This past weekend I drove an Ineos Grenadier to Moab, Utah and back to LA. It was about 24 hours of driving; add the additional eight or so hours of epic off-roading, and I was burning lots of gas. This meant I was constantly on the prowl looking for the cheapest fuel between California and Utah, and one thing that annoyed me to no end — and that has annoyed me for years — came to mind: The way gas stations advertising pricing is total bullshit. I realize this is a random blog, but just allow me to rant a bit.
Cornell Law School defines a “Bait and Switch like this:
A “bait and switch” takes place when a seller creates an appealing but ingenuine offer to sell a product or service, which the seller does not actually intend to sell. This initial advertised offer is “the bait.” Then the seller switches customers from buying the advertised product or service that the seller initially offered into buying a different product or service that is usually at a higher price or has some other advantageous effect to the advertiser.
Per the university, this kind of thing is not legal. “’Bait and switch’ advertising is grounds for an action of common-law fraud, unjust enrichment, and sometimes breach of contract. A ‘bait and switch’ is also a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act,’‘ writes Cornell.
Gas station pricing seems pretty damn close to falling under this definition, though if I had to guess, it probably technically clears the bar because of two small terms on the signs “cash” and “w/car wash.” Both of those terms drive me nuts.
First, we’ll start with the cash price thing, because that’s the one everyone knows, even though I think it’s the lesser of the two evils.
Cash Price
You’ve probably all seen signs like this. They show the price of gas nice and big, and then in a smaller font, they’ll have the word “cash” to indicate that, actually, this price isn’t what you’re going to be paying because you, like the vast majority of shoppers, aren’t interested in using cash to buy gasoline. What you will instead be paying is a higher price — probably 10 or so cents higher. What’s the deal with that?
Well, it seems there are two answers to this. The less obvious one (to me) is that people who buy gas with cash have to enter the store, and that represents an opportunity to sell more products. Per the National Association of Convenience Stores’ “Consumer Behavior at the Pump” study from March, 2019:
“As in previous years, the top reason that gas customers go inside the store is to pay for gas at the register. While 78% of all customers pay by credit or debit card, a sizable percentage of customers pay by cash inside the store. Fully half (50%) of all female customers pay for gas at the register”
[…]
Ultimately, success for retailers is often determined by how they can attract customers to their lot to buy fuel and also get them inside the store to purchase other items. Or, increasingly, by developing a strong in-store offer that translates to a fuel purchase that may be less dependent upon only the gas price sign.
So if a gas station can offer a discount for cash users, one might feel inclined to head into the store to hand over a few greenbacks. This is the number one reason why folks head into gas stations, with snack buying and then bathroom usage coming in after that.
To buy drinks (42%) and snacks (37%) are the next two reasons that gas customers come inside the store after filling up at the pump. Retailers also could consider the importance of two services that attract customers: More than one in five customers say they used the bathroom (21%) and one in eight used the ATM (13%) the last time they went inside the store. The importance of amenities like bathrooms and ATMs becomes much more apparent when looking at the order of purchases: Most drivers go inside the store before they buy gas (59%). Certainly, this includes the 45% of gas customers who pay inside, but many customers go inside the store before buying fuel, most likely to withdraw money for a cash purchase or use the bathroom.
Here’s a look at what people buy most frequently in gas station convenience stories, in case you were curious:
Of course, there’s a more obvious reason why the cash price is cheaper than the credit price: Gas stations have to pay merchant “interchange” fees, as Chase bank points out in an article on the topic, writing:
Gas stations are in fact legally allowed to charge a customer extra if they choose to use a credit card to purchase gas. This is because the gas station owners pay an interchange fee to the payment networks. They often pass this fee on to the consumer to recoup that additional cost.
An interchange fee is part of every credit card transaction that a merchant processes. The merchants themselves do not keep this money though. It’s passed back to the card issuer to cover the cost of processing the transaction as well as the risks associated with lending the credit.
