Euro oil prices

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Trav, if you don't mind, the next time you go in to that store could you take a straight on shot of each brand so we can see all the different brands/weights they carry. Appreciate the pictures and the report.


No problem Johnny.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

Best I recall, when I was stationed in Germany in the late 50s, a quart of oil cost about $3 on the economy, about 40 cents on post.
And that was when they still used DMarks and the rate was 4.2 to $.
A case of snap-top beer delivered was $1.

Gas was very expensive, too, if you were on the road and not near a US station.

Of course, take into consideration that the recommended drain for most of the European cars is about 15,000 miles using synthetics.

 

[engineerscott]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
Part of this is the VAT (Value Added Tax). A fee of say 16% is added everytime something changes hands. So if the components of an oil pass through several layers (refiner, blender, additional belnder, wholsaler, retailer),this tax is imposed many times and the final product can get to be quite expensive.


** Ding ** ** Ding ** ** Ding **

We have a winner! Yes, if you add 18~20% at each "value add" stage in the production process that explains a great deal of the difference in final consumer cost.

And to the person that said there is no substantial difference between U.S. taxes and European taxes ..... wrong. Historically in the U.S. we've been paying around 30% of GDP to government (combined federal, state, county, city, etc.). In most of Europe that number has been closer to 45%, and in the U.K. right now it's moved to just a hare's breath under 50%, a rate which is probably not sustainable. Now, of course in NY you are much closer to European rates of taxation, but not all of us live in NY

 

[Captain_Klink]

the US has a composite price for oil, you pay part of the price at the store, and the rest of the price goes to US military, for a "delivery fee", which is extra, and if you want to find out how much extra, check to see how much of your taxes go to military spending. I would rather pay the German price, because you actually see and pay for the real cost, and taxes go for something useful, like paying for infrastructure, education, etc.

also, this discussion has nothing to do with politics, it's just a simple accounting of where your money is going.

 

[engineerscott]

Germans can only be Germans because Americans are American.

 

[Trav]

There are so many reasons products cost what they cost here.
Gary makes a good point about the actual cost being of production being higher, then of course the VAT.

The German economy is growing and is strong at this time; production in industrials is increasing at a rate not seen since 1956.
Owning homes here and in the U.S. as well as rental properties
tax rates and what services we receive for the money is something i pay close attention to.

A good portion of the money here goes into infrastructure, excellent roads, nicely kept cities, public transportation etc.
There are good and bad points to both systems and this are really no place to discuss as it gets into the political philosophy and how it is implemented in both systems.

Regardless, the high priced oil is of very high quality capable of protecting and keeping a turbo engine clean with 15k km OCI including daily full bore on the autobahns.
Whether such a high spec oil would benefit average American drivers could be debated.