Buying Gas

I thought I'd top off my tank at Costco. Now what you've got to know about gasoline is you must buy Top Tier, which Costco gas is. Gas is gas is gas, only it's not. You may be saving pennies at your off-brand locale, but there's a good chance you'll pay for it in the long run. You can do the research, but not only is Top Tier gas guaranteed to meet the octane rating, it has many more detergent additives, which give you a cleaner engine, preventing harm not only to your mill, but your exhaust system, never mind eliminating performance issues like rough idling and acceleration hesitation that are caused by deposits on intake valves and fuel injectors. You can find out if your local station sells Top Tier fuel here: https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/ Scared yet? Probably not. Because price is king in America. Only this has been proven untrue in the airline space, which is one of the reasons Spirit tanked, twice. Turns out people want more than just a guaranteed seat, they want to be able to pick where they sit and not have to be nickel and dimed for everything from beverages to carry-on luggage. Just like the U.S. has seen a huge uplift in the quality of its food, just look at the offerings at the stadium or the arena, people are willing to pay for a modicum of comfort. Then again, the traditional airlines ate Spirit's lunch by offering these same basic fares, that sometimes don't even come with mileage awards. However, now buying an airline ticket is akin to running a gauntlet. There can be five flavors of economy. Yet, I am truly irked by the rise in baggage fees. The end result is people will drag everything on the plane to avoid paying a few extra dollars. Sure, you don't have to wait to claim your bag at the carousel, but isn't the airline experience chaotic enough? Not that people don't like to save money. I do too. But I've got to tell you, I no longer know the value of a dollar, there's been that much inflation. A hamburger with the trimmings can cost twenty bucks at a fast food outlet. I just walk around with my wallet open and allow companies to pick what they want. Actually, I never pay cash. I've got the same hundred dollar bills in my wallet that have been there since 2024. Even valet parking now takes cards. Then again, I went to buy bagels at Western Bagel, right by the factory, I had to walk around a tanker to get in the front door, what exactly was in it was unclear, but they need this stuff to make their bagels which are absolutely substandard. And they only took cash. Everybody's looking to avoid paying taxes. Just if this is the path you take, you've got to know not to leave a paper trail, absolutely do not put the money in the bank. Now I'm not looking to save money at the gas pump. I don't want to get ripped-off, but I'm willing to pay extra for convenience. Then again, my tank is not that big. How many gallons do I buy at a time? Usually ten. And that's premium, my car requires it. And to tell you the truth, it gets terrible mileage, but it's paid for... And another advantage of having an old car is all the attendant costs are lower, like registration and insurance. Generally speaking, I buy gas by location, where I am. It makes no sense to drive ten miles to save a dime because not only is your time eaten up, but so is the gas. As for the price of gas... Yes, it's higher in California than in any other state in the continental U.S. Mostly it's got to do with the formulation, to avoid pollution. Which was drastic back in the fifties and sixties. The L.A. "Times" just did a series on how bad it was, but no one I know gets the paper anymore, so it's like it doesn't even exist. The paper also said how many months of your life you were sacrificing as a result of air pollution. If you live east of L.A., out by San Bernardino way, it might make you want to move. Then again, we keep hearing it's a myth. But the pollution in L.A. can be seen. I couldn't see the Hollywood hills from the 10 freeway back in the seventies, that's a rare event today. And did you see that King Charles talked about the melting ice caps? In a world where electric wind companies are being paid not to build and the Chinese are about to eat our lunch in the automotive sphere... But I'm not going to get into it with you. I've started to detach. Political reporting is now akin to sports. Everybody's got their team and when it comes to the standings, the elections... We've got gerrymandering, voter suppression. And I live in the hellhole known as California. That's another thing the L.A. "Times" reported on, residents' dissatisfaction with the state. But the truth is people were not downbeat until the political/press campaign to point out California's flaws. Believe what you want, but there's nowhere I'd rather live. You may have a lower tax bill if you live in Florida, or Texas, but you've got to live there to get the benefit, and that' s not for me. Imagine heat without humidity. That's California. Never mind the outside lifestyle without the focus on where you went to