Is One Gasoline Brand Better Than Another?
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: energy
Like many bargain-hunting Americans, I can’t say that I’m particularly loyal to very many brands. I’ll buy Ragu spaghetti sauce if it’s on sale, Prego if it’s not, or just eat a tomato if they’re both too pricey. Heck, I don’t even favor one particular supermarket! I’m even less brand loyal when it comes to clothes, cars, and computers. But if you look back over my expenses over the last five years, there’s one name that’ll keep popping up every couple of weeks without fail. That name is Shell, as in multinational oil company Shell.
But here’s the weird part: I don’t even feel particularly loyal to Shell. Probably the only reason they still have a monopoly over my gasoline dollars is because my mom insisted on only using Shell gasoline as I was growing up. That, and after I got my first car, the three closest gas stations to home were all Shells. Now that I live in a different city from where I grew up, I still get my gas exclusively from Shell. And the other day, as I passed a nearby Texaco station that was selling Regular for 10 cents less than the Shell station at which I’d just refueled, I asked myself a startling question: Why am I still buying Shell gas?
After that, I considered the following facts about the Shell stations in my city:
- Shell gas is consistently a few cents more expensive than Exxon, Texaco, and the no-brand gas stations like Free State.
- The three closest Shell gas stations are actually a little bit out of my way now. The closest one to “my way” is generally the pricier of the three.
- The Shell gas stations are not as well maintained as those of the other brands. Frequently the windshield squeegee liquid is empty or really dirty at the Shells I frequent, and either the air or vacuums are out of order half the time.
- If I ran a gas station, I would call it “Cheap Ass Gas.” But that’s beside the point.
Perhaps another reason I still maintain my Shell “loyalty” is because I thought it was a superior gas back when I first purchased my MINI Cooper. That’s because many MINI drivers on the internet recommended Shell’s V-Power premium gas over other brands and grades. Now that I drive a Mazda3 that only needs Regular, do I still need to get that Regular from Shell?
After presenting myself with these questions, I did some research on gasoline brands to see if other folks had thoughts or scientific evidence as to which gasoline brand was the best. About five minutes into my research, I stopped being an idiot and remembered that all major gas brands share refineries and pipelines. So while Shell might be refining that oil, Exxon and Citgo may be the ones selling it. And in the next state over, the reverse may be true. When it comes to gasoline, gas is gas.
What may make a difference, however, are the additives that each brand adds to its fuel. You may have heard of Chevron and Texaco’s Techron additive. In fact, some people seem to swear by Techron. Others favor Shell’s additives, and still others can be found who prefer virtually every other brand of gasoline because it’s supposedly better for their vehicles. And while I couldn’t find any scientific studies to confirm my hypothesis, I found no general consensus that one brand of gasoline performed significantly better than others.
I did, however, find several brands referring to themselves as Top Tier Gasoline because they use more than the EPA minimum recommended amounts of detergents to help keep your engine clean. But again, I found no scientific proof that more detergent keeps your engine more cleaner.
The only real difference between gas formulas that I found is that, quite consistently, those which are 10-15% ethanol provide much worse gas mileage that those that are 100% Made in the Middle East or Perhaps the Gulf of Mexico gasoline. Unfortunately pretty much all of the fueling stations around here have switched to some blend of ethanol.
Will I keep using Shell gas after discovering all this? Possibly, though mostly out of habit. I may experiment with other brands to see if there is any noticeable difference in performance. Don’t worry, I know not to buy from Citgo since the only additives they put in their gas are communism and anti-American sentiments.
Loading ...
20 Responses »
1.
shraz
September 26th, 2008 at 12:35 am
I find Shell station cleaner, credit card working, and in better working condition than most other gas station. They are also usually cheaper than most branded stations like 76 and Chevron.
2.
thisisbeth
September 26th, 2008 at 12:45 am
I generally go to a more local chain. Not only is it generally cheaper, but I like shopping local–also, they have the amenity of free air for your tires–other places around here either charge for it, or don’t offer it. The night I was driving with a seriously low tire, seeing that gas station was worth enough to give it my loyalty–up to a point. I won’t drive out of my way to get that gas, but I might plan my trip around stopping to get gas at that chain’s establishments.
3.
shraz
September 26th, 2008 at 2:23 am
in CA they are required to give you free air. There’s a sign on the air pump thing. Just ask the guy at the counter and he will waive the air fee.
4.
Chris K.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Yep, just avoid Citgo. I’ll push my car down the street to someplace else first.
5.
kk
September 26th, 2008 at 9:58 am
I started buying gas from Meijer because it was the closest station to my house. Then my car developed this nasty problem where the whole front end would shake violently at higher speeds. I took it to the shop a few times, and they found nothing wrong. I stopped using Meijer gas, and the problem went away.
I’m not 100% sure that Meijer sells inferior gasoline. This happened last winter, so it could be that last year’s winter blend of gas wasn’t agreeing with my car, or maybe this particular station was putting regular in the premium tank (my car requires premium). This could have been a coincidence, but I won’t ever use Meijer gas again.
6.
Kyle
September 26th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Most Citgo stations are locally-owned, so you’re not sticking it to those commie bastards by not buying gas there. They will just sell their excess supply to one of the other companies.
7.
