2007-07-11

Cheap Gas or Not?

Have you ever wondered whether you should put that 'cheap gas' into your expensive, pride and joy? I know you have. There are the good gas stations with the big name, the shiny building, and the clean floors. Then there are the other places. Not so nice, not so clean, but the gas is noticeably cheaper. Is it the same quality or not? That's the question. I mean, you get what you pay for, right?

I've had this conversation with various people through the years, usually about the time gas hits a new record high in price. I've noticed that motorheads, mechanics and people who are really into their vehicles, NEVER use the cheap gas. They always buy their gas from one of the big companies. People who aren't as obsessive about their cars, or they have an old beater they bang around in, don't seem to care as much and they buy the cheapest gas possible. Yet, both groups are convinced the other ones are crazy and their own method is far superior.

Last night I think I saw what would end this discussion for me... I had to stop and put gas in my bike. There's a Mobile station on my way home I usually use. The quick pay pass key is nice. It's convenient. The price is usually pretty good (not the absolute lowest, but cheaper than some). I'm filling up my bike when a tow truck pulls in to get gas. No biggie. But then I notice it's the Am Pm gas truck. Yea, the one from the Am Pm gas station. The guy is wearing the Am Pm uniform. He's got the Am Pm logo on the side of his truck. Put he doesn't put Am Pm gas in his truck, but Mobile gas. It's a good thing I had my helmet on and he couldn't see me laughing.

For the record, I have NEVER put Am Pm gas in my car. I'm convinced it's some of the worst stuff ever. I've had co-workers who had issues with the gas. I've got friends on motorcycle boards who swear it's caused them problems. I've got mechanic friends that won't even look at Am Pm gas stations. So I stay away. And obviously the Am Pm tow truck operator feels the same way.

That's some thing to ponder next time you need to fill up.

So what gas do you use? Am Pm? Mobile? Something else? What ever is cheapest?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just stumbled across your post about gas and was wondering if perhaps the AMPM truck was getting deisel. They don't sell that at AMPM. I've bought my gas there for years, and never had any trouble with it. I think a lot of people go to Exxon/Mobil because they offer credit cards. Just a thought.

Bill A said...

Hey Patty-Jo,

He wasn't getting diesel. He was on the other side of the pump from me getting good old unleaded.

Maybe he was just low on gas and had to make a stop - I don't know. But he didn't make a strong argument for me to go to Am Pm. I'm glad you've had good luck at Am Pm. I'll stick with Mobil and 76.

Anonymous said...

Do you know if there's any evidence of AMPM gas really being bad for your car? My boyfriend refuses to believe any of it because there's no real proof of the gas actually hurting a car. All he keeps hearing is people's opinions and that's not good enough for him.

Bill A said...

Kay,
Do a google search on "Top Tier Gas". Arco is not a top tier gas supplier - which basically means they don't put in some of the additives that other companies do.

Also check out this
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080216140248AAeNysu

I hope that helps.

David Hall said...

Well Arco is just the name they use on the West Coast, at least till the end of 2010. By then all Arco AMPM and BP Connects will be BP AMPM. They are merging the two big names, along with there other ones, 76, Amoco, SOHIO, Aral, British Petroleum (Yes British Petroleum is a company BP owns but not what BP stands for) as well as other names. All the stations use the exact same BP Oil no matter what there station name is. BP oil last year had there 93 Ultimate become the first and only gasoline ASE certified. Meaning it is the most trusted gas by mechanics. The 93 is also guaranteed to give you minimum 5HP gain and 5% gas millage gain. And most of the horror stories haven't happened since the early 80's when BP introduced additives to there gas that at that time cleaned your engine but if you had 100% metal gas lines they would rot them if you let the car sit for long periods of time. That problem no longer matters since all gas companies use some sort of additives and cars now use rubber and plastic lines. BP was not the only gas that people had problems they just happened to be the first big company to do it nationally.