little extra. I try to support my local station (which is in a small town with nothing around it for 10 miles). I realize that they don't make a lot on fuel, so if I need something small for groceries, I go there instead of the main store. And I usually try to buy my fuel there (even if it is more). I don't blame the station owners for the fuel costs, but rather the major oil companies. I want/need a station close by, so I will pay extra to make sure they stay in business.
CDT206 Veteran Author Atlanta Posts:369 Points:462,270 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:10:15 PM Ignore CDT206 Report Abuse Around here it is usually 15 cents, but I have seen it as much as 45 cents at some stations.
slgas Champion Author Houston Posts:6,020 Points:1,559,840 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:09:01 PM Ignore slgas Report Abuse One station here is currently posting an 11 cent gap, but just about all are at 15 cents.
arvo87 Champion Author New Mexico Posts:2,940 Points:681,465 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:07:38 PM Ignore arvo87 Report Abuse Loves charges 10 cents more per grade jump and is usually one of the lowest prices in my area
bby Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:5,714 Points:1,019,970 Joined:Nov 2009	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:05:59 PM Ignore bby Report Abuse Have seen around 10 to 12 cents difference between grades...
QueenMother Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:7,383 Points:2,141,485 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 12:04:41 PM Ignore QueenMother Report Abuse There's usually a 10 cents difference between regular and mid grade.
Gas_Buddy Champion Author Maryland Posts:25,953 Points:3,032,015 Joined:Aug 2004	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 11:57:14 AM Ignore Gas_Buddy Report Abuse Sorry, but I just don't see this as gouging or greed. Assuming some people here work for the government or charitable organizations, I'm sure most of the companies the rest of the people here work for are trying to maximize their profits. The average mark-up on a gallon of regular gas is 9 to 12 cents per gallon, meaning that if a station sells 40,000 a month, it earns about $4,000 after paying for the fuel. Depending on what it earns from in-store sales, from that $4,000 it must pay salaries, credit card fees, rent, accounting, maintenance, maybe advertising and/or franchise fees, among other operating expenses. And, they need to get a return on their original investment in buying or franchising the gas station. I don't use premium, and many of the gas stations around here now have less than a ten cent difference between regular and mid-grade, and a dime or less difference between mid-grade and premium. I don't begrudge a gas station for trying to make a couple more cents per gallon for premium. After all, if people here have no compulsion about a cup of Starbucks coffee for $2.50 or $3.00 a day, or a couple cups, and they don't mind spending more buying more car than they really need (along with the higher finance charges and insurance), paying for satellite radio, etc., running around with iPods for each child and top of the line laptops for each member of the house, then why shouldn't the gas station operator expect, or at least hope for, a decent living for himself and his employees? Stations are in direct competition with each other and their prices are clearly marked before you enter the station; if you don't like the price, go to a competitive station and buy your gas. It's not as if you have to buy from the highest priced station, nor is it they're competing to be the higher priced station. They're competing to get your business and, because advertising the price is so blatent, their prices are in competition with each other for your business. Hard to see that as gouging or greed. And no, I'm not a gas station operator, I have no gas stocks (or any stock for that matter) and I have nothing to do with the gas industry. But it's tiring seeing people here who have no problem wanting more money for their work or service yelling "gouging" on a couple cents profit on gas. Tell me that your company is reducing prices and eliminating profits because the owners have enough money to sell the product at cost and pay salaries, etc., out of their pockets, then we can say gas stations shouldn't operate at a profit.
lodawg48 Champion Author Columbus Posts:14,148 Points:2,722,200 Joined:Jul 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 9:47:52 AM Ignore lodawg48 Report Abuse Has been 15¢ between grades in northern Delaware for quite awhile now.
lodawg48 Champion Author Columbus Posts:14,148 Points:2,722,200 Joined:Jul 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 9:20:14 AM Ignore lodawg48 Report Abuse In my Market... WI the "traditional" price gap of 10 cents is still around... however outside of SE WI you can see some wild variation as many stations are offering Ethanol blends for regular and mid-grade (which traditionally might even have cost the same... Reg with no ethanol and Mid with...) with Premium being offered without Ethanol AND costing 15-20 cents more then Mid-Grade. So it's just a matter of window shopping for the best price. The hard part of that is many stations here are converting to signs that only show Regular Gasoline and Diesel prices and not Mid or High Grades... So you basically need to do a "drive by" the pump to know the price gap AND which fuels are 10% Ethanol (if any).
LeeFree Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:9,141 Points:2,241,500 Joined:Jun 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 7:04:16 AM Ignore LeeFree Report Abuse It's been 10 cents between regular and mid-grade; 20 cents between mid-grade and premium for years around this area.
capt455 Champion Author North Carolina Posts:1,421 Points:814,570 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 7:04:11 AM Ignore capt455 Report Abuse I've noticed, even though I rarely-to-never buy anything other than 87 octane. There was always just a 10 cent gap between each grade until recently. I don't own anything that requires mid or premium. I tried premium once on a 300 mile trip in our '08 Honda Fit, and found about a 3 mpg drop in mileage, so in that case it's not only more expensive but also less efficient. My old '71 Pontiac Grandville doesn't ping as much with premium, but in a 10 mpg car with a 25 gallon tank, my attitude is "you'll get regular, and LIKE it".
lodawg48 Champion Author Columbus Posts:14,148 Points:2,722,200 Joined:Jul 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 7:00:57 AM Ignore lodawg48 Report Abuse I have noticed this trend in San Antonio TX. Valero used to get a .10 cent bump to mid grade and another .10 cents for premium. They now charge .14 and .15 respectivly or there abouts. I have be watching this closely since my auto requires premium only.
rvn4me Champion Author Texas Posts:5,581 Points:1,491,065 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:51:27 AM Ignore rvn4me Report Abuse Around here the price difference is 13- 15 cents.
