I’ll admit, I may have been a bit shortsighted. It’s no secret that fuel prices have been on the up-and-up over the past few months, and both of my cars run best on 93 octane. That 87-octane stuff? They aren’t tuned from it from the factory, so I’m not even going to try. However, thanks to regulation, gasoline is generally gasoline. This means that Costco is raking it in right now, and you can take advantage of it so long as you have a membership card.
Admittedly, I don’t have a membership card. I also don’t have a Costco with an attached gas station near me. I have, however, previously accompanied my parents to a Costco fill-up, and noted the lines during on-peak hours. Evidently, you all have too, because the lines struck a chord when Matt mentioned Costco’s fuel sales in The Morning Dump.
Sometimes, if the savings are big enough, queueing is worth it. However, sometimes the savings aren’t really there, or the wait’s too aggravating, or other Costco stuff catches your attention. You’ve all adopted all sorts of strategies, and they all make a great deal of sense depending on the situation.
First up, it’s Phil, who perfectly explained the difference between your stomach and your car’s stomach:
Costco? I will wait half a day in line to get one of their mutated how-the-fuck-did-they-grow-it-so-big rotisserie chickens for $5.00, but I’ll be damned if I wait in their gas lines to save $0.50 a gallon.
I’m not rational.
Hey, a bigger chicken for a low, low price represents some real savings and real cravings. Meanwhile, $0.50 a gallon in say, a 15-gallon tank works out to $7.50 for a functionally comparable product to whatever the service station up the street is selling. Sometimes, it’s just not worth waiting around for those sorts of savings. Perhaps the solution is going during off-peak hours, as LTDScott does:
I work two blocks from a Costco with a gas station and car wash that opens at 6AM. It’s great since it’s pretty empty at that hour and I can quickly drop in before work at 7:30. If I had to wait in line the cost savings wouldn’t be worth it.
Speaking of filling up, GirchyGirchy takes a different approach to refuelling with a focus on avoiding the enshittification that comes with companies being able to stuff color displays in all sorts of places:
I buy my gas pretty much exclusively at a Shell station I pass twice/day. It’s usually the cheapest in that little area and I’m part of their discount program, so I get a whopping $0.05 off/gallon.
But the main reasons I use it are:
1) No ads.
2) The chip reader asks me zero questions.I put my card in, wait for a click, pull it out, hit the 87 button, and gas up in silence. That’s far too rare today. Even when it’s not the cheapest I use it anyway because it’s a luxury I’ll gladly pay for.
Hear, hear! At-the-pump video ads have recently arrived to gas stations near me, and while the new pumps’ nozzles tend to work better, I hate having unwanted audio blasting right next to me, especially during quiet hours. It was nice when stations switched the pumps to ones that no longer required flipping that lever when you were done filling up, but gas station ads are a huge step back.
Elsewhere in the news, you know that Donut battery that is allegedly solid-state? Evidence is mounting that it might not be what it says on the box. Mercedes dove into a report that claims the charging curves and voltage ranges of Donut’s cells seem to match normal lithium batteries, and the evidence provided gives plenty of room to doubt Donut’s claims. As far as lightening the mood goes, credit to James McHenry for laying on a thick glaze of puns:
Donut get taken in by the tasty marketing, it tastes sweet but it’s really empty calories. There isn’t much cruller than being led on by delicious lies and half truths, but under examination there’s just too many holes.
I’m sorry. And also hungry.
Meanwhile, Porsche and Pixar teamed up for a trio of one-off 911s, each themed after a different “Toy Story” character. A GT3 RS themed after Buzz Lightyear, a Targa 4 GTS themed after Jessie, and a Carrera T themed after Woody. They look pretty nifty, although a competitive gathering of the trio may result in some unintentional innuendo, as Sid Bridge wrote:
Just don’t race them unless you brief whoever is calling it not to accidentally say “And he’s coming up behind Jessie with the Woody.”
Badum-tss. Anyway, that’s all for me tonight, hope you’re all having a wonderful Wednesday.
Top graphic image: 20th Century Fox
Every time I see that picture of Adrian,”What if goth were one of us” plays.
“Meanwhile, $0.50 a gallon in say, a 15-gallon tank works out to $7.50”
That’s a chicken and a half. Nothing to sneeze at.
There was a time when I was a little kid and I measured the cost of things by how many Zebco rod and reel combos I could buy for the cost.
Here’s the thing though: $7.50 savings for a tank of gas is pure Opportunity Cost. If you make $30 per hour at your job, that’s 15 minutes of your time, which translates to a 3-4 car-deep line.
The rotisserie chicken, however? Can you get a similar chicken, for a similar (or even a higher) price elsewhere?
It used to be that the 2nd button down on the right would mute these, but that’s been hit or miss the past couple years. I still try every time juuuust in case. I’ve also seen where people have taped over the speakers haha. Not sure if those are used for any other purpose; maybe something ADA related if I had to stretch for another idea. But if you’re that visually impaired, I hope you’re not driving…
Ha, literally came here to post about the 2nd right button on the pump screen, but I too have had mixed success lately.