Supermarket petrol.

[drivewasher]

oh, we are always at those stations and always a few of the pumps seem toalways have those nozzle locks on

[bmcecosse]

I suspect places are holding minimal stocks - so they are not left sitting on full tanks when yet another price drop is announced!

[LUR759H]

what would be really helpful is an unleaded petrol station list....

Alan

[bmcecosse]

It's ALL unleaded.....

[irmscher]

Petrol and diesel seem to have come down a lot in price lately

[tysonn]

LPG 67p a litre plus 10% discount for locals.Can't beat it.

[ampwhu]

only ever use one of the following: shell, esso, Texaco or bp. always have.

this includes driving my van, classic or modern Mercedes.

[Deux Chevaux]

There's a list of petrol stations that stock 4 star leaded petrol on the FBHVC website. Link below....

http://www.fbhvc.co.uk/legislation-and- ... formation/

[The vast minority]

only ever use one of the following: shell, esso, Texaco or bp. always have.

this includes driving my van, classic or modern Mercedes.

Ah, so you also use the same stuff as folks that buy from supermarkets as it's the same stuff.
Good for you

[TFM150K]

There's a list of petrol stations that stock 4 star leaded petrol on the FBHVC website. Link below....

http://www.fbhvc.co.uk/legislation-and- ... formation/

I notice that there are only about a dozen garages throughout GB now that are on the FBHVC list as selling LEADED petrol. I have been running both my Moggies (and the rest of the vintage fleet) on UNleaded fuel since it started, and have had no problems at all. The saloon had the head "done" but the van (which gets a lot more use/abuse) has not been touched and I too use the cheapest fuel I can find. People worry too much! Very rarely, one hears of contaminated fuel but it is very rare cos it doesn't do the vendors any good when the news makes the papers or the telly. The thing to be watching out for is high rates of ethanol in petrol abroad - the engine will still run but it is reputed to eat fuel lines and carburrettor innards and also attracts water....

[ampwhu]

only ever use one of the following: shell, esso, Texaco or bp. always have.

this includes driving my van, classic or modern Mercedes.

Ah, so you also use the same stuff as folks that buy from supermarkets as it's the same stuff.
Good for you

no, I purchase premium fuel. supermarket fuel is of a less quality. anyone in the industry will tell you the obvious. only people that are stubborn and want to save pennies will use supermarket stuff. I would never put it in my cars. the damage it causes will cost you in the long run.

the elite motoring sports have advertisement at the shows, formula one events and so on for Shell, Esso, BP and Texaco. do you see Tesco's banners anywhere advertising fuel? no of course not.

[neilmorey]

Like most things in life you get what you pay for. The base fuel will be the same but the additives differ.

Although people seem to think 2 to 4p per litre difference in price is a big deal it is probably only £1 to £2 on a fill up of say 50 litres costing £60 or so. Obvioudly won't get that much in a Morris!

Personally I use V power in my everyday car which about 10p per litre more than standard unleaded, say 8% price difference. It does seem to give better mpg so if I get 38 mpg instead of 35mpg it basically pays for itself.

[leafie]

oh, we are always at those stations and always a few of the pumps seem toalways have those nozzle locks on

Well if you ever end up at the petrol station further down the road it's the pump nearest the door you need.

[SteveClem]

Looks like I stirred up a hornets nest here. Not sure if I'm any the wiser!

[leafie]

Looks like I stirred up a hornets nest here. Not sure if I'm any the wiser!

It's a discussion that I think could have you going in circles. My experience is that my Minor seems to run better on a premium (higher octane) unleaded, my modern Saab 9-3 Turbo seems to run the same on Tesco unleaded or a premium unleaded. I'm told modern cars are set at the factory to run on fuel of varying quality, hence the fashion for having them "chipped". So I put a premium unleaded in my Minor and any unleaded in my Saab.

[SteveClem]

That's what works for us! The old cars seem to like the dearer stuff and the Bosses new golf runs fine on anything. Couldn't prove it, of course, just how it seems to be.

[1098]

only ever use one of the following: shell, esso, Texaco or bp. always have.

this includes driving my van, classic or modern Mercedes.

Ah, so you also use the same stuff as folks that buy from supermarkets as it's the same stuff.
Good for you

no, I purchase premium fuel. supermarket fuel is of a less quality. anyone in the industry will tell you the obvious. only people that are stubborn and want to save pennies will use supermarket stuff. I would never put it in my cars. the damage it causes will cost you in the long run.

the elite motoring sports have advertisement at the shows, formula one events and so on for Shell, Esso, BP and Texaco. do you see Tesco's banners anywhere advertising fuel? no of course not.