So you might wonder how much these fees are, and whether or not the price you pay at the pump with your credit card is more than these fees. Is the gas station making more profit if you use a credit card? Per Chase, the answer appears to be: Not really:
Gas stations charge an average of 5 to 10 cents more per gallon for credit card purchases.
According to the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing (NACS), Opens overlay, credit card processing fees at gas stations average about 2.5% of the total transaction price. As of October 2022, the national average for a gallon of gas, Opens overlay was $3.76, which would make the processing fee about $0.09 per gallon.
In general gas stations typically have a low profit margin on gasoline sales. Intense competition from other nearby stations means they’re often pricing a gallon of gas just a couple pennies over cost.
Still, why do they charge the customer the interchange fee in the first place? If you go into a Target, there’s no “cash price” on the goods, and Target has to pay the interchange fee too, right? I don’t have the answer to this, though I suspect it comes down to “low profit margin on gasoline sales” and of course the fact that, if the cash price is lower, you’re more inclined to enter the store and buy something.
W/Car Wash
This next one drives me mad, because, while I’m used to paying about 10 cents more than the (cash) advertised price on most signs, I don’t expect to have to buy a damn car wash in order to get the price shown.
Seriously, look at that Shell station above in Barstow. The biggest price at the top of the sign is $4.19 9/10 a gallon. If you’re driving along looking for the cheapest price, you’ll see that big number and head straight to the Shell, only to realize that this price only applies if you buy a car wash. This is wack.
First off, it’s worth noting that, despite phone apps that help you find the best price, NACS says the majority of people use store signs to shop for pricing, so having unclear signs is going to bring in potential customers, whom you will then disappoint.
I was one of those potential customers. I arrived at that gas station, finally got close enough to the sign to see the strategically small-fonted “Regular cash w/Wash” text above the advertised price, and then blurted an expletive or two at whoever runs that fuel station. To me, that seems like a Bait and Switch. The price per gallon looks to be $4.19 9/10, but upon arrival, you realize you’ve gotta buy the damn TrueCoat and pay with cash to get that price.
According to NACS, these tactics aren’t exactly ineffective. As you can see in the plot above, in 2019 16 percent of folks paid cash for a discount and 18 percent took advantage of bundles to get a discount.
So that’s why it happens, but it doesn’t make any of it acceptable in my mind. I guess I can understand the cash/credit thing due to the interchange fee, but with the vast majority of folks using credit cards for gas (and it looks like that 77 percent has risen from 2019, possibly due to COVID restricting cash use), having the big advertised price on the sign (which is still the primary way folks shop for gas — looking at signs) be the cash price just seems dishonest. And having that big price require a purchase of something else like a car wash? Get that crap out of here!
Images: NACS
I don’t really shop for gas prices.
Because a $.10 difference is only $1.50 when I fill the tank from almost empty.
And I’m getting discounts via Kroger and Fuel Rewards at Shell, some other program at Exxon, and credits via Gas Buddy for reporting prices & purchases.
Yep. And stations near each other will almost always have the same price. So I’m going to spend time and fuel to go to pursue what is likely a tiny difference in price? Nope. About the only time that’s worth it is for Costco
In a town near me, there’s a Maverik across the street from a Shell, and they’re consistently 3-5 cents different in price. Directly across the street from each other, about 50 feet apart. This is really common, at the nearest freeway exit there are two stations and they usually have different prices.
This 10/10. I once had a conversation with a successful business owner who would seek out savings of 5 cents/gallon. When I told him he was wasting his time, he was incredulous- “that adds up when you are buying 20 gallons!”
A dollar. It adds up to a dollar. Now, I’m not saying the price doesn’t matter, because it does, but the savings of $1 to go a half mile down the road just don’t seem worth it to me.
but the savings of $1 to go a half mile down the road just don’t seem worth it to me.
Which takes what, about a minute of your time? That works out to “getting paid” $60/hr right into your pocket for super easy labor. Totally worth it.
I don’t really shop for gas prices.
Because a $.10 difference is only $1.50 when I fill the tank from almost empty.
