Recently, our local paper featured an article about an independent BP gas station owner who was boo-hooing that people were boycotting BP, thus causing him to lose business.Well, if he's anything like our local BP station, he has his prices jacked up because he's the only game in town. This has nothing to do with a gas spill; it's been the modus operandi for years. And that's the real reason no one's stopping for gas there. I can get gas 20 cents/gallon cheaper by going two towns away. And since I do most of my shopping in that town, it's not out of my way.
Another observance: there's a Speedway station near the mall I sometimes shop. The place is a total dump, yet there is always a line at the pumps. You'd likely conclude that its gas prices must be really good. Wrong! Their prices are always higher than the nearest BP or Shell station. The only thing I can figure out is that the name Speedway is synonymous with 'cheap' to most people, and the sad appearance of the place reinforces that notion. Weird!
I've never been one to use Gas Buddy or any of those sites to find the cheapest fuel. If I'm driving by a place with a good price and I have less than half a tank, I'll stop. How about you?
I'm right there with you! I'll actually one up you. I go across state lines to buy my gas (and liquor). SC's gas is about a quarter cheaper than Charlotte's gas (yeah taxes!) and their liquor is even cheaper.
ReplyDeleteMuch like you, I'm not going out of my way. My parents and sister live in SC, so I'm going there anyway.
We have a Speedway station just around the corner from our house, and they are usually within a penny or two of being the cheapest in town. Besides which, our school has a 'scrip' program, where we get tuition discounts by buying gift cards for participating businesses, and Speedway is one of the participating businesses (actually, I'm not totally sure which other gas merchants participate; we mainly buy Speedway because it's close, and cheap). . .
ReplyDeleteRuss - Most people I know go to the next county to buy their booze because our sin taxes here are outrageous. I'm usually only buying one bottle of anything at a time, so I never think it's worth it, but maybe I should reconsider.
ReplyDeleteCraig - Keep your eyes on the Speedway prices. I've never heard of tuition discounts for anything. Here, the schools just get money if you shop somewhere and are registered for the program.
Well, yeah - it's probably really a contribution to the school, but they keep accounts for each family, and we get credit against our tuition.
ReplyDeleteI almost always stop at a Shell station because I have a credit card that gives me 5% back on Shell. Plus, I get much better gas mileage in the Prius is I use a name brand gas rather than the cheapie stations. I would never have believed it, but I tracked it for a while trying both and it was true.
ReplyDeleteI've never purchased gas at our local BP station for the very reason you mention. The price is always crazy higher than any other station nearby. I stick to my trusty local Kum & Go. The only trouble I run into is playing the "Let's see if it's the same price tomorrow!" game when I need gas, then find I always lose when the amount goes up about 12-15 cents a gallon overnight!
ReplyDeletei gas up at two different places near my house because they have the cheapest gas. one's a grocery store that offeres gas discounts for every $100 spent so it works out pretty nicely.
ReplyDeleteI work in one state, live in another, and the gas near my office is considerably cheaper than home; so although I don't go out of my way to find the last couple cents of savings, I do make a point of filling up in 'Joisey
ReplyDeleteCraig - Credits are better than nothing!
ReplyDeleteAgent - I'd never have believed that either unless I saw it for myself! Wow!
FADKOG - I HATE when that happens!
Lime - I think I know what grocery you mean. Unfortunately, their actual gas station is nowhere close to me, so I've never bothered with either!
Sailor - Jersey sure has been getting a lot of attention lately!