A ha it's all a bit of a laugh. Why don't Tesco's,supermarkets etc have ads at, elite ? motoring sports. Who are the elite ???. It's Simply because the supermarkets have the lions share of the market these days. They don't need to advertise. A bit of history. The oil companies/refiners were quick to see the way things were heading when supermarkets started to sell petrol. In the early days,Texaco,Shell,Jet etc,did deals with the supermarkets,and,delivered the fuel to them with their own fleet of Tankers. Supermarket sales took off big time. I remember, in the early days,putting four tanker loads in to one supermarket's garage in one day !An average, branded petrol forecourt (if it was a busy site ) would take three Tankers a week. A wake up call for the oil companies. As the oil companies were about refining, and not running Tanker fleets,unless they had too ? they offered discounts to the supermarkets,if they collected the petrol themselves. And so,the haulage contractors moved in,and the supermarkets bought their loads even cheaper,hauling it to their own sites. Good business,from the oil company's view. The petrol buying public,wanted cheap petrol,and flocked to the supermarkets big time. The oil companies let the supermarkets collect,with their own fleets. As a Tanker driver in those early days, I got the impression the Oil companies didn't really know what they had themselves in for.Every oil companies had their own loading terminal,but as the supermarkets sales increased,you would find Terminals closing,and three, if not four, company's operating one Terminal,sharing the operating costs.And so, the fight back began ! You all talk of additives. Well, additives started as a marketing campaign,to make you believe the big players sold better petrol. It was disastrous for Shell in the beginning,as they claimed your engine would run better,but the additives burnt out engine valves,it was all very embarrassing for them. ESSO, claimed they had the first petrol to get an AA seal of approval. The AA were asked " what do you know about refining petrol, answer"nothing" ! Guess who got in on the additive game ? Guess what tank the additives go in when being delivered to the oil terminals,one big communal tank. Hope it's all a bit clearer now ! I would prefer that Supermarkets would sell food only, that everything would close on a Sunday !!!

[The vast minority]

no, I purchase premium fuel. supermarket fuel is of a less quality. anyone in the industry will tell you the obvious. only people that are stubborn and want to save pennies will use supermarket stuff. I would never put it in my cars. the damage it causes will cost you in the long run.

the elite motoring sports have advertisement at the shows, formula one events and so on for Shell, Esso, BP and Texaco. do you see Tesco's banners anywhere advertising fuel? no of course not.[/quote] A ha it's all a bit of a laugh. Why don't Tesco's,supermarkets etc have ads at, elite ? motoring sports. Who are the elite ???. It's Simply because the supermarkets have the lions share of the market these days. They don't need to advertise. A bit of history. The oil companies/refiners were quick to see the way things were heading when supermarkets started to sell petrol. In the early days,Texaco,Shell,Jet etc,did deals with the supermarkets,and,delivered the fuel to them with their own fleet of Tankers. Supermarket sales took off big time. I remember, in the early days,putting four tanker loads in to one supermarket's garage in one day !An average, branded petrol forecourt (if it was a busy site ) would take three Tankers a week. A wake up call for the oil companies. As the oil companies were about refining, and not running Tanker fleets,unless they had too ? they offered discounts to the supermarkets,if they collected the petrol themselves. And so,the haulage contractors moved in,and the supermarkets bought their loads even cheaper,hauling it to their own sites. Good business,from the oil company's view. The petrol buying public,wanted cheap petrol,and flocked to the supermarkets big time. The oil companies let the supermarkets collect,with their own fleets. As a Tanker driver in those early days, I got the impression the Oil companies didn't really know what they had themselves in for.Every oil companies had their own loading terminal,but as the supermarkets sales increased,you would find Terminals closing,and three, if not four, company's operating one Terminal,sharing the operating costs.And so, the fight back began ! You all talk of additives. Well, additives started as a marketing campaign,to make you believe the big players sold better petrol. It was disastrous for Shell in the beginning,as they claimed your engine would run better,but the additives burnt out engine valves,it was all very embarrassing for them. ESSO, claimed they had the first petrol to get an AA seal of approval. The AA were asked " what do you know about refining petrol, answer"nothing" ! Guess who got in on the additive game ? Guess what tank the additives go in when being delivered to the oil terminals,one big communal tank. Hope it's all a bit clearer now ! I would prefer that Supermarkets would sell food only, that everything would close on a Sunday !!![/quote]

