Petrol stations in Australia are regulated and the petrol comes from similar sources, but the different companies add different additives.
I once had a mechanic tell me to only go to Caltex stations and have been following the advice. Am I getting ripped off?
Metro are almost always the cheapest. Is there anyone on here, who is a mechanic or has similar qualifications, know if Metro is any worse than Caltex?
I got very badly contaminated fuel at a Coles Express servo last November. A tanker was there. NEVER get your preferred fuel type if a tanker is delivering that product. Get different fuel or go somewhere else. Also, newer servos don’t have metal tanks and so no rust to stir up. I discovered all this after the incident which required $2800 work on my 6 month old Nissan X Trail.
! interesting. Sorry for your misfortune. Good of you to point this out.
Caltex at 109c litre vs Metro at 89c
Being getting fuel at metro for years
question is where are you getting fuel for $0.89
St Peters NSW
Get the FuelCheck app on your phone Ios/Android and search your local area.
Cheapest in NSW is speedway Fairfield 85.5c E10 so Metro could be accused of ripoff at 89😀
Please do not get the fuel check app! Why? Petrol spy app is better and more accurate,( my own opinion) also available Australia wide I would not use anything else when looking for fuel of any type.
@figjamone: Definitely not more accurate in NSW at least. FuelCheck is legally required to be updated by service stations before they change the pump price. If it's ever inaccurate, report it from the app.
@ATTS: My understanding is that the price should always match, or be lower than shown on Fuelcheck. So if the price is going up, Fuelcheck should be updated first, then the pump. Conversely, if the price is going down, the pump should be updated first.
Larger stations and chains would update Fuelcheck automatically through the back-end API, so the above would only apply to manually updated pricing at smaller stations and independents.
You spend $50,000 on a vehicle and try and save money of fuel???? I would never put mheap unknown diesel in my vehicle.
Regarding contaminated fuel. All brands have had contaminated fuel including Shell, United, Caltex,BP, Metro, Speedway are all named on the internet as having contaminated fuel.
Haha
Spending $50K on a vehicle is hardly a reason for criticism.
It's pretty much what you have to pay for basic motoring in Australia.
"It's pretty much what you have to pay for basic motoring in Australia". Pffft
Just bought a $400 car and everything thing works on it.
But does it have lane guidance and apple carplay and 8 million other stupid things?
Just bought a $400 car and everything thing works on it.
I bet it's got mechanical failures that's about to go….but you don't notice yet….or don't care about…
Happened to my $500 car, everything works but was always leaking oil and coolant so had to keep topping it up every time I go out….
@Zachary: I wouldn't go that cheap, but I've had 15 year old $3000 cars that were so reliable that a friend who used to get newish $15k cars opted for a similar $3k model on their next purchase.
And have had less issues with it.
username checks out
You spend $50,000 on a vehicle and try and save money of fuel??
This is OzBargain. We try to save money on everything
I would never put mheap unknown diesel in my vehicle
What is "unknown diesel"?
Since you later state that all brands have had contaminated fuel, what are you suggesting is the safe option? Manufacture your own fuel?
Almost all Australia's petrol come directly from overseas crude oil refineries.
Therefore, the fuel you buy from any servo in Australia is basically the same as any other.
Some suppliers add propriety chemicals that have "outstanding" benefits.
While this may be true, these chemicals are markers to be used as defence in the event of a major class action suite.
So.
I am quite sure that Metro buy their fuel from Mobil.
Community: Please correct me if I am wrong!
If you want to use Caltex, use it with confidence.
If you want to use Metro, again, use it with confidence.
The only consideration here is that some smaller Metro sites are quite old and may therefore have issues with contaminant ingression in extraordinary circumstances.
But the same can be said about any small (by today's standards), older site.
Correct, they have small Mobil branding around the pumps.
… or Ampol or Golden Fleece.
also,
age of the bowser pump?
age of the storage tanks in the ground?
are there any additives in the fuel over and above what is advertised?
are the bowsers calibrated, if so how often?
maintenance of the filters at the service station?
many things can affect the quality of the fuel
your own cars maintenance, fuel system is clean?
age and condition of your in car tank?
so many questions
I used to work in an oil refinery and at a distribution terminal. I can assure you most of the fuel the various brands use in their retail outlets comes from a) the same ship, b) the same Aussie refinery or c) the same international refinery. At the distribution terminal I would frequently see all the major brands of trucks lining up to fill up their tankers from the same source to take to the servos.