college and who your parents are... So I was never going to buy Costco gas, if for no other reason than I refused to wait for it. But my local Costco revamped its entire filling station, added numerous pumps, and when I went to the outlet back in January, there was NO LINE! Now one thing you've got to know is Costco only takes Visa. But I've been unable to get their credit card, despite having a credit score of over 800. You can't beat the algorithm, the formula that determines whether you're worthy of a card. But I do have a Visa ATM car, but I sacrifice the rebate, which is actually 5% on gas. I didn't know it was that high. But what is your time worth? So I'm coming from an eye appointment, figuring I'll buy some gallons while I'm there, and what I see is a bumper to bumper parking lot akin to one at a rock concert. I truly believed that the gasoline pumps were closed. Because there were lineups of endless cars in each lane, and none of these lanes were moving. I'm not going to wait to save six bucks. Oh yeah... If you want to buy Top Tier premium gas in Los Angeles, you're paying over six bucks, closer to seven. And when I was through shopping, I went over to look at the pump, that's the only place you can find the price. And a gallon of premium was $5.99. Okay, I just paid $6.59 at the Mobil station on Sepulveda. I've actually paid $6.79 further down Sepulveda, on the other side of the hill. But one thing I will tell you, the more you pay, the better the squeegee, and the towels (which they don't even have at Costco). Cheaper stations' squeegees are better at creating streaks as opposed to cleaning. And if they have paper at all... It ain't too absorbent. So, I bought the aforementioned ten gallons. Now if I'd filled up at Costco, I would have saved six bucks. Now if you asked me just a year or two ago, I'd say six bucks was a lot. But now you may throw food away that costs more. I still have trouble with this, but saving pennies is a full time job. And for some it's sport. You'd be surprised how many wealthy people will blow time to save a minimal number of bucks. Now it's one thing to be extravagant, but it's quite another to nickel and dime. Actually, when you nickel and dime you don't know how bad you look. Split the bill evenly, even if they had alcohol and you did not, it all comes out in the wash, and no one likes a cheapskate. Then again, there are people without enough money. I've been there, I have sympathy. And even I'm astounded at the prices at the grocery store. But it's the same Costco with the same number of pumps there were in January when there was no line. What is going on? The war in Iran, the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices are stratospheric. Now I lived through the gas shortages of '73 and '79. Each time there was a rush to smaller, more fuel efficient automobiles. But people have short memories. So they buy these SUVs and trucks that get poor mileage and then literally pay the price in a gas crisis like this. It's not easy to have sympathy for these people. Do you really need such a large vehicle? And did you really believe that gas prices are not volatile? But no one in America plans for the future. Of course that's an overstatement, but we constantly read how most people have almost no savings. So who are they going to turn to? Well, at first themselves. They need to make better choices. But if they're looking for the government to save them... It's the flip side of what Reagan campaigned on. The public wants the government to help. Needless to say, Trump caused this problem. But his acolytes have drunk the kool-aid, they just parrot what he says. As for the other side, they're worthless. And the media tells us to wait for the elections... Yeah, right. If you believe there's going to be a free and fair election for president in 2026... I'm tuning out. The press has been going on for days about Saturday night's gunman. But no one died, security worked. But wouldn't this engender a discussion of gun control? Not in America! Where mass shootings are de rigueur, they might get coverage the day they occur, but then everybody moves on, if they paid attention in the first place. There's so much b.s. going on, a lot of it irrelevant, a lot of it not. It's a full time job keeping up, but you ultimately realize this isn't about informing you, but making money. Bloviators on cable news, never mind the slanting of mass communication as a result of consolidation and Trump. If Comey, who is an idiot for his sea shell statement, can be prosecuted, what are the odds you're going to cross the line, even come close to it? You're just trying to pay your bills. Hoping you don't lose your job to AI, even though that's just a cover for downsizing. Which is why so many are lining up for gas at Costco. I guess. -- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/ -- Listen to the podcast: -iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp -- http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25 To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25