Many thanks for re confirming what you had already done and proving beyond doubt that it is all the same stuff, a point which has been made here several times but some will choose to still contest, perhaps stubbornly ?
One of our companies sells valves for processing the HF acid used in unleaded production and I see first hand exactly what you describe above.
There will always be non-believers, the world is flat after all isn't it? And the clever marketing of this commercial world can certainly convince a lot of people to believe what they want them to believe. As I have already said, I wear out brand new Cars in 2 years doing many many thousands of miles and I put any diesel in that I come across, not because I want to save pennies as I'm driving a free luxury car with free fuel, paid for on a company credit card. no, its because I visit refineries myself and I know what I'm buying. I change tyres more often than many folks fill their cars with fuel and have never had an issue with a fuel because of its brand.
Life is about learning, some however will always choose to know better because they have become conditioned to believe what the marketing professionals want them to believe.

It's the same stuff

[warweezil]

no, I purchase premium fuel. supermarket fuel is of a less quality. anyone in the industry will tell you the obvious. only people that are stubborn and want to save pennies will use supermarket stuff. I would never put it in my cars. the damage it causes will cost you in the long run.

the elite motoring sports have advertisement at the shows, formula one events and so on for Shell, Esso, BP and Texaco. do you see Tesco's banners anywhere advertising fuel? no of course not.

You are of course welcome to your beliefs they seem to be rather blinkered.

Tesco sponsor http://www.btcc.net/team/mg-kx-clubcard-fuel-save/, and have done for a couple of years, Of course you wont see Tesco et al advertising at F1 events, F1 is so far up its own tailpipe it isn't a suitable platform for marketing a UK supermarket filling station chain - Its pitched at a Moneyed international audience and the costs of such advertising is such that it is only worthwhile to global megacorps pitching to a global market.

Damage, well in the litigious society in which we live any company selling fuel that caused damage because of poor quality would soon find themselves locked in a huge court battle, add to that the fact that Legal standards for fuel require a certain level of quality in the product, partly due to the fact that poor quality fuel causes emissions issues and that is something carefully monitored. I ran my last Peugeot Diesel on supermarket fuel only for 60,000 very hard miles - no issues, My partners last car a Clio 1.2 similarly no issues. the Fuel locally comes from the exact same place (Valero) as the only "branded" station locally (Gulf), it may be a slightly different blend with maybe more detergents etc in it but its isn't that much different in composition at the end of the day. The same refinery also supplies a nearby Texaco Filling station, which used to be a BP but well the origin of the fuel didn't change.. its all Valero - formerly Chevon - Formerly Texaco - Formerly Regent. A different blend maybe but its all from the same refinery, refined in the same plant. I might add that at work we have a 6 ton Canter recovery truck and a 19 tonne Volvo flatbed which between them have run hundreds of thousands of miles usually on Supermarket Fuel (our local Asda actually has a high speed HGV Pump) with no issues, in fact beyond servicing the only mechanical attention the trucks have required in 3 years was a new clutch to replace what looked like the original in the Canter just before Xmas. 400,000 km on that engine and you'd swear it could pull the side out of a house - even on Supermarket fuel

Similarly the contraction of engineering in cars has led to a situation were many fewer types of engine are built now, for example the engine in a Nissan is likely to be identical to the one in a Renault (different plastics maybe), they are built to sold across a wide variation of territories and as such a wide variety of fuel qualities, the horrendous quality you imagine supermarket fuel to have is far superior to that of many countries where these same cars are sold unmodified - without the engines exploding due to the properly poor fuel available there.

Hey pay through the nose if you are happy to, but please don't try to distort facts with unsupported assertions about damage to engines, or irrelevancies about why a (mostly) domestic company doesn't advertise in an international arena, and speaking as a former (life long) fan F1 is losing its relevance (and audience) anyhow, audience figures are something advertisers know about and F1's are down. Tesco have their foot in the door with a leading British Championship, the Clubcard fuelsave is about fuel marketing and is done to its target audience - the UK audience.

[Theo_NL]

When my daily car (Toyota Avensis) is in for regular maintenance the cardealer always is trying to sell additional stuff. Always tell me the windscreen wipers should be replaced (I can do myself), and last time they came with something new: to put a cleaner thru the fuel system. When I told him that I always use Shell or (occasionally another premium brand) he immediately confirmed it was not necessary. Normally they really push you to make some extra money, but not in this case..