Gas Prices

[harley]

We haven't broken sub-$2 here in San Diego at costco.

My local (non-costco) stations are between 2.49 and 2.79.
Costco was 2.29 when I filled up last week.

Lots of taxes on gas here in CA.

Same here in SW FL. Lowest I've seen is $2.12 at the Estero Costco. $2.24 (I refuse to use those stupid .009s) at our local stations.

W2R, it's obviously your choice, but I seriously burned up a lawnmower engine once using high test instead of regular. I think it's bad for your car if it's not what the manufacturer calls for. Just a friendly word, I don't really care what you do. I just know you like your new car and wouldn't want anything bad to happen.

 

[imoldernu]

Read this follow up on the rise/fall of prices. Probably the funniest opinionless opinion ever.

Citi: The oil (and gas) plunge isn't over yet - Feb. 4, 2015

... and can't resist a comment on premium gas. Both my 1998 Town Car and my 1996 Cadilac SLS require premium, according to the manual and a note on the gas guage iteself... My cars would probably explode if they ever tasted premium again. A few years back, I did a test by measuring my mileage using premium for a few weeks, and then going back to regular. No difference. No knocking, and I think the Cadillac will still do zero to 60 in less than 7 seconds. Just sayin'. Neither car has cost me a penny for anything to do with engine or the transmission since they joined my family, and they both still beat the avg. MPG from the original window sticker.

Sheesh... remember when premium was less than $.10/gal more than regular?

And that brings up another memory, of Diesel costing much less than regular. as I recall, the reason being that it cost so much less to refine.

Shortly after WWII, my dad worked part time in Tony's Gas Station. I remember the sign out front "5 Gallons for $1.". Filled our 38 Olds for $3.

 

[mpeirce]

And that brings up another memory, of Diesel costing much less than regular. as I recall, the reason being that it cost so much less to refine.

The new "clean diesel" (aka ultra-low sulfur diesel) isn't quite as simple (or cheap) to refine as the old stuff.

Also, in the US, diesel carries a heavier tax than gasoline (federal gasoline excise tax is 46.4¢/gallon while diesel is 52.4¢/gallon). In Europe it's reversed.

And finally, the market dynamic for diesel and gasoline are different. Most diesel is sold on contracts with fleets, while most gasoline is bought by individuals. One reason the price is more stable.

 

[freebird5825]

$2.27 according to gasbuddy.com, 5 hours ago. Upstate NY, east of Syracuse.

 

[aja8888]

Besides being refined to remove most of the sulfur (<15 ppm standard) and taxes being higher on diesel, we export quite a bit of diesel to Europe where it fetches upwards of $8/gallon. Our U.S. supply then becomes closely matched to demand keeping prices at a premium.

 

[Chuckanut]

My last fill-up was $2.28 a gallon!!!! Outrageous! How did gasoline get over $2 a gallon? What a ripoff! I remember when it was cheaper! An on and on and on and on......

Oh wait..... the payback on my hybrid just got shorter. All is well.

 

[jim747]

We returned from a 3000 mile trip a week ago. Our game was to never pay over $2.00 per gallon. We almost hit our goal but had one fill of $2.04. DW was able to check the prices on the route ahead with Gas Buddy. A few times, there was a $.25 per gallon difference just a few miles apart. Sure hope prices stay low. We are planning an Alaska trip this summer.

 

[harley]

Haven't paid under $2.15 yet, and now it's going back up. Oh well, maybe gas will get more expensive than diesel again, and I can feel all superior for a while.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Regular is getting close to $3 in so cal , was on the rise even before the KABOOM at the local Exxon-Mobil refinery this week. Costco was at a local low of $2.29 for regular about 6 weeks ago.

Diesel is steady at a little over $3

 

[audreyh1]

Haven't paid under $2.15 yet, and now it's going back up. Oh well, maybe gas will get more expensive than diesel again, and I can feel all superior for a while.

Hah! I don't think that will happen for decades, as I remind DH when he keeps suggesting a diesel engine car for "the great mileage".