Plebe2001 Champion Author Philadelphia Posts:3,250 Points:650,640 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:50:38 AM Ignore Plebe2001 Report Abuse Old story from yesterday.
mk9999 Champion Author Rochester Posts:7,905 Points:1,671,895 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:50:28 AM Ignore mk9999 Report Abuse A lot of stations here are trying 12 or even 13 cents more. They figure if you can afford the expensive car that needs premium gas you can pay the extra cost and not care.
RoadhogMA Champion Author Boston Posts:4,864 Points:1,026,325 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:48:48 AM Ignore RoadhogMA Report Abuse ALWAYS BUY LOWER WHEN I CAN .
arinkrat17 Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:6,279 Points:1,329,525 Joined:Aug 2009	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:44:53 AM Ignore arinkrat17 Report Abuse robbery
CaroleMit Rookie Author St. Louis Posts:83 Points:389,630 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:44:33 AM Ignore CaroleMit Report Abuse The difference here is 15 cents.
dan30thz28 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:5,903 Points:1,980,065 Joined:Feb 2006	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:42:13 AM Ignore dan30thz28 Report Abuse Hasn't it always be been like that?
MUSTANGSRUS Champion Author Ontario Posts:7,558 Points:1,544,315 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:41:39 AM Ignore MUSTANGSRUS Report Abuse Neither my husband nor I like the sound of marbles going down a drain pipe when we put the pedal down, so we use high octane gasoline. The difference in our area is 11 cents a litre or more. Quadruple that to make a U.S. gallon. We are definitely getting ripped off. When a gallon was used in Canada, about 5 litres, the difference used to be about 10 cents a gallon.
FocusGuy Champion Author Seattle Posts:7,042 Points:1,409,830 Joined:Apr 2009	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:40:54 AM Ignore FocusGuy Report Abuse Free trade. Go somewhere else if you feel you are being "had".
Bpers2001 All-Star Author Seattle Posts:735 Points:104,070 Joined:Nov 2009	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:40:07 AM Ignore Bpers2001 Report Abuse Why am I not surprised? Greed, once again.
SwampDonkeyME Veteran Author Maine Posts:451 Points:69,835 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:39:59 AM Ignore SwampDonkeyME Report Abuse This is all bs there should be only one grade of gas called gas! You can thank all the tree huggers for this crap!
jimraehl Champion Author Utah Posts:7,054 Points:1,634,640 Joined:Sep 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:38:55 AM Ignore jimraehl Report Abuse About a 2-cent increase in differential in Orem, UT. Fortunately, I use regular.
abuck Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:8,569 Points:1,526,000 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:38:49 AM Ignore abuck Report Abuse The majority of stations around here are 10 cents from reg to mid and 10 from mid to premium. I know of one that does 12 cents from reg to mid and 12 from mid to premium, and two stations that do 10 cents from reg to mid and 20 cents from mid to premium. They charge what the market can handle basically.
gfpinson Champion Author Atlanta Posts:8,843 Points:2,053,975 Joined:Sep 2003	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:37:35 AM Ignore gfpinson Report Abuse A couple of stations on South side of Atlanta have gone to +.20 for plus and then another .20 for premium.
smokinjoe1 Veteran Author Alabama Posts:319 Points:366,690 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:37:09 AM Ignore smokinjoe1 Report Abuse They started that here a year ago. For years it was up ten cents for each grade up.
Sam195 Champion Author San Bernardino Posts:8,075 Points:1,572,150 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:36:51 AM Ignore Sam195 Report Abuse This is an interesting article, and the change in the price spread certainly has shown up in So. Cal. prices. Except for ARCO, which still has a 10 cent difference.
Rick01 Champion Author Utah Posts:9,003 Points:2,359,650 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:36:12 AM Ignore Rick01 Report Abuse If you feel you need a higher octane, try adding 1 oz. of kerosene(class A jet fuel) per 10 gallons of gas. That will give you super unleaded gas at a much cheaper price.
lucky69 Champion Author Austin Posts:2,761 Points:1,465,740 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:35:47 AM Ignore lucky69 Report Abuse They are trying to make more of the high grade that people are using less and less.
drunkhabib Champion Author North Carolina Posts:20,673 Points:2,965,075 Joined:Oct 2003	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:34:15 AM Ignore drunkhabib Report Abuse most of the cars that use premium are owned by drivers that solely purchase by credit card. Thus, the retailers are charging more because they want to recoup bank fees. I wish they just offered cash discounts instead on all products. Im happy to pay cash if it saves me money and costs those greedy bank hogs something.
PurduePete86 Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,154 Points:1,153,070 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:33:52 AM Ignore PurduePete86 Report Abuse In SW Michigan Mid Grade and Regular are the same at Marathon stations.
my3sons Champion Author New York Posts:4,632 Points:1,834,775 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:33:36 AM Ignore my3sons Report Abuse use the lowest grade recommended by your manufacturer
RAVEnRAGE Rookie Author Maine Posts:48 Points:122,785 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2010 6:33:04 AM Ignore RAVEnRAGE Report Abuse If I try putting regular in my Saab the mpg suffers by up to 3mpg... Plus I'd need to have more work done on my engine more often. You can actually hear and feel the difference when driving it with regular in the tank. I wish I could afford a different car but cash for clunkers killed the cheap used car business up here in Maine. Now almost every good used car (5+ years old) is over 5K.