I was wondering who makes the gas that Costco sells. I know it's a lot cheaper to buy, but I really like putting Chevron in my tank, since it has Techron. Does anyone know the answer to the question???

[Edited by MarkS2K on 05-31-2001 at 03:19 PM]

 

i remember somebody saying Unocal 76 supplies the gas.

 

Mark-

Sadly, there is no easy answer to your question. Most of the time (how's that for a qualifier) Costco buys its gas on the spot market from large jobbers. By doing so, they lever off of the bulk size of their purchase to get them gas at the cheapest levels. However, their are exceptions to the rule. For example, in some parts of the country, Costco actually operates their own refineries.

If you go to a Costco here in CA. you may get Mobil gas, Chevron gas, or Texaco gas. There really isn't any way to tell. In fact, you may notice that if you ever see a delivery truck at Costco, it is not badged.

The truth is that 99.9% of gas that you buy is all the same anyway. The gas comes from refinery A. It is purchaed by jobber B and then appropriate additives (mostly color) are added so the gas can be sold at an Arco, Chevron, Shell, or what have you.

I know some people will tell you different but let me tell you this. I used to finance the largest purchaser and wholesaler of Exxon gas in the world. This outfit also supplied gas to countless other brands (both majors and private labels) and the only difference is the additives.

Having said that, I do believe that Techron has been shown to be a meaningful additive. Maybe you can get comfortable with filling up every fourth tank of gas at Chevron and enjoying the savings at Costco the other times.

That's pretty much what we do. I also used to bank G&M Oil. They're a large predominantely Chevron flagged operation with sites all over Orange County. The owner and his management team are great people so I still buy gas from their site on Las Flores (Mission Viejo) every once in a while. It helps that they price with Arco and are typically the cheapest gas around, but I like doing business with good people. The rest of the time we fill up at Costco on the way home from work.

Hope that long winded disertation helps.

 

As to Mingster's comment... maybe partially true. Unocal 76 no longer exists as a company, per se. They were bought by Tosco about 3 or 4 years ago in one of the first big oil company mergers. You can still find the flag at some stations but it's Tosco marketing, Tosco management, and Tosco gas.

Still, some Costco's might be buying from a local Tosco/76 jobber and that might be the gas that you are getting. Again, hard to tell.

 

Thanks for the info Da Hapa. There's always someone on this board that knows the answers. Interesting job you have there.

I actually don't drive a whole lot anymore, since I work from home. It usually takes me 3 weeks to go through a tank of gas.

I think I read somewhere once that techron was one of the only fuel additives that actually did anything. It actually helps to keep the injectors clean. What have you heard about it??

 

it is my understanding that techron does, in fact, add value. it does work to some extent. however, (and this is based purely on my own b/s and no scientific or industry knowledge) i cant see that having it in every tank of gas is that much more helpful that occassionally. i would think that as clean as our engines burn, you aren't going to get that much build up over the course of 500 miles (say two tanks?). i would think that enjoying its benefits every few tanks of gas would be more than enough.

then again, im just a finance guy that doesn't know crap about how an engine really works.

 

You might want to do some searches on 'Unbranded Gas' and how gas stations get their gas ... here's a couple interesting articles to get ya started ...

http://www.mnssa.com/9-98.html
http://www.citizensforflorence.com/News/ar...arch-0104a.html
http://www.msnbc.com/news/566367.asp
http://sacramento.bcentral.com/sacramento/...27/smallb1.html

Nearby dealers often become especially angry when they find out Costco is acquiring the gasoline for its new station either directly from oil companies such as Tosco or indirectly through a jobber pulling from the same terminal that supplies the dealers. While the gas is the same, Costco often pays up to 20 cents less than the dealers. "If we didn

 

If gas is mostly the same, why the differences in prices?

 

Thanks for the info nova. I like you're handle. I remember when Chevy introduced the Nova car in South America and everyone laughed. Guess they should've done their homework.