And I’m getting discounts via Kroger and Fuel Rewards at Shell, some other program at Exxon, and credits via Gas Buddy for reporting prices & purchases.
Yep. And stations near each other will almost always have the same price. So I’m going to spend time and fuel to go to pursue what is likely a tiny difference in price? Nope. About the only time that’s worth it is for Costco
In a town near me, there’s a Maverik across the street from a Shell, and they’re consistently 3-5 cents different in price. Directly across the street from each other, about 50 feet apart. This is really common, at the nearest freeway exit there are two stations and they usually have different prices.
This 10/10. I once had a conversation with a successful business owner who would seek out savings of 5 cents/gallon. When I told him he was wasting his time, he was incredulous- “that adds up when you are buying 20 gallons!”
A dollar. It adds up to a dollar. Now, I’m not saying the price doesn’t matter, because it does, but the savings of $1 to go a half mile down the road just don’t seem worth it to me.
but the savings of $1 to go a half mile down the road just don’t seem worth it to me.
Which takes what, about a minute of your time? That works out to “getting paid” $60/hr right into your pocket for super easy labor. Totally worth it.
As a Canadian, how the hell is this legal? Sign matches the pump every time here. No questions, no payment types, no after discounts. Gas costs $xx.xx per liter, end of story.
Because Capitalism vs Socialism.
Now go stand in line for your heart surgery, Comrade.
/sarc
Instructions unclear, had my cancer discovered, treated, and surgically removed in less than a year. But my spouse had to pay $14 parking every time she visited during my several months in hospital that I didn’t have to pay for, so there’s that.
Down here we die of cancer, penniless, in the name of freedom! NO STEP ON SNEK
Heaven forbid US tax dollars go towards anything but wars, corporate bailouts and voter suppression…
…we don’t even get smooth roads anymore!
Meanwhile I’m always stunned at how clean, green and freshly mowed the space adjacent to Canadian roads & highways are.
Meanwhile I’m always stunned at how clean, green and freshly mowed the space adjacent to Canadian roads & highways are.
Similar story on the other border as well.
So true – The road from Tijuana to Ensenada is stunningly beautiful.
Is it? When I drove Tijuana to Ensenada 20 years ago it was all assault rifle sporting armed guards and concrete husks of abandoned building projects. It looked like a beachside version of Detroit.
(I was referring to the US side)
Most british colonies drive on the left side of the road, in Canada we drive on what’s left of the road. The winter and salt just DESTROY the roads.
No joke, my family in Texas was like “come to MD Anderson for treatment! Stay with us!”. I was like “are you high? I’m covered up here!”
The bait and switch is that is sold in liters.
Meters per liters, baby!
As a Canadian, how the hell is this legal? Sign matches the pump every time here. No questions, no payment types, no after discounts. Gas costs $xx.xx per liter, end of story.
Because Capitalism vs Socialism.
Now go stand in line for your heart surgery, Comrade.
/sarc
Instructions unclear, had my cancer discovered, treated, and surgically removed in less than a year. But my spouse had to pay $14 parking every time she visited during my several months in hospital that I didn’t have to pay for, so there’s that.
Down here we die of cancer, penniless, in the name of freedom! NO STEP ON SNEK
Heaven forbid US tax dollars go towards anything but wars, corporate bailouts and voter suppression…
…we don’t even get smooth roads anymore!
Meanwhile I’m always stunned at how clean, green and freshly mowed the space adjacent to Canadian roads & highways are.
Meanwhile I’m always stunned at how clean, green and freshly mowed the space adjacent to Canadian roads & highways are.
Similar story on the other border as well.
So true – The road from Tijuana to Ensenada is stunningly beautiful.
Is it? When I drove Tijuana to Ensenada 20 years ago it was all assault rifle sporting armed guards and concrete husks of abandoned building projects. It looked like a beachside version of Detroit.
(I was referring to the US side)
Most british colonies drive on the left side of the road, in Canada we drive on what’s left of the road. The winter and salt just DESTROY the roads.
