Real Time Fuel prices

[karel]

btw. Remember that the S and Plussa cards give discounts on fuel at some stations. e.g. I use S-kortti works at ABC - combined with my other purchases I usually end up with 3-4% off

Note that ABC and the Neste oils where you get plussa points always are 2-5 cents per liter more expensive, so you pay your discount first.

But your petrol purchases helps to get money off other shopping. AND, 4 % is way bigger that 2 cents a liter...

I checked ABC's fuel prices for today, that's 1.189 per liter. 4% of 1,189 is 0,04756 cents. That means you pay 1,141. I pay 1.129 per liter where I gas up.
I rest my case...

[sinikala]

How would you manage your refuel trip so that you do not waste the difference in price in simple act of driving there and back?

that is important to remember... not many people take into account that going out of their way to buy slightly cheaper fuel can cost them more money ... it is also environmentally unfriendly ... but to consider it first on a cost basis

to spend less money, savings from cheaper price per litre must outweigh the cost of the detour for cheap fuel ... remembering that cheap filling stations are often on the other side of town and may be a 10 to 20 km round trip.

essentially ... giving answers in cents...

n.s > d.e.l

where

n = number of litres purchased
s = saving per litre over another filling station in cents
d = extra distance in km driven to go and fill up
e = fuel efficiency (l/100km)
l = cost of 1 litre in €uros

e.g. I buy 40 litres at €1.13 ... instead of €1.17 .... saves 160 cents = €1.60...

but I drive 7km there and 7 km back in a car that does 8l/100km to buy that fuel at €1.13/l... means I spend 14x8x1.13 = 127 cents = €1.27

in that case the saving is a paltry €0.33.

The take-home message is that to make a significant saving...

1) the saving per litre should be closer to 10cents/litre than 1 cent/litre
2) your car should be practically empty before you fill up
3) most importantly, you should not go out of your way to buy the fuel... take the cheaper offer only if it is on your usual routes.

[DMC]

3) most importantly, you should not go out of your way to buy the fuel... take the cheaper offer only if it is on your usual routes.

Agreed. Seems like glorified common sense to me but I suppose some people are so keen to grab a "bargain" that they ignore it. Personally I fill up where I get the chance because there is no fuel station on my usual routes.

[jas_rho]

How would you manage your refuel trip so that you do not waste the difference in price in simple act of driving there and back?

that is important to remember... not many people take into account that going out of their way to buy slightly cheaper fuel can cost them more money ... it is also environmentally unfriendly ... but to consider it first on a cost basis

to spend less money, savings from cheaper price per litre must outweigh the cost of the detour for cheap fuel ... remembering that cheap filling stations are often on the other side of town and may be a 10 to 20 km round trip.

essentially ... giving answers in cents...

n.s > d.e.l

where

n = number of litres purchased
s = saving per litre over another filling station in cents
d = extra distance in km driven to go and fill up
e = fuel efficiency (l/100km)
l = cost of 1 litre in €uros

e.g. I buy 40 litres at €1.13 ... instead of €1.17 .... saves 160 cents = €1.60...

but I drive 7km there and 7 km back in a car that does 8l/100km to buy that fuel at €1.13/l... means I spend 14x8x1.13 = 127 cents = €1.27

in that case the saving is a paltry €0.33.

The take-home message is that to make a significant saving...

1) the saving per litre should be closer to 10cents/litre than 1 cent/litre
2) your car should be practically empty before you fill up
3) most importantly, you should not go out of your way to buy the fuel... take the cheaper offer only if it is on your usual routes.

Very good explanation, and that's just showing the price difference for fuel with what was used to get there and back etc. And also think of the time it takes to drive the 14km round trip plus the added extra km to your car and the fact that it also uses oil, windshield washer fluid possibly, and all the other stuff that goes into it, and all just to save 33 cents? To each his own but I wouldn't waste my time (my equation is simple time=money). Sure I want cheaper gas, but I doubt it ever goes to as cheap as I want it

[Mook]

I checked ABC's fuel prices for today, that's 1.189 per liter. 4% of 1,189 is 0,04756 cents. That means you pay 1,141. I pay 1.129 per liter where I gas up.
I rest my case...

But what you're forgetting is that the ABC in Kerava is always a couple of cents cheaper than those in the city.

[paulrenn]

Yeah, Tuusula is pretty cheap, the Neste Express at Riihikallio is currently 0.939 euro / litre for diesel. At least, very recently it was...Helsinki is more like 9.99 or over 1 euro per litre. There is always a long line of cars at the Neste which leads me to believe it is one of the cheapest, at one point it was about 3rd cheapest in the whole country...so Mook does right to shop in Tuusula

Edited to say I did manage to fillup at the same place for 0.919 a couple of weeks back, now thats pretty cheap IMHO.

[sinikala]

Very good explanation, and that's just showing the price difference for fuel with what was used to get there and back etc. And also think of the time it takes to drive the 14km round trip plus the added extra km to your car and the fact that it also uses oil, windshield washer fluid possibly, and all the other stuff that goes into it, and all just to save 33 cents? To each his own but I wouldn't waste my time (my equation is simple time=money). Sure I want cheaper gas, but I doubt it ever goes to as cheap as I want it

I agree about time is money.

I have only once gone out of my way to buy cheaper fuel... last summer we cycled past an A24 on the way to the beach, which had just been upgraded to a Neste ... they were selling at €1.299 per litre, which was about 10 cents per litre than our local A24 at that time.... it's about 8km away and we filled our Mondeo to the brim with 60 litres.

