Gas Stations (Arlington, Washington: houses, buying, prices)

[dopke]

What's the general consensus or your personal opinion on which gas is better in the area? These are the ones I've seen the most since I've moved here: Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Liberty, Sunoco, Hess, Citgo, BP.

Back in Washington state, in general people viewed the gas in this order from best to worst:

Chevron > Shell/76 > Valero > Costco > ARCO > 7-11

That said, it didn't stop me from going to Costco or Arco to save money. But, I'm driving a car that requires premium gas so I'd like to try to stick with "better gas" when I see 2 or 3 gas stations on the same street with similar prices. Things that might influence it are fuel cleaner additives or % of dilution with ethanol, etc.

Also, does Mobil have premium gas? The ones I've seen only have signs for Regular and Diesel... I assume they do, but I just haven't drove in to "check".

[nvared]

I think most of the gas comes from independent suppliers, but have heard Costco gas to be inferior. Don't know if that's reality. I have noticed I have do get better gas mileage a lot of times with gas I have gotten from BP and sometimes Shell. I have seen one or two articles about how buying premium is a waste, but I think I would get good advice on that before I did it. I think people here go with what station has the cheapest or the easiest to get into.

[ChristineVA]

Found this info on gas, specifically Costco:

In the Baltimore metro area, Costco, BJs, and Walmart gas comes from the BP terminal in Curtis Bay, MD. Furthermore, the Shell, Exxon, Texaco, etc. stations near me also get their gas from the same BP terminal.

If you are ever in the area, watch the trucks getting filled. Gas from the same hose is filling trucks with Texaco, Exxon, etc.

Same goes for home heating oil and diesel. Same terminal, just different trucks.

So in my area, you are paying for the name, but everyone is getting BP.

I have been using costco gas on my 2001 audi s4, no problems with it. The gas attendant said they do not put any special valve cleaners into the gas, but their pump filters get changed more than anyone elses, the signs on the pump say this also. You get very clean gas but no additives. I fill up at costco 4 times a month and Chevron or Texaco 2 times a month, just to clean the intake valves a little.

Actually, places like Costco, Kmart and Walmart all buy their gas from manufactures like BP-Amoco, Shell, Citgo and so on. It doesn't matter who. The retailers, Costco, etc... just buy it based on who sells it for the cheaper price. So one week you might be pumping at Costco and get Amoco or the next week get Shell gas. It doesn't matter. It's the same wherever you go.

[Caladium]

I've never had a problem with Costco's gas, FWIW. I'm just happy that (supposedly) prices will be going down soon. Of course, I'll believe it when I see it.

[car54]

Gasoline gets to the terminals (aka tank farms) via pipeline....so it's all the same stuff. However, most or all of the brand names dump a jug of additives into the tanker truck after it has been filled....the value of which is debatable.

[gingerbreadgirl]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I've never had a problem with Costco's gas, FWIW. I'm just happy that (supposedly) prices will be going down soon. Of course, I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm sure it won't go down as quickly as it went up. The station down the street went up 10 cents over night more than once. But I guess down is always better than up!

[dopke]

Thanks for the info. I'd love to fill with Costco gas but none of the Costco's near me in Arlington, VA have gas stations along with their warehouses. I'm mainly wondering about the gas that I haven't heard of on the west coast, Hess and Liberty.

[statecollege]

I'm not an expert, but if one is looking for additives in their gas, why not buy cheap and add your own additive bought at an auto supply store?

[jillabean]

I always figured all gas is the same and just go with the cheapest I can find.
Then again, I just have a regular little car that takes regular gas. I am not sure about cars that take the premium stuff.

I've never had a problem except one time when there was water in the gas. It happened to me a few times at a certain station (no longer in business now). My guess is they had a leak and groundwater was seeping into the fuel.

I never bought Cosco gas because I am not a member (I was once, but I never went. I just don't buy enough bulk stuff or electronics to make it worth my wild or the cost of membership).

[alibaba1579]

Yeah, like others said - it's all the same. Exxon, Shell, etc. all dump it in the same pipe and then take it back out when it gets to where it's going. It's just the additives that vary (and not by very much). Individual stations from the same company can vary though - you do hear the odd story of an bad franchise owner adding water to the gas, or messing with the pumps. I think that's pretty rare though, so just go with the best price.