No joke, my family in Texas was like “come to MD Anderson for treatment! Stay with us!”. I was like “are you high? I’m covered up here!”
The bait and switch is that is sold in liters.
Meters per liters, baby!
The carwash catch genuinely annoys me. We have a few stations in my town that advertise gas that way. I never use them. But the cash discount I can get down with. More things in life should have a cash discount. Buying a new microwave? Give me a cash discount! If there is no cash discount then I’ll use my card because it’s easy relatively secure and I do get points.
The carwash catch genuinely annoys me. We have a few stations in my town that advertise gas that way. I never use them. But the cash discount I can get down with. More things in life should have a cash discount. Buying a new microwave? Give me a cash discount! If there is no cash discount then I’ll use my card because it’s easy relatively secure and I do get points.
Cheap $ on sign (only on pumps 1 & 2).
Cheap $ on sign (only on pumps 1 & 2).
How was the Ineos? I spoke to a guy who was driving one yesterday. I figured he’d be all excited, but he said he had just asked them to buy it back from him. Something about the rear doors popping open. He said they never should have put this on sale yet, which led me to believe there had been more problems.
I didn’t want to push further, since he seemed quite unhappy about the whole deal.
I think it’s one of the greatest vehicles money can buy in 2024.
I don’t want to outright say it was a soccer dad status purchase, but there are several new Broncos and a couple of Granadiers running around locally. I’ve never seen any of them muddy (including this one).
I saw one last Sunday in it’s natural environment…at HomeDepot with 2 kids in car seats in the back.
Well duh, it’s what you buy when you make partner at your Connecticut law firm
How was the Ineos? I spoke to a guy who was driving one yesterday. I figured he’d be all excited, but he said he had just asked them to buy it back from him. Something about the rear doors popping open. He said they never should have put this on sale yet, which led me to believe there had been more problems.
I didn’t want to push further, since he seemed quite unhappy about the whole deal.
I think it’s one of the greatest vehicles money can buy in 2024.
I don’t want to outright say it was a soccer dad status purchase, but there are several new Broncos and a couple of Granadiers running around locally. I’ve never seen any of them muddy (including this one).
I saw one last Sunday in it’s natural environment…at HomeDepot with 2 kids in car seats in the back.
Well duh, it’s what you buy when you make partner at your Connecticut law firm
If you have to pay for a car wash to get the cheaper price, is that money laundering?
Gas stations are taking you to the cleaners.
If you have to pay for a car wash to get the cheaper price, is that money laundering?
Gas stations are taking you to the cleaners.
Huh, couldn’t drive one of your EV’s? That’s a shame. Could have written three or four stories about that.
Eh, I appreciate the reality of this site. I’m sick and tired of automotive journalists telling me all the infrastructure exists and there’s no reason to buy anything besides a pure EV. I’m all for saving resources, but for my needs and in my location an EV won’t cut it – at least, not as an only car. It works nicely when you’re a 2-car family and have a separate road trip car.
I respect that most of DT’s miles are electric now. I also respect that he admits there’s still a place for ICE, PHEV’s, etc.
It also helps to have room for three or four cars. I do (if I clean out my garage!), but I know a lot of people don’t, nor could many afford it. They can afford one car, and it has to perform the critical functions of: getting to work, being used at work (not all needs this), get food, drag kids to school and activities. Combining this vehicle choice with optimizing home location takes some doing.
Still, trying to get all the way to Utah and back in an EV would be a fun read or two or three, if he actually would get back. Could write articles while waiting for his EV to charge. Something about birds and stones.
Instead we got an obvious story asking gas stations to stop doing something that they’ll never read. The solution is to ask governments change the regulations about signage. And I’m not sure which level of gov’t is responsible, as things seem to change from one county to the next from one city to the next.
If I had to pay tabs (not bad for beaters) and insurance (which would be horrendous even for just liability) for 3-4 cars, I wouldn’t have any money for gas. And my record’s not bad, if you don’t count theft damage cuz it’s a Kia. (Oddly, the comp isn’t bad, wonder if the liability includes while stolen.) Insurance won’t even give you a discount because you can only drive one car at a time.
