Petrol - I watch the pennies

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Petrol - I watch the pennies

alisam

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#285842 20-May-2021 19:01

On Hobsonville Road, West Harbour/Hobsonville, Auckland, a new (fantastic) BP Petrol station (with advertised Cafe) opened a couple of days ago.

I haven't been in it, but I have passed it daily from where it started as a steep-ish site (Garden Centre), to massive retaining walls put in to make it level.

It is perhaps no more than 1km from a Gull man-less petrol station which has been open for about a couple of years and was the only petrol station on Hobsonville Road.

I buy 98 petrol for my Kia Sportage. It will take 95, but 98 is better (so they say).

The 'Gaspy' app says:

Gull Hobsonville

98 - 235.7

91 - 215.7

Gull do have a monthly (minimum) $0.10 litre discount once a month, but I don't know about BP yet.

BP Connect Hobsonville

98 - 261.9

95 - 253.9

91 - 215.9

I know where I will continue to go.

But I thought, why have BP done this?

Gull don't show the price for their 98 and there is next to no shelter from the rain.

BP does show the prices for 91, 95 and 98 and has a massive canopy, but you still need to walk to the building where you pay (as most are) and is closer to the northern ring road motorway, so it will attract customers living in Hobsonville Point who have to travel south (which I think is SH16).

Perhaps there are other reasons.

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#2710317 20-May-2021 19:13

Gull 98 you need to be very careful which cars you put this in

10% Ethanol

sbiddle

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#2710318 20-May-2021 19:21

Gull 98 (and 95 where they have it) is different fuel to what BP/Caltex/Mobil/Z sell.

I woudl have thought you'd just be wasting your money putting 98 into a Sportage.

RunningMan

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#2710319 20-May-2021 19:21

With more people probably buying 91, the 0.2c difference is negligible.

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#2710321 20-May-2021 19:24

As for the big differences between the premium fuels you have to realise the rest of the country is basically subsidising cheap 91 in Auckland. All the fuel companies are sending the price of 95 and 98 sky high to make up for the 91 they're selling so cheaply.

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#2710322 20-May-2021 19:24

Waste of $$$ putting 98 in a Kia Sportage

michaelmurfy

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#2710328 20-May-2021 19:35

I’ve noticed that Pak’n’Save has become very competitive with fuel. As I shop there anyway I get 6c/l discount which means I pay 214.7c/l here in Kāpiti for 95. The next best price is 220.9c/l then you’ve got Z / BP at 230.9c/l after their discounts.

The Pak’n’Save fuel is supplied by Z anyway so you’re not getting the cheap blend that Gull have.

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cshwone

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#2710330 20-May-2021 19:45

Never used anything but 91 in my Sportage

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sbiddle

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#2710332 20-May-2021 20:01

michaelmurfy: I’ve noticed that Pak’n’Save has become very competitive with fuel. As I shop there anyway I get 6c/l discount which means I pay 214.7c/l here in Kāpiti for 95. The next best price is 220.9c/l then you’ve got Z / BP at 230.9c/l after their discounts.

The Pak’n’Save fuel is supplied by Z anyway so you’re not getting the cheap blend that Gull have.

In Lower Hutt Pak 'n Save and New World are both about 15c/l cheaper than BP/Mobil/Z normally, and then run normally run 10cpl discounts one day a week (plus the usual 6c/l discount voucher on top) which makes buying petrol there an absolute no brainer.

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#2710345 20-May-2021 20:42

Regularly fill our Suzuki Swift with 91 as it’s always below the $2 mark (with air points pumped promo even on normal days) at riccarton caltex. Honestly I don’t think it’s worth putting 98 or 95 unless you’ve got a super car or a very specific car/reason. Think you’re paying way more than you should be.

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Scott3

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#2710364 20-May-2021 21:23

I would recommend checking the manual of your car to see what fuel the manufacturer requires or recommends.

It it generally accepted that running the manufacturer recommended fuel is the best option, and running higher octane fuel is pretty much a waste of money.

Higher octane fuel is not higher quality, it is just more resistant to self ignition or knocking. Something an engine can only really take advantage of if it is designed for it (i.e. higher compression ratio).

As others have said, Gulls "98" product contains 10% ethanol. Be aware that ethanol is less energy dense than petrol, so a liter of E10 only contained 96.6% of the energy of a liter of petrol, so if watching the pennies that is worth correcting for. While a sportage will be compatible with E10, be aware that some 20+ year old cars are not, and it is generally not advised in small engine's (like lawnmowers), or for marine applications.

I have a car that the manufacturer requires 95RON minimum.

In short most of the NZ petrol retailers charge a perineum for higher grades. Gaspy is very useful for those using higher grades. For me using 95, I find that Allied & Waitomo offer good prices on 95.

I think historically a perception that higher grade fuel was a luxary good, and only for those that wanted max proformance out of their car, or had a nicer euro or performance car should buy made it the perfect product to charge more margin on. Then stations started dropping the price for their signs, and people would use the 91 price as a proxy for the higher grade price. Few would balk once they got out of the car and saw the little numbers on the dispenser...

Of course most of the above is false. Few cars get materially more performance on higher octane fuel than the manufacturer recommends (4.0L barra in fords would be the obvious exemption), and the requirement for higher octane comes more from how the engine was designed than the value of the car. Hopefully the requirement to display higher grade fuel prices, along with more cars recommending 95RON+, especially cheaper cars like the Suzuki Swift RS 1.0L,

Topped off today at Allied Maramarua before returning to Auckland 91RON was $2.059/L 95RON was $2.179/L. I think this cira 12c/L premium is allied charging a fair price for both fuels.

Beats paying $2.459 for 91 or $2.691 for 98 at the stations near my house (I tend to drive by the 98 only stations a lot). For comparison I have a Waitomo 3km away, current 95 price is $2.299/L. In the same ballpark as Allied once the Auckland fuel tax is corrected for.

Sometimes I put gull 98 (E10) in if I pass one on a discount day, or if I need fuel in the vicinity. Even their 98 (E10) tends to be price competitive with 95 at the main petrol stations.

As an interesting side note the EU essentially banned many years ago fuels under 95RON in the name of emissions. In short higher octane fuels mean automakers can run higher compression engines that are more efficient, and less emitting.

gareth41

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#2710373 20-May-2021 21:44

I don't have to worry about the price of petrol as I drive an EV, I actually can't remember the last time I went to a petrol station - I utilize the free Vector rapid chargers.

mudguard

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#2710374 20-May-2021 21:45

My 2019 Corolla has used 4751L of 91 octane just fine. My 92 Honda Civic uses 98 Octane and has had less than half a tank through it in two years 😭

Inphinity

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#2710390 20-May-2021 22:03

I find Gulls 98 generally cheaper than 95 at most major retailers, and while it may be marginally less efficient, it still works out better value in my experience. However, I have noticed the price gap between their 91 and 98 has increased over recent years, it was about a 12c difference a couple years ago, and now is regularly a 20c jump. BP and Mobil near me are generally a 35c jump to 95 and about a further 7 - 10c for 98. It's crazy.

Ruphus

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#2710406 20-May-2021 23:20

Scott3:
In short most of the NZ petrol retailers charge a perineum for higher grades.

They charge a WHAT?

Scott3

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#2710417 21-May-2021 00:03

Ruphus:
Scott3:

In short most of the NZ petrol retailers charge a perineum for higher grades.

They charge a WHAT?

Lol. I was thinking higher margin for higher grades, might not be quite sufficient to use that word to describe.

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