I didn't really do it to save money, just I object to the oil industry profiteering, and when I can take the opportunity to give the petrol companies as little money as possible, I take it.

So for about 20 minutes effort ... we saved €6.00 on fuel but spent 16x6.75x1.299 = 140cents = €1.40 extra to go and fill up... overall saving €4.40 = €13.20 per hour... which I think that is about as good as it ever gets.

[jas_rho]

Very good explanation, and that's just showing the price difference for fuel with what was used to get there and back etc. And also think of the time it takes to drive the 14km round trip plus the added extra km to your car and the fact that it also uses oil, windshield washer fluid possibly, and all the other stuff that goes into it, and all just to save 33 cents? To each his own but I wouldn't waste my time (my equation is simple time=money). Sure I want cheaper gas, but I doubt it ever goes to as cheap as I want it

I agree about time is money.

I have only once gone out of my way to buy cheaper fuel... last summer we cycled past an A24 on the way to the beach, which had just been upgraded to a Neste ... they were selling at €1.299 per litre, which was about 10 cents per litre than our local A24 at that time.... it's about 8km away and we filled our Mondeo to the brim with 60 litres.

I didn't really do it to save money, just I object to the oil industry profiteering, and when I can take the opportunity to give the petrol companies as little money as possible, I take it.

So for about 20 minutes effort ... we saved €6.00 on fuel but spent 16x6.75x1.299 = 140cents = €1.40 extra to go and fill up... overall saving €4.40 = €13.20 per hour... which I think that is about as good as it ever gets.

Hehe yeah there is also the principle of it all as well, gas prices are so expensive as it is. And if you think about it, with other products we sometimes will favor one store over another even if they are more expensive due to better quality, or better service etc. But unfortunatly there isn't much room to improve in the service department at all these cold stations they have around nowadays. And even if its not a cold station, how often do we go inside?
Anyways I always keep my eyes open for who has the cheapest gas in the areas where I drive. And then if I also know of some cheaper place that is out of my way I might go there if there are other things/stores in the area where I could visit at the same time. I am not the most economical person in the world though either so to each his own. I am sure there are many people out there who get peace of mind when driving 20km one way to save 2 cents per liter

[DMC]

But unfortunatly there isn't much room to improve in the service department at all these cold stations they have around nowadays.

Well they can improve it by having a manned station. Some people only buy at cold stations but I only go to a cold station if the alternative is to run out of fuel. I am prepared to pay a little more at a manned station (even if I only need fuel). I prefer to support the manned stations so they don't disappear.

[jas_rho]

But unfortunatly there isn't much room to improve in the service department at all these cold stations they have around nowadays.

Well they can improve it by having a manned station. Some people only buy at cold stations but I only go to a cold station if the alternative is to run out of fuel. I am prepared to pay a little more at a manned station (even if I only need fuel). I prefer to support the manned stations so they don't disappear.

I don't have anything against manned stations, but what is it that we lose of they disappear? Candy bars, coke and french dogs?

[DMC]

I don't have anything against manned stations, but what is it that we lose of they disappear? Candy bars, coke and french dogs?

At most manned stations you can also get at least a coffee, and at many you can get something real to eat. Also at many you can get some basic car stuff like washer additive, oil, fuses, bulbs, wiper blades, stuff like that. Nothing too important if you are just driving a short distance to work or the shops, but if you are on a longer trip, where else are you going to stop? During a long drive I want to take a break somewhere a bit more inviting than a cold-station forecourt.

[sinikala]

Manned petrol stations don't make their money from petrol, they make it from the shop/cafe side... that's why Esso got out of the forecourt business and sold all their stations to SOK/ABC.

There are two really big shop / petrol stations at Forssa (Neste & K-kauppa) / (ABC & Sokos) just a couple of hundred metres apart ... they are very useful for bio-breaks on the Pori-Hki drive. However, I think they both happen to be Automated petrol stations situated next to large shops ... I don't know if you can go and pay for your fuel inside.

Me... I haven't used ABC as I didn't know where their fuel came from.

Teboil / Lukoil is Russian, I prefer to give my business to a Finnish firm so I have not used them in the last 3 or 4 years.

I have no problem with Shell, but the nearest is opposite an A24 which is always cheaper. So I try to stick to Neste ...preferably A24 stations, I know there are plenty of them along the routes I use. (yes I know Neste uses Russian crude!)

[Majava]

There are two really big shop / petrol stations at Forssa
I don't know if you can go and pay for your fuel inside.

ABC-No.
Neste - Probably also not.

The fuel price there is quite OK. I travel Stallion Head - Lahti quite often, passing also Riihimäki (new ABC there!) or Hämeenlinna and only in Lahti can you find cheaper fuels.

[DMC]

I don't have such a complex regime behind my fuel purchases. I just prefer to support places that give better service.

Using similar logic I have always supported our local village shop, at least for some of my shopping, on the basis that if nobody shops there it will close. It seems not enough people think the same way because the shop has just closed. Maybe I am in the minority in being prepared to pay a little extra for convenience & service, but now the nearest place to buy anything is 27km away and the slightly higher prices at the old local shop begin to look like a cheap alternative.

[Pursuivant]

I have always supported our local village shop, at least for some of my shopping, on the basis that if nobody shops there it will close.

hear hear

actually I was surprised my ancient uncle who lives a bit off comes to my local to do his shopping even he's got a half dozen supermarkets closer by. its for the quality. which I agree. (couldn't believe the ostoskeskus is so cruddy)