In my state, they are allowed to surcharge (no more than 5%) for credit, but only if they have “a sign conspicuously posted.” I have only noticed a single station in my city doing that (“CASH PRICE” in fairly large type on their sign), and they’re no longer in business.
Huh, couldn’t drive one of your EV’s? That’s a shame. Could have written three or four stories about that.
Eh, I appreciate the reality of this site. I’m sick and tired of automotive journalists telling me all the infrastructure exists and there’s no reason to buy anything besides a pure EV. I’m all for saving resources, but for my needs and in my location an EV won’t cut it – at least, not as an only car. It works nicely when you’re a 2-car family and have a separate road trip car.
I respect that most of DT’s miles are electric now. I also respect that he admits there’s still a place for ICE, PHEV’s, etc.
It also helps to have room for three or four cars. I do (if I clean out my garage!), but I know a lot of people don’t, nor could many afford it. They can afford one car, and it has to perform the critical functions of: getting to work, being used at work (not all needs this), get food, drag kids to school and activities. Combining this vehicle choice with optimizing home location takes some doing.
Still, trying to get all the way to Utah and back in an EV would be a fun read or two or three, if he actually would get back. Could write articles while waiting for his EV to charge. Something about birds and stones.
Instead we got an obvious story asking gas stations to stop doing something that they’ll never read. The solution is to ask governments change the regulations about signage. And I’m not sure which level of gov’t is responsible, as things seem to change from one county to the next from one city to the next.
If I had to pay tabs (not bad for beaters) and insurance (which would be horrendous even for just liability) for 3-4 cars, I wouldn’t have any money for gas. And my record’s not bad, if you don’t count theft damage cuz it’s a Kia. (Oddly, the comp isn’t bad, wonder if the liability includes while stolen.) Insurance won’t even give you a discount because you can only drive one car at a time.
In my state, they are allowed to surcharge (no more than 5%) for credit, but only if they have “a sign conspicuously posted.” I have only noticed a single station in my city doing that (“CASH PRICE” in fairly large type on their sign), and they’re no longer in business.
Do they pay the interchange fee on debit card purchases too, or only on credit cards? I don’t think any of the stations around here (Kansas City) do this, tho we have our own little “war between the states” as Missouri’s gas taxes are considerably less than Kansas, giving much lower fuel prices, and since the state line runs right down the middle of the city, it makes for some interesting things, especially on state line road. I have to say, Missouri’s roads are in absolutely terrible shape, and Kansas’ are much better – so that tax money appears to be being used where it’s supposed to – to fix the damn roads – at least in Kansas.
The fuel issue that bothers me the most is the difference in price between regular and premium grades – in some cases 50¢ a gallon or more! it’s particularly annoying to me as every car I own requires premium fuel! I also spend up to get ethanol free fuel….so I’m paying as much a $1 more per gallon.
You are lucky for only a $0.50 difference in 87 vs 91 octane. Here in MA it used to be a + $0.10 step between grades as you went up, now the difference between 87 and 91 is regularly $1.00 or even more.
91 is only plus in NC, and costs 30-50 cents more. Premium is 93, and costs 50-100 cents more.
Actually, I screwed that up. We generally have 87, 89 and 93. Plus is 89.
Your $0.50 regular/premium delta is rather small in today’s market.
I stopped buying premium fueled vehicles because I didn’t want to pay 25-40% more for gasoline. Yesterday’s stop was $3.59 for regular, $4.79 for premium!
I’m shopping for another car right now, and researching whether it runs fine on regular, but gives more performance on premium, or if it’s old school and simply requires premium all of the time.