There can obviously be dirt, contamination in the tanks at individual servos and that’s more likely to be the source of any issue than the fuel that comes off the boat or from one of the few remaining Aussie refineries.
There is a lot of sharing of supply going on by all the brands probably due to how the supply chain needs to work to keep up with demand.
In following this, I have been told the same thing by somebody at Caltex that they all just buy from whoever has the best price at the time. Sometimes BP buys Caltex, Mobil buys BP, etc etc
Correct.
As of 27 March the TGP (wholesale) price of ULP at Viva in Melbourne was 86.75c per litre - what are you paying!
And people complain about price gouging of toilet paper on eBay!!
Petrol in my area is sitting at about $1.33/L
Currently, 51-53% of our imported refined petrol comes from Singapore’s refineries, with 18% from South Korea, 12% from Japan and the rest from a range of other countries. Asian refineries in particular are extremely competitive in terms of production and transport costs.
http://theconversation.com/australia-imports-almost-all-of-i…
BULLSHIT. Please feel free to post a reputable link..You do realise that Australia still refines a large percentage of its own fuel or are you just another sheep sucked in by the key board warriors that surround you?
Australia imports 90% of its fuel! in fact probably more.(fact)
Australia retail Auto Gasoline sales were 17,570.4ML in 2018/19 Australian production was 11,152.3ML so where did your figures come from? https://www.energy.gov.au/sites/default/files/Australian%20P…
“The conversation.com”.Plus,do not be so rude & condescending to posters.Be a bit more polite!(also “BBC news”)
Not rude at all i even tolerate other posters like you with their uneducated ignorance, lack of a reputable comment and outright lack of a reputable source . Just how polite can I be when pointing out you are totally wrong. LOL. I just posted the facts but you know better LOL Can you provide a reputable link to dispute my claim? If I was you I would be asking "The conversation.com" to back up their facts as they made a fool of you.
@coin saver: You are still rude! I gave you links! We will both disagree to disagree. Thx for calling me “ignorant”,you rude prick!
You must only buy from a reputable brand. It’s also wise to stick to the same brand as much as possible. Sometimes the additives from different brands can mix poorly and cause engine damage. If you must switch brands make sure your tank is as empty as possible. Using premium is also better with its additional cleaning qualities and the extra lower and economy you get is well worth the extra cost. /sarcasm.
Fuel is well regulated, mostly comes from the same tank. The only thing you need to watch for is low volume stations that are slightly more likely to have stale fuel or contamination from old tanks. Most people who tell you that XX is better than YY or that their car runs so much better on XX have no idea and are talking out their rear orifice.
The best servo to go to for fuel is the busiest (high volume) one as their fuel would be topped up more often and therefore fresher fuel.
Brand name means nothing… Many tanker drivers have said that they deliver to all servos… same fuel.
Bigger servos have bigger tanks.
I always go for the E10 at Metro. Never had a problem in the 11 months at my current servo and car.
The only thing you need to worry about is water leaking into old tanks.
Just keep your receipt in case.
Only time I've ever had knocking in an engine was after getting e10 from a Metro or similar.
I assume it was just an anomaly though and have been back there since, though I steered clear for a period.
I have noticed less performance from Metro fuel but here's why: when i fill up at Metro i get e10 which runs worse. When i fill with 91 it feels more powerful and i get this from other stations as my local metro only discounts e10 and not 91.
But its the ethanol fuel thats less powerful, not the branding. Metro is fine.
Have you tested it to find less performance or is your knowledge of e10 being ‘inferior’ affecting your perceptions? Ie I paid more, therefore it must be better, therefore it feels better. Actual testing may prove otherwise.
I ran a car on e10, premium when cheap and regular most of the one. Did not get a noticeable performance difference and economy was more affected by driving conditions than fuel (measured).
