Comments on: Brand Conscious Buying #3 – Gasoline

By: MIke

MIke — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:09:31 +0000

Joe. If you are at a brand name station, Shell, Mobil, Chevron, you ARE getting what is advertised. The bill of ladings for the fuel list specifically the Supplier and manufacturer of the gas. As stated in the original article the difference is the additives and at a ratio of about a quart to 8-10 thousand gallons. If you go to an off brand station, they buy the gas from the same sources with a generic additive OR if the price saves them money they may sometimes get name brand gas and additives.

By: Donald

Donald — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:51:45 +0000

My 1996 Q45 will not run well on Kroger premium gas. It ’stumbles’ with Kroger gasoline. Once I fill it up with Shell premium the ’stumbling’ goes away.

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:19:46 +0000

I would really like to know if there is a way to know if you are receiving shell or bp gas. I’ve watched trucks pull up to shell in NC with “fuel depot” name on the side. Makes me wonder.
A while back I contacted Shell and Chevron and asked how I would know if I was really getting their fuel and they said to check and see which credit cards were being accepted at the station – if it was their name you are getting their gas.
Check out http://www.TopTierGas.com for the benefits of using top quality gas.
I’ll stick with Chevron and Shell, according to Top Tier Gas, they burn cleaner with reduced emissions.

By: John

John — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:19:38 +0000

Here’s a late comment. In my area of Wisconsin, we have to pass a by-yearly emission test at re-registration time. My car had the “check engine” light on intermitently (mostly on) meaning I would probably fail my test and have to get checked out by a car repair shop and retested.($$$). On advice from my dad, I put in 2 tankfuls of Shell premium gas. The light went out during the 2nd tankfull and I passed my emission test. The light didn’t go on again until I started using off brand gas again. My dad swears that this has worked for him on his car for the last 2 times he had to get it tested. I don’t use Shell gas regularly because they don’t have a station in the county where I live. I believe that their gas made the difference in my car passing it’s test.

By: Sydney

Sydney — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:03:36 +0000

Sorry for the late reply, but I wanted to point out that gasoline does not all come from the same source, nor is it processed in the same refinery. All gas sold in the U.S. is supposed to confirm to minimum standards, but having said that, all gasoline is not the same. Several siblings and friends of mine work as engineers at various refineries in the Los Angeles area, and each is involved in the blending/processing of the oil. It’s not a simple process and requires constant supervision and adjustments. There *is* a difference in quality. No-name brands have a greater likelihood of being suspect. Certain established brands are more reliable and also are known for including additives that keep cars running more smoothly. You are best off buying a well-known brand gasoline. It is also important never to let your gas tank drop to really low levels; crap inevitably settles into the bottom of your gas tank, and you don’t want that crap getting sucked in (think of the sediment at the bottom of a wine bottle).

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:33:18 +0000

Hi Adam, You remember I was talk about any brand are taste same gasoline for any vehicle. Any Company want sell gasoline but they don’t tell you how good gas this my brand. Cow said MOO! as Boo!

By: Cap

Cap — Sat, 05 May 2007 00:59:08 +0000

you make a very solid argument Michael.

By: Michael MacDonald

Michael MacDonald — Sat, 05 May 2007 00:36:57 +0000

No, this article is entirely false. There is no proof of any of the points stated. You are all being bamboozled!

By: Shadox

Shadox — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 18:27:05 +0000

This is a great article, and I agree with practically everything. HOWEVER, for some strange reason my car does not handle Shell oil very well. That’s the only brand that causes issues. I may be imagining things, but I could swear I am not.

Anyway, it’s the cheapest gas I can find for my car (excpet for Shell).

By: Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / Articles I Liked Last Week and Before

Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge / Articles I Liked Last Week and Before — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:31:41 +0000

[...] Cap has two I liked On buying gasoline. He’s saying what I’ve always said, just better with pictures, but perhaps not so grammatically well. And he also asks if we’re doing what we love. Thoughtful boy that he is. [...]

By: Cap

Cap — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 21:36:34 +0000

Penny: an immensely late reply, but, I know squat about ethanol as a fuel source. I mean, I am aware of its use in Brazil, and that certainly switching to it would have its benefit.. but the infrastructure change is a whole other deal. here's the thing though, from what little I know.. it seems to be a better idea to use E-85 in flex-fuel engines than in standard gasoline engine, though it seems like midwest states like urs are pushing its use. I certainly wouldn't pump them in my standard gasoline engine even w/ the lower prices. you can read a lot more about E-85 on wikipedia's entry, although the article seems to be a bit biased towards e-85. you should also note that many states (or maybe all?) usually have a 10% mixture of ethanol in gasoline too. there was a really good article in motor trend a few years back on ethanol, fuel-cell and hydrogen as alternative fuel source.. unfortunately I cant seem to find it through the stacks of magazine. I mean I'm all for alternative energy, but they're only feasible when the market wants it. once they get past all the difficulties of hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles, it should be smooth sailing for all our grand-kids! woot! hejustlaughs: woops forgot I remove the time stamp portion of the post. haha. anyway I was assuming that you read from the feed, and the feed will usually show the time when a post is posted. generally, any long post with informations I'm not making up will be the ones I auto-post on specific days.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 01:54:16 +0000

I don’t know about global warming but I always buy from Exxon Mobil because for each gallon 1cent goes into my Upromise account which I plan to use for my kids education.Have to say it’s grown to quite a nice amount over the years.Also I use Speedpass so everytime I fill up I don’t have to take out my credit car or cash from the wallet.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 22:01:52 +0000

Don’t buy from Mobil / Exxon. They actually are funding anti-global warming misinformation campaigns. They don’t care if our planet gets ****ed up, as long as they profit.

http://www.exxonsecrets.org

By: scootro

scootro — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 01:31:59 +0000

never get gas when the pump truck is there, too.. because of the truck filling up the stations supply of gas stirs up sediments in the tank and will lead to your car having a glogged up fuel filter.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:21:10 +0000

OK, I have a question about gas. What makes the different octane ratings? Is this just an additive that’s added as well? If so, are all of us that have to run 91 octane getting screwed by somebody dumping another quart of additive in a tanker truck and charging us $0.20/gallon extra?

By: k

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:33:34 +0000

Cap, great article, very informative! If I can add another bit on this, when it comes to new oil exploration, these competitors become partners. By spreading the reward (and risk), the oil companies thrive in the process.

By: hejustlaughs

hejustlaughs — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 20:04:07 +0000

Cap, you do know that we can’t see what time a post was posted, just the date… right? or maybe I’m blind.

By: Penny

Penny — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:07:59 +0000

Being from Iowa (the corn state) we have a lot of push towards using Ethanol, however, NO ONE EVER TOLD me that if you use Ethanol it’s the equivalent of adding HEET! an additive that’s virtually required for below 0 weather we experience throughout the winter. So, I was spending a good $1.50 per every other tank load for several winters in a row without any need whatsoever… I’d be interested in your viewpoints about Ethanol, E-85; other alternatives.

By: » All Gasoline Brands Are The Same Old Dinosaur Bones on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:23:49 +0000

[...] Cap at StopBuyingCrap.com has a great post about the differences between different brands of gasoline that I think is worth reading. He reaffirms my older post about how you shouldn’t buy higher octane gasoline than you need but more importantly, he details the oil refining process that takes crude oil and turns it into gasoline (plus other products). [...]

By: Cap

Cap — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:32:52 +0000

this one was set to auto post. if the time of a post shows a round number, it’s usually an auto post.

but yeah I’m up late now and indeed I’m near the pacific ocean.