Do they pay the interchange fee on debit card purchases too, or only on credit cards? I don’t think any of the stations around here (Kansas City) do this, tho we have our own little “war between the states” as Missouri’s gas taxes are considerably less than Kansas, giving much lower fuel prices, and since the state line runs right down the middle of the city, it makes for some interesting things, especially on state line road. I have to say, Missouri’s roads are in absolutely terrible shape, and Kansas’ are much better – so that tax money appears to be being used where it’s supposed to – to fix the damn roads – at least in Kansas.
The fuel issue that bothers me the most is the difference in price between regular and premium grades – in some cases 50¢ a gallon or more! it’s particularly annoying to me as every car I own requires premium fuel! I also spend up to get ethanol free fuel….so I’m paying as much a $1 more per gallon.
You are lucky for only a $0.50 difference in 87 vs 91 octane. Here in MA it used to be a + $0.10 step between grades as you went up, now the difference between 87 and 91 is regularly $1.00 or even more.
91 is only plus in NC, and costs 30-50 cents more. Premium is 93, and costs 50-100 cents more.
Actually, I screwed that up. We generally have 87, 89 and 93. Plus is 89.
Your $0.50 regular/premium delta is rather small in today’s market.
I stopped buying premium fueled vehicles because I didn’t want to pay 25-40% more for gasoline. Yesterday’s stop was $3.59 for regular, $4.79 for premium!
I’m shopping for another car right now, and researching whether it runs fine on regular, but gives more performance on premium, or if it’s old school and simply requires premium all of the time.
Around here, just about every station’s price display is for members discount and then it’s always based on 10 cents off for the $100 you’ve spent. Total crap if you’re at a Shell or Mobile. Heck I never knew they had member cards. I guess they all do now.
Normally, I just go to Kroger as that’s where I do most of my food shopping anyways.
came here for this, IC this mostly in Syracuse, all these “member price” I skip them when possible just for this reason!
They don’t do either cash/credit prices or discount included in my state (although some stations are now advertising the pre-pay or club pricing – but they either show all the prices or rotate which one they are displaying.) It was quite annoying on my last road trip when I discovered the Shell stations in a different state were displaying the price with my 10 cent Platinum discount included.
Around here, just about every station’s price display is for members discount and then it’s always based on 10 cents off for the $100 you’ve spent. Total crap if you’re at a Shell or Mobile. Heck I never knew they had member cards. I guess they all do now.
Normally, I just go to Kroger as that’s where I do most of my food shopping anyways.
came here for this, IC this mostly in Syracuse, all these “member price” I skip them when possible just for this reason!
They don’t do either cash/credit prices or discount included in my state (although some stations are now advertising the pre-pay or club pricing – but they either show all the prices or rotate which one they are displaying.) It was quite annoying on my last road trip when I discovered the Shell stations in a different state were displaying the price with my 10 cent Platinum discount included.
Thirty-plus years ago, when I first started driving, there was a gas station in my town that you could feed bills into like a soda vending machine. It didn’t give change, but if you only had a couple of bucks (and I only needed a couple of bucks to fill my motorcycle tank) it was super convenient!
Of course, credit/debit cards weren’t common then.
My lawn. Get off it.
I don’t get why they can’t just take and refund cash automatically like self-checkout machines in stores.
“It’s not like people would be stupid enough to chain their truck to a gas pump that happens to take cash to try to pull it away and steal the cash, right?” – famous last words of someone trying to retain faith in humanity
Thirty-plus years ago, when I first started driving, there was a gas station in my town that you could feed bills into like a soda vending machine. It didn’t give change, but if you only had a couple of bucks (and I only needed a couple of bucks to fill my motorcycle tank) it was super convenient!
Of course, credit/debit cards weren’t common then.
My lawn. Get off it.
I don’t get why they can’t just take and refund cash automatically like self-checkout machines in stores.
“It’s not like people would be stupid enough to chain their truck to a gas pump that happens to take cash to try to pull it away and steal the cash, right?” – famous last words of someone trying to retain faith in humanity
Can we just get rid of the 9/10 of a cent? It made (a little) sense when gas was $0.29.9 (0.3344%); it makes no discernable difference when gas is $5.89.9 (0.0017%)!