Free iPods
September 28th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I tend to go to any station which has the pay at pump option. So much easier, though i still get the look from the cashier, as if i havent paid!. (I have paid honestly)
8.
anita
September 29th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Gasoline is Gasoline. however, I buy my gasoline from a retailer that is willing to 100% guarantee their gasoline, in all their markets around the country. (I personally know they will back that up.) And while gasoline is gasoline…. maintenence of the lines and tanks, or lack thereof, makes all the difference in the world to the customers that pull up and dispense gasoline from those tanks. And if you are taking care of maintence, you’ve got it covered–dirt and water in those lines and tanks lead to major corrosion leading to more dirt and water, leading to dirt and water in our tanks and lines. So, look around while you are getting gas–what does the station and facility look like–does it look great? does it look like crap? chances are what is underground mimics what is on top. pump and pay accordingly. and just so you know, I buy my gas whenever I can at QuikTrip. http://www.quiktrip.com/
9.
Ryan
September 29th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I have to disagree that gas is gas. My last car was a Plymouth Sundance with 260,000 miles on it. It ran great, but only on certain brands of gas and higher octanes. It would run poorly on Speedway gas, OK on Citgo, and good on Marathon and BP. We don’t have Shell’s around here much anymore. Every once in a while I’d convince myself it was just a batch of bad gas that I got at Speedway or Citgo, and I’d try again, only to be reassured that no, the car was just picky. I could literally tell what brand of gas and octane was in the car based on how it ran.
I sold that car to a friend and warned him about it’s pickiness of it’s fuel, and he didn’t believe me. After a few fill-ups, he learned.
Now obviously that’s an extreme case, gas made way more of a difference in that car because it was on it’s last leg. But if it was that severe if a disparity, I can’t believe that just because you don’t feel the difference in a newer car doesn’t mean it’s not doing long-term damage or effecting mileage. I am still careful about where I buy my gas.
I few years ago I got a gas gift card to one of the grocery store pumps around here (earn gas when you buy groceries type of thing). I had never been there because I don’t trust the gas at those places. But since it was free gas, I couldn’t pass it up. That’s the only time my current car (a newer Accord) has ran like crap. I stopped by that station one more time - to give the card away with the remaining balance to someone at the pumps.
The closest gas station to me now is a Speedway. My car seems to run fine on it, but I swear my mileage is lousy every time I fill up there, so I don’t very often.
I don’t know if I just pay more attention than others to how my car feels and sounds, and what kind mileage it gets, but in my experience, gas is definitely not the same across all brands.
10.
Jen
September 29th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I disagree as well. Most mechanics are actually trained on the different types of gas and it does vary. I have actually had a BP technician tell me to never use BP gas because its crap and to go across the street and use Shell. Weird.
11.
A1 Medical Supplies
September 30th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
You are right about the ethanol providing poor gas millage. A friend of mine had been using the gas station on the close to their house, which used ethanol, and was getting noticeably reduced gas millage.
12.
Pittsburgh Patent Services
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I’m not really loyal to any brand of gas, but I do often shop at grocery stores with gas rewards programs. One of the grocery stores in my area (Giant) allows you to save 10 cents a gallon with every $40 you spend. I have a family of 5, so any little bit helps.
13.
Lars
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
i used to always fill the tank at shell, but oddly or logically i have decided to purchase gas where it’s cheapest…
14.
San diego Lawyer
October 6th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
One of the crazy things that I am finding out recently is that the gas mileage on my 1995 Toyota Corolla is actually getting better. I thought just the opposite would be happening given the the car is just getting more and more miles on it. However, I do just fill up at Mobile no matter how cheap the generic gas station is. Perhaps they like to reward me magically by adding full bladdered gnomes to my gas tank who just happen to urinate magical gasoline that improves the fuel efficiency of cars. I have a feeling it will backfire in a few months when there is a thick layer of dead gnomes at the bottom of my tank and it starts to funk things up. I can just imagine my mechanics shock as he finds thousands upon thousands of dead, magic gasoline urinating gnomes. I think he just might cry.
15.
kurt
October 8th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Knowing that the gas all comes from basically the same refinery, with each company adding their own additives, allows me to drive around it get a fill up where ever I am, and not waste gas driving to find a preferred brand. Although, sometimes when I got Chevron, my cadillac would knock a little, not sure if its the techron, but always happened with chevron gas… go figure..
16.
david
December 29th, 2008 at 10:53 am
A friend sent me an interesting e-mail about where gas stations buy their gas from. Shell buys all of its gas from America’s friends like Canada, Mexico etc. Some gas stations buy their gas (sorry I don’t remember their names) from America’s enemies like Venezuela, Iran etc. Those are the ones I will not buy my gas from.
17.
greenskidusautoparts
February 13th, 2009 at 2:34 am
People believe buying the “premium” will make their cars run better, but it makes your engine run hotter, and can cause more harm than good.
18.
Jonathan@Friends&Money
March 14th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
If you have a finely tuned engine in your car and you want to preserve it’s pristine state that perhaps buying an expensive petrol might be beneficial but as all the information provided about the benefits of a particular petrol brand is from the company supplying it then I wouldn’t trust it.
19.
Cable Company Florida
May 25th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Depends on experience how had experience with brand or services, yes but still some them buying gas from….
20.
auto insurance rates
July 1st, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I love these cartoons! Do you do them yourself?
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>