April 25, 2006
Where is Gas Slightly Less Expensive?
Full disclosure: I am among the privileged people who have given up la auto vita, so for me, rising gas prices are mainly an excuse to cluck and talk about the days when I could fill my old Civic for under ten bucks, like an old man going on about nickel candy. I realize, however, that many people are in a powerful bind over pump prices, like those who 0% financed themselves into an Excursion, but also including the poor woman featured in today's Post, who pays for five dollars worth of gas only to watch the pump cut off after giving her enough juice to roll down the hill to the next station. Seriously, I'm trying to empathize here.
But if we can't feel your pain, exactly, then we can try to alleviate it, as a source dear to our hearts guides us to some online tools for reducing, however slightly, the price you pay to fill up. The good folks at MSN have put together this page for drivers, which allows you to search for the cheapest and most expensive per gallon prices in your zip code and includes a map feature for the results. Washingtondcgasprices.com provides a more comprehensive look at the Metro area, but requires you to register and log-in if you want to see station details or maps. The latter site also includes links to gas price news stories and general information on the state of our national petroleum plight.
Locally, it's clear that the far flung Virginia suburbs are the source of the best deals, apart from the Army and Navy Exchanges in Nearlington, while Marylanders appear to get the shortest end of the stick. The most expensive station currently found in the Metro area resides on Rockville Pike in White Flint -- a grinchy old Exxon wringing out $3.25 for a gallon of regular. The cheapest gas in the District can be found in Northeast, at a Shell station on New Hampshire Avenue near its intersection with Missouri Avenue. There, the regular goes for $2.90 a gallon, while the average for D.C. sits right at $3.00.
Both of these sites update frequently (the former once a day, the latter as readers submit tips), so we'll be interested to see how they tick up and down as summer approaches. Check them out, and let us know if they miss any big deals.
Picture taken by Bsivad
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apart from the Army and Navy Exchanges in Nearlington
I've always been unclear on this point -- can anyone use those stations, or do you have to be affiliated with the armed services? I've heard both answers from different people, so even though I live about a mile from this clearly economically advantageous station, I never use it. Anyone know the real deal here?
There is also a handy widget for all you Mac OS 10.4 users that uses data supplied from another gas price website. Personally, I try to fill up at the Chevron at Seven Corners. It's cheaper than in the District (where I live) and Tysons (where I work) and isn't part of the evil Mobil/Exxon family (do they really need multiple locations at the same intersection, how is that even legal? Didn't they have to divest some of their stations.) Plus Chevron's fuel burns cleaner than other no-name fuels.
I believe you can use the Navy Exchange station which is accessible to the public, off Columbia Pike. I'm not sure about the Army Exchange, which is on the grounds of Fort Myer.
Nice photograph of a Nash Rambler.
Remember, if you're a member of Costco/Price CLub, many of them have member-only gas stations, for instance the one on Rte 1 in Beltsville. Prices per gallon are about 10 to 15 cents cheaper than most other stations. Not sure if they take credit cards tho, and be prepared for a sizeable line.
I'm a member but don't live that close. I tend to fill up at an independent station in Kensington. Non-chain stations tend to have cheaper gas but the quality is the same as Exxon et al. ALL gas has to pass basic testing.
As for the military exchange gas stations....
It used to be that anyone could go use the pumps as long as they paid at the pump. Now if you use a credit card that is not previously recognized by AAFES (Army/Air Force) or the NEX (Navy), the LCD display on the pump will tell you to go inside to see the cashier. My check card was issued by Navy Federal CU and works fine, but if I use another card, it will tell me to go inside. To use the exchange, you must be one of the following:
1)Active duty or reservist
2)A retiree
3)Dependent of an AD or retiree
4)A DOD civilian employee
This does not include contractors, like myself, who do have a DOD ID card, but are not a DOD employee. The NEX employees in Arlington are paying closer attention to what it says on your ID card. I admit, previously I would get aways with getting gas at the Pentagon Citgo or occasionally going out to Ft. Belvoir for tax-free groceries, and nobody looked that close at my ID card and noticed that I am a contractor. As gas gets more expensive, this faux-pas has gone away, probably for good.
Chevron is hardly innocent in comparison to ExxonMobil. Google "ChevronTexaco watchdog" and you'll find plenty to ponder.
Exxons can be across the street from Mobils, for just one reason, because they aren't necessarily owned by ExxonMobil itself. A lot o these stations are franchised out to regular guys in your community who lease the brand.
Chevron's gasoline burns no cleaner than any other major gasoline supplier. Nor does Shell's, for that matter, despite their marketing schemes. About 95% of all gasoline sold at retail meets the same clean-burning standard (federal standards). To burn cleaner, you'd have to add more oxygenates to the gasoline, which is a major cost to suppliers (which then gets passed on to you).
Another note: Just because you're buying gasoline from an Exxon retail station doesn't mean you're necessarily getting Exxon-produced gasoline. Much of the nation's gasoline supply travels through the same pipeline system (from the Gulf Coast) and it all intermingles along the way. So, you could be buying gasoline at a Chevron retail station, but you could actually be buying gasoline produced by BP.
Sinclair that is correct. Most people do not know that different brands of regular gasoline have about the same difference as Duff, Duff Light and Duff Dry. Note that this does not hold for premiums.