As a Canadian I’ve never seen the 9/10 (or the cash price for that matter), but it looks like it’s permanently there? Seems scummy all around, especially with what I’ve heard about your gas stations starting to get ads playing with sound as you fill up.
Our gas prices will have the decimal place but actually use it, so one place might be at c49.9/L while another is c49.1/L
America also uses fractions for measures of distance. And with multiple units on roadsigns.
Exit x: 1 mile
Exit x: 1/2 mile
Exit x: 300 yards
Surprised it doesn’t get extrapolated and then posted with a new measurement in chain, feet, inches, hands, washing machines, etc…
Where are you seeing yards?
The federal fuel tax in the US includes a fraction of a penny, as do most state taxes. Historically the fraction of a cent was to incorporate taxes without having to round the price up to the nearest penny (which would have been a significant percentage increase back then, as Jim points out above). People got used to the extra fraction, I guess, so it never went away even though it no longer makes sense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States
Can we just get rid of the 9/10 of a cent? It made (a little) sense when gas was $0.29.9 (0.3344%); it makes no discernable difference when gas is $5.89.9 (0.0017%)!
As a Canadian I’ve never seen the 9/10 (or the cash price for that matter), but it looks like it’s permanently there? Seems scummy all around, especially with what I’ve heard about your gas stations starting to get ads playing with sound as you fill up.
Our gas prices will have the decimal place but actually use it, so one place might be at c49.9/L while another is c49.1/L
America also uses fractions for measures of distance. And with multiple units on roadsigns.
Exit x: 1 mile
Exit x: 1/2 mile
Exit x: 300 yards
Surprised it doesn’t get extrapolated and then posted with a new measurement in chain, feet, inches, hands, washing machines, etc…
Where are you seeing yards?
The federal fuel tax in the US includes a fraction of a penny, as do most state taxes. Historically the fraction of a cent was to incorporate taxes without having to round the price up to the nearest penny (which would have been a significant percentage increase back then, as Jim points out above). People got used to the extra fraction, I guess, so it never went away even though it no longer makes sense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States
Agree with all DT’s points. The “with carwash” price is especially annoying. If I’m not in a hurry or in dire need of fuel, I’ll just leave if that’s the case.
As far as the price itself, I’m not that focused on it anymore. I’m by no means wealthy, but a few bucks per tank is not going to really affect me either way. I’m at the point in my life where time and convenience are more important to me, so I’ll stop at the station next to my job or the one at the end of my commute when I’m almost home even though I can get it .20/gal less at other stations further off the beaten path. Not worth my time to drive out of my way specifically for gas.
I can’t remember the last time I paid for gas with cash, btw. It’s either debit, or lately I’ve been using a new card that offers 3% fuel rewards. I’m close to a free tank of gas worth of rewards already.
I’m pretty much with you on the not going out of my way for a couple bucks. I’ve got a 20 gallon tank. Usually fill up when I hit a quarter left, so a 15 gallon fill-up. A ten cent differential is a buck fifty in savings…and if you want to be very precise, you need to account for the fuel use to get those savings…so it’s less than a $1.50.
On the other hand, I’m a Costco member, and there’s a Costco smack dab between my son’s school dropoff and my office. Costco is typically twenty cents below all of the local competition, so that’s where I buy most of my gas. Costco gas lines can be annoying, but they’re usually non-existant if you go before 9am (i.e. when I’m driving from my son’s school to my office).
I’ll drive a state over to save $0.20 a gallon.
(Assuming the math works out and I save a nonzero amount).
I am a cheap bastard. Except when it comes to i3s.
I’d like to think all the money you’ve saved on cars over the years was really just you saving up for something you really wanted, like a pristine i3.
As a delivery driver I go through a lot of gas, but I pretty much know which 3 specific stations I need to look at the prices for to get the best deal.
I’ll drive a state over to save $0.20 a gallon.
Next time on the Autopian:
I bought a super cheap tanker truck to save $0.20/gallon buying out of state gas!