I think they have done scientific tests and found e10 to be 3% less energy efficient. (found it on https://www.e10fuelforthought.nsw.gov.au/facts)
Not something you are likely to notice on the road, but for me, since there is roughly a 2% price difference, I just got for regular ULP over e10. Not sure if I'm just wasting my time/money, but I never liked the concept of ethanol.
It is literally inferior. Fuel quality makes a difference to how your car is able to perform. That’s just a matter of thermodynamics.
Whether your car actually performs better depends on the car, whether you notice or care depends on you. I’ve sometimes heard that it can take a little while for some cars to adjust to higher octane fuel, but I’ve definitely felt different performance differences based on what I’ve put into various cars.
In my old mx5, it felt much nicer with premium because of how it drove generally (ie sporty with all the power at high reva). In the Yaris I don’t notice as much benefit from premium, but e10 still feels slightly anaemic, so 91 is the go.
It is literally inferior. Fuel quality makes a difference to how your car is able to perform. That’s just a matter of thermodynamics.
While true, have you actually measured the difference? I h want measured the power difference but can’t tell the difference in the cars I’ve tried it in. I measured that the economy difference is not significant enough and that driving conditions make significantly more difference.
Lots of people hear that it’s better, and think that because they pay more it must be better despite not having any significant difference. Kind of a confirmation biaS.
@Euphemistic: Have I measured the difference? Of course not, that would be actual laboratory research in an area that I am not employed in or a massive nerd about. But I've studied in that area and learned just enough theory based on the research of others to know it's a real thing.
Fortunately you can discover the results of various other peoples efforts with a mere search on this here internet.
Which might all still be meaningless if your own car performs differently, because as with almost anything, there are a crapload of variables that will affect measured and achievable performance, which still won't tell you what you should feel. You might not notice it because your car doesn't adapt in the way that others are able to, or the result is simply too subtle to notice. In which case, don't bother.
@crentist: Thanks. Interesting watching.
The fifth gear test did show a minor performance gain, but mentioned it’s probably not worth paying extra because it is only minor and hard to feel the difference (with an experienced professional driver). It also wasn’t a blind test on the track which it should have been - again perception may be biased for a 2% gain.
The engineering explained didn’t really indicate what real world benefits could be had. But that the fuel does run with higher compression.
The science direct link isn’t really useful because it is based on carburettor testing when modern cars use efi.
Overall, yes there are minor benefits, but as I mentioned your right foot can probably induce a lot more difference in driver feel and your right foot is heavily biased by your perception. By all means go and buy premium fuel or avoid E10 but unlesss you’ve measured the results I’d be surprised if your perception doesn’t cloud the seat of the pants test.
So you're saying a fuel with a higher octane rating was less combustible than that of fuel with a lower octane rating?
It has a lower embodied energy.
I have to run 98 in my car. Sometimes find if I get 98 at a no name servo does not run as economical as fuel from a major - BP, Shell etc
I’m meticulous about monitoring fuel economy in my big V8 (true OB) and suspect the cheapies might put the odd load of 95 or inferior fuel in 98 tanks.
How do I test for that?
That’s easy to test for. You fill up your tin foil hat to the brim, tip it on your head. Whichever tastes more like apples is 98.
How much variation are you talking about? I track my fuel consumption for each fill and it varies a fair bit even from the same pump and servo. The biggest difference is the amount of city driving done. I have not been able to discern the difference between E10, ULP or PULP in fuel consumption that cannot be explained by a long highway trip, using the air conditioner, driving off road or other factors that seem to make much more difference.
Petrol comes from the same hole …
Some add various things for marketing purposes.
support your independent
I have filled up at the local Metro many times with no problems.
I think the big oil companies spread the rumours to slow down thier business.
Have used smaller petrol stations like Metro three times in my life and every time it was as if I filled the car with water. Probably just dodgy operators in those locations though, but either way I avoid them.
I HAVE EV yes it is better.
If you think you have water in your fuel tank, put in a bottle of metho per tank of fuel,
that will absorb the water; that is what we used to do in the 70's
I haven't had any issues in the past 15 years of driving by going to independents.
Didn't Caltex have contaminated petrol 1-2 years ago on the M4?