Well, DCist didn't help at all... Ryan is saying I can use the Navy Exchange station near my home in Pentagon City, Dino is saying I can't. Anyone else want to weigh in? :-)
Don't listen to me. Dino sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
There have been a lot of great classic car pictures on DCist recently. I especially liked that toy camera one from yesterday.
Maybe if the church double-parkers actually drove really sweet classic cars people wouldn't be as angry.
Sinclair -- Chevron is HARDLY innocent. However, they do have a strong environmental track record Their gas is also the cleanest burning. My car is a PZEV (which is almost as low as you can get without being electric, even hybrids have more emissions than my car, although they use less gas) but it's still something I think about. And Chevron continues to offer domestic partner benefits to their employees. Of course, they are headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, so they almost have to. Exxon/Mobil is the only publicly traded company to ever have rescinded their domestic partner benefits.
As for Exxon and Mobil stations near each other. Admittedly the stations may be independent, but in other states divestiture laws on oil company mergers still affect the stations. I guess I shouldn't have figured Virginia would prevent two stations from marketing the same fuel next to each other. They certainly aren't the most pro-consumer state in the union.
washington cube, are you sure it isn't a metropolitan?
DC1974: I guess it is a bit of splitting hairs when discussing who's the more-innocent oil company. That's like a: "Who's worse, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera?" debate.
And you're right, divestiture laws do require oil companies to sell off stations to obtain merger approval. But that's just selling off actual ownership of the station. A divested station can still legally be branded Exxon, even if Exxon was required to sell it off. It all depends on what the new owner wants to do.
Still not sure where you're getting that Chevron has the cleanest gasoline, though. There are a few oil companies that reached an agreement last year with automakers (BMS, GM, Ford and some others) to add more detergent to their gasoline, and Chevron might be among them, but they certainly aren't the only ones (BP does it, too). So, I guess I'm asking for some proof on that.
Here's a link to Chevron's announcement in 2004 about the so-called "Top Tier" detergency standards http://www.chevron.com/news/press/2004/2004-06-17.asp, which does explain what they are doing with their gasoline.... but only at Chevron stations actually owned by Chevron Corp., not at franchises that essentially just lease the Chevron name.
Cleanliness of gasoline is definitely something to think about driving a PZEV, so I understand your interest. Some automakers with PZEVs are even now advocating certain brands of gasoline due to this deterency issue - right on the inside of the gas cap. Whoever makes your car might even have recommendations, or might have entered into a partnership to match up vehicle-system cleanliness with fuel cleanliness. Though, again, there's no guarantee that fuel bought at a Chevron station was produced by Chevron... particularly if you're buying fuel on the East Coast, where Chevron doesn't have a single refinery.
Ryan I wouldn't be too smug about not being affected by high gas prices. Sure you don't have to fill a gas tank, but high gas prices affect the prices of just about everything you buy and have an inhibiting effect on the overall economy.
I certainly also remember filling my 86 Camry for 15 bucks and change, but it's easy to forget that in those days (mid-nineties) gasoline prices were at crazy historic lows when adjusted for inflation.
Finally, I don't see it as anti-consumer for two sellers to sell the exact same product right next to one and other. It's way more likely to lead to lower prices than if the sellers were selling different products. Now you could argue that all gasoline is pretty fungible, so whether it's another Mobil or instead a BP, the effect on price will probably be the same. But that only leads you to conclude that it doesn't matter to the consumer either way. Therefore in my mind, the only anti-consumer thing a state could do is to limit the placement of a second gas station in the first place. Who cares what brand it is (just so long as there's no collusion between the owners).
I most certainly will continue to be smug.
That's fine; just don't be TOO smug.
This is about as smug as I get.
Reid: I agree with you to an extent on two companies selling the same product right across the street from each other.
But, an Exxon selling gasoline across the street from a Mobil could be viewed as anti-competitive - if both are actually owned by ExxonMobil. In that instance, it's market saturation by one supplier, and does nothing for competition and lower prices (depending, of course, on how many other suppliers are in the area).
It's like a coffee shop that suddenly gets surrounded on each corner by Starbucks shops owned and operated by the parent company. It's anti-competitive and monopolistic.
Jay-- Yes, the Navy Exchange has restrictions on who can use the pumps there, previously enforced via the honor system. Of course I'm sure that's changed in recent months. Also, I'm not sure if DoD civilians are actually authorized to use the pumps, unless they're driving a DoD car or something. But again, I don't think anyone actually checks.
Agreed on the gasoline example. But in such cases, collusion can be inferred by the single ownership. As I said, more choices is good, so long as there's no collusion between all sellers.
I don't necessarily buy your coffee example though. That is only maybe unfair to the coffee seller, not coffee buyer. And why would two starbucks opening be anti-competitive? What if it were just one with the capacity of two? I don't see how that would be anti-consumer. Even if it resulted in the original coffee shop closing. Maybe people just like Starbucks better (only god knows why). If it takes one starbucks to sink it or two, it's still only going to sink because people start choosing Starbucks instead of the original one.
The XtraMart on US-1 in College Park had gas for $2.93 on Saturday. It seems that they lower their prices on the weekend, so I usually trek up there for a fill-up every 2 weeks.
Here's that GAS widget DC1974 mentioned.
http://www.interdimensionmedia.com/widgetframe.html#gas
When I try to open the MSN Page I get a "Feature Unavailable This feature of MSN Autos is not available on this Web browser." when using Firefox or Safari on OSX. Am I alone on this?