Yeah, I have BJs membership (similar to Costco) and their gas is about .20 cheaper than anywhere else. I try to time my fill-ups to get it there, however the fuel station location is about 20 miles from me, so I never make a special trip there.
Mine is literally 1 min off my preferred route to work. Love it in the early am.
Agree with all DT’s points. The “with carwash” price is especially annoying. If I’m not in a hurry or in dire need of fuel, I’ll just leave if that’s the case.
As far as the price itself, I’m not that focused on it anymore. I’m by no means wealthy, but a few bucks per tank is not going to really affect me either way. I’m at the point in my life where time and convenience are more important to me, so I’ll stop at the station next to my job or the one at the end of my commute when I’m almost home even though I can get it .20/gal less at other stations further off the beaten path. Not worth my time to drive out of my way specifically for gas.
I can’t remember the last time I paid for gas with cash, btw. It’s either debit, or lately I’ve been using a new card that offers 3% fuel rewards. I’m close to a free tank of gas worth of rewards already.
I’m pretty much with you on the not going out of my way for a couple bucks. I’ve got a 20 gallon tank. Usually fill up when I hit a quarter left, so a 15 gallon fill-up. A ten cent differential is a buck fifty in savings…and if you want to be very precise, you need to account for the fuel use to get those savings…so it’s less than a $1.50.
On the other hand, I’m a Costco member, and there’s a Costco smack dab between my son’s school dropoff and my office. Costco is typically twenty cents below all of the local competition, so that’s where I buy most of my gas. Costco gas lines can be annoying, but they’re usually non-existant if you go before 9am (i.e. when I’m driving from my son’s school to my office).
I’ll drive a state over to save $0.20 a gallon.
(Assuming the math works out and I save a nonzero amount).
I am a cheap bastard. Except when it comes to i3s.
I’d like to think all the money you’ve saved on cars over the years was really just you saving up for something you really wanted, like a pristine i3.
As a delivery driver I go through a lot of gas, but I pretty much know which 3 specific stations I need to look at the prices for to get the best deal.
I’ll drive a state over to save $0.20 a gallon.
Next time on the Autopian:
I bought a super cheap tanker truck to save $0.20/gallon buying out of state gas!
Yeah, I have BJs membership (similar to Costco) and their gas is about .20 cheaper than anywhere else. I try to time my fill-ups to get it there, however the fuel station location is about 20 miles from me, so I never make a special trip there.
Mine is literally 1 min off my preferred route to work. Love it in the early am.
The one that drives me up a wall (as someone who drives a car that wants premium) is that here in Texas 90+% of signs only have the regular grade price and the days of a consistent +10 cents per grade are long gone. So looking for the cheapest sign tells me nothing because some places I’m going to pay 30 cents more than the regular (credit) price and some places I’m going to pay 50 or 60 cents more.
Yes. I agree completely. When I lived in TX my cars always took premium and I did learn there to pay attention to which stations had what difference because those cars all got crappy gas mileage too so it mattered more then.
Really irritating when they changed from the 10 cents step per grade to eventually I think it’s 30 cents now? So a 60 cent upcharge for premium? It doesn’t cost that much more per gallon. But they can advertise the low regular price and once you’re in, you’re stuck.
Considering the difference is generally $1 here, I’d kill for either a 30 or 60 cent spread.
To be honest I haven’t been actually paying attention to the spread, so you inspired me to check online. The station right outside my neighborhood has a 80 cent split, the one I used to use down the road has a $1.20 split and the one by my work has a 90 cent split. Weirdly at all three midgrade is not in the middle of the split, but a little above center.
The midgrade split might be due to the refinery they all use. In most markets, there are only 1 or 2 refineries, and all the brands use the same refinery tanks, just different additive packages.
I don’t think I’ve seen it at a full dollar, but I’ve definitely seen seventy cents. I probably just stopped looking to keep from stressing about it.
Dailies can both run on regular and I’m actually paying attention to whether a car requires premium while shopping now.