Costco Gas

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I live in the upstate of South Carolina and the local Costco has plastered signs in the store and at the gas pumps about how their fuel has 5 times the minimal EPA detergents. They claim it has Kirkland fuel additives. I wanted to know what the forum members thought. How would this Costco gas match up against a top tier station?
 
Search the forum next time; been discussed plenty. General consensus is its totally fine gas to use in any car. I wouldn't call it any better and I certainly wouldn't call it any worse then any other fuel out there, Top Tier or not.
 
I seek out costco for gas and have used it almost exclusively for three years in two cars. Costco does almost everything right, so why not gas.
 
We just got Costco gas in Regina ,Canada, I am happy so far,I ask the attendant at the pump were Costco get the gas from and he said is from Esso?.....so I hope t is good gas.....
 
Here on Long Island a couple years ago I tried BJ's regular in a Ford Escort I had that used to never ping. It ran terrible and pinged only for that one tank of BJ's gas. Never tried it again.
 
I've been using Costco regularly for at least two years now. Two cars use strictly premium, and the others get regular. No problems at all.
 
Regardless of the "detergent" content, Costco has not been certified as a "top tier" gasoline. I am only stating a fact, not making a value judgement about Costco gas.

When I was a Costco member I never bought gas there for one simple reason. The pumps at my local Costco allowed driving through in one direction only and they employed a "pump nazi" to make sure no one drove in the "wrong" direction. I had my Honda at the time. More cars have the fuel filler on the driver's side than on the passenger's side so one side of of the pump islands would have lines while the other side had plenty of open spots.

This is not the 70's gas crisis so I refuse to wait in line to buy gas. 'Nuff said.
 
Costco's pump in So Cal have very long hose so that it can be used for either side, so that every line is about the same.

Yes, Costco allows driving through in one direction only at every location.
 
And, of course, it has been brought up that "Costco has not been certified as a "top tier" gasoline."

Why would a warehouse club whose mission is to bring quality goods and services at the lowest possible cost want to assume the additional overhead (costs involved in obtaining and maintaining the blessed "Top Tier" certification) for external validation?

They add 5x EPA minimum detergency and make that well known to their consumers. Nice way of getting an above average product at a decent price. Most people who belong to a warehouse club want and expect value.

Every time I go to my local Costco, the lot is full and the pumps are seeing some serious action. Those who need the external validation of "Top Tier" can go down the street to the Shell station and pay the $.15/gal premium that that validation carries in my area (when you can find those purveyors who participate.)
 
The Costco here does not sell much below the competitive average. I cannot comment about any costs associated with attaining "top tier" certification. Why do you assume that the cost would be so significant that it would impact the selling price? Do you have inside information, or are you just making an uninformed statement?

I guess I am weird. I won't go out of my way, or wait in line to save a few pennies on gas. That is one of the reasons I drive a car with good fuel economy. I don't even have to think about things like that.

Yes, the manager of my local Costco mentioned the long hoses on the pumps. It required way too much effort for me to get the hose to my fuel filler without dragging it over the trunk and scratching the paint. Therefore, I wrote off Costco as a gas station for me.
 
Originally Posted By: The_Captain
I live in the upstate of South Carolina and the local Costco has plastered signs in the store and at the gas pumps about how their fuel has 5 times the minimal EPA detergents. They claim it has Kirkland fuel additives. I wanted to know what the forum members thought. How would this Costco gas match up against a top tier station?


Captain,

Over here in California our local Costco says nothing like that! It seems the fuel you guys get out there is not from the same source.

Durango
 
Same problem with one way traffic at BJs, 99% of cars have tank filler neck on left side and the long hoses, well they just don't cut it thus the lines at times.

Been using their gas almost exclusively for a couple of years now, regular and premium with no issues. Usually 10-20cents/gal less than majors and slighlty less than the Sheetz and Wawa stores
 
@ Durango

You are right. We have several fuel distribution depots in the area. I have a buddy that works at one. He said the tankers are filled up and depending on which branded station they are delivering to they add the appropriate detergent additive. I have no idea which depot our Costco uses I just hope their signs about having 5 times the EPA minimum detergent are true. I got gas there a few days ago for $2.84 it has went up to $2.91. Their prices are always 5 to 15 cents cheaper.
 
Originally Posted By: Durango
Originally Posted By: The_Captain
I live in the upstate of South Carolina and the local Costco has plastered signs in the store and at the gas pumps about how their fuel has 5 times the minimal EPA detergents. They claim it has Kirkland fuel additives. I wanted to know what the forum members thought. How would this Costco gas match up against a top tier station?


Captain,

Over here in California our local Costco says nothing like that! It seems the fuel you guys get out there is not from the same source.

Durango



They may have changed their plans but I believe I remember Costco stating when they rolled out their new detergency standard that California would be the final state to receive the additive package.
 
Well, Costco is a reasonably big operator. The nature of things pretty much requires that they at least be the equivalent of the worst high volume brand name gas out there, which is probably not too bad. Since they kind of position themselves as offering luxury on the cheap for their other products, I wouldn't be surprised if they go beyond that, if the market demonstrates it values extra high detergent gas.

I've actually toured a refinery that supplied Chevron and a large regional gas station chain. The only difference was the tank that dumped the detergents into the Chevron as the trucks left the refinery. There is no difference in price between the regional and Chevron--the customer who thinks its all the same just gets short-changed. I haven't stopped at the regional since.

The absolute worst are the diesel stations along the interstate. In my area, its common for transmix--the slug of liquids between an order of gas and an order of diesel along the interstate pipeline that is both--to be captured naptha added and then sold as diesel instead of being rerefined. If I owned a diesel I would be highly paranoid about fuel quality.

On the gas side, the ones I worry about are the complete no-name low buck guys with one or two outlets. There was a time when I would automatically go to whoever had the cheapest gas by two cents and not think about it. No more.
 
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
And, of course, it has been brought up that "Costco has not been certified as a "top tier" gasoline."

Why would a warehouse club whose mission is to bring quality goods and services at the lowest possible cost want to assume the additional overhead (costs involved in obtaining and maintaining the blessed "Top Tier" certification) for external validation?

They add 5x EPA minimum detergency and make that well known to their consumers. Nice way of getting an above average product at a decent price. Most people who belong to a warehouse club want and expect value.

Every time I go to my local Costco, the lot is full and the pumps are seeing some serious action. Those who need the external validation of "Top Tier" can go down the street to the Shell station and pay the $.15/gal premium that that validation carries in my area (when you can find those purveyors who participate.)


This

But note that not all Costco gas stations sell the gas with 5 times detergent. So go to their website to check.

I have a Costco near me that is always the cheapest and if you go at the right time you can avoid queues. But it's not 5 times the detergent level.

I would theorize that they are using a major operators detergents and hence the regional variability in availability.
 
I usually get my gas at Costco because their premium gas is always around the same price as the midgrade gas and about 10 to 15 cents less than the premium gas compared to other stations (Except for Sam's. Their prices are usually about the same as Costco's). However, their regular gas is usually no cheaper than the surrounding gas stations. FWIW, I've also noticed the signs bragging about their gas additives. I think they put them up some time last year.
 
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