 

[EastWest Gal]

Our regular grocery store offers gas points-10 cents/gallon off per 100 points. Due to stocking up, we accumulated 370 points. Then they had s special where you buy six items and you get 300 points. So I bought 3 boxes of cereal (which I was planning anyway with a coupon) and added 3 small items I could use, plus a couple of thing on my list, and suddenly I was seeing 70 cents/gal discount. Part of my trip was to fill the 17+ gallon almost empty van.

I spent $1.65/gallon. Saved nearly $12 that day.

Gas is barely over $2/gal in Virginia, where I'm traveling this weekend.


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[Ally]

Ours is $1.97 today.


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[fidler4]

$2.69 at Costco today. Paid $2.62 two days ago.
The 76 station a couple miles away is $3.19.

Refinery explosion the other day in Torrance, CA is causing prices to rise in Southern California according to the news.


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[harley]

Hah! I don't think that will happen for decades, as I remind DH when he keeps suggesting a diesel engine car for "the great mileage".

You don't need diesel to be cheaper than gas to make a diesel car worthwhile. At 45/50 mpg diesel would have to be 30-50% higher before a gas car would break even. And it's usually only 10-15% higher, at the most. Unless you have a pretty high mileage gas car, diesel usually wins even with the difference.

However, when diesel is cheaper, which it is sometimes, that's when the superiority complex can kick in full gear.

 

[HFWR]

$1.999 today at Costco.


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[audreyh1]

Costco got all the way until to $2.05 a few days ago, and today dropped back a penny to $2.04. So maybe prices will start going down a bit again.

There are some refinery strikes going on at the moment.

The lowest we every paid was in January - $1.69 per gallon at Costco!

 

[powerplay]

It looks like several Costco stores are offering the best price today at $2.23/gal. Sorry to see it going back up. The best I have gotten was $1.85/gal several weeks ago.

 

[Nodak]

It got down to $1.99 here for about 2 weeks and is now back at $2.09.

 

[Chuckanut]

Up over 15% in the last month.

My hybrid is starting to look like a smarter purchase.

 

[mike143]

Gas prices are just a manipulation of general public for economic reasons. Low gas price help people spend. Gas prices will rise after the new year. Companies are slow to react so diesel prices don't have the same volatility. People will literately sell a fuel sipper for a gas guzzler after a month of low gas prices.

So my predictions are gas prices will rise after the new year and the economy will take a sharp downturn after the next election.

Gas prices will break $3 before the end of the year and possibly for a short period during the summer peak.

 

[Lakedog]

You don't need diesel to be cheaper than gas to make a diesel car worthwhile. At 45/50 mpg diesel would have to be 30-50% higher before a gas car would break even. And it's usually only 10-15% higher, at the most. Unless you have a pretty high mileage gas car, diesel usually wins even with the difference.

The last time I looked here, gas was $1.98 and diesel was $2.99 -- never would have expected diesel to be 50% higher.

 

[audreyh1]

The last time I looked here, gas was $1.98 and diesel was $2.99 -- never would have expected diesel to be 50% higher.

Those are the prices I have been seeing. Diesel $1 higher or worse.

 

[REWahoo]

Those are the prices I have been seeing. Diesel $1 higher or worse.

I saw that for a short time here, but now the difference is around $0.50 to $0.60, with gas around $2.15 and diesel around $2.60.

 

[aja8888]

Those are the prices I have been seeing. Diesel $1 higher or worse.

Saw RUG @ $2.05 and D2 @ $2.41 in Tomball, TX this week.

 

[harley]

Those are the prices I have been seeing. Diesel $1 higher or worse.

We're running about $2.39 and $2.99 here. That's about 25%, which still puts the beetle (45 mpg) in the lead, although not as much as I would like. If a car gets 30 mpg and diesel is 50% higher, it's a break even point. And I doubt it will get more out of balance than that.

In our personal situation, with the Highlander getting 20 mpg vs. the beetle at 45 mpg, even at 100% higher the beetle wins. We drive it whenever we don't have to haul stuff.