Gas Prices
06-23-17, 06:39 PM
#17
Racer
Thread Starter
Smaller city just outside the "big" city and there is always a local war going. Big retailers trying to put the independents out of business. They should give up as it's been going on for years.
06-23-17, 10:22 PM
#18
Lexus Test Driver
Still over $3 per gallon here in L.A. Insane politicians trying to save the world, but killing the working family.
06-24-17, 04:44 AM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
to your point it's not the politicians because look at your gas tax. and the retailer claims he's not making any money and has to resort to selling milk and convenience items to survive. Someone is making money, though....in our area WAWA is going up like hotcakes, as in FLA, etc. That wouldn't happen if the profits were not there
06-24-17, 06:03 AM
#20
Lexus Champion
I've worked in NJ for years, and never realized that where I live has the highest gas tax in the nation? Only until all the publicity in NJ last fall did I find out, when NJ went from the 2nd cheapest, to the 7th most expensive, due to a 23 cent hike. It's completely a manipulated market, because same thing happened. Even though more cars require premium today, one saw regular go up the full 23 cents, but premium less than 23 cents. I guess there is some elasticity. But CA is in its own world (your gas tax is 1.2 cents higher than FLA, which has cheap gas). Anyway when I bought the LS in Oct. premium was $1.889, today I pay $2.429 at the warehouse clubs (would be much higher elsewhere)...54 cents more per gallon is not cheap imho....it's almost 30% higher
to your point it's not the politicians because look at your gas tax. and the retailer claims he's not making any money and has to resort to selling milk and convenience items to survive. Someone is making money, though....in our area WAWA is going up like hotcakes, as in FLA, etc. That wouldn't happen if the profits were not there
to your point it's not the politicians because look at your gas tax. and the retailer claims he's not making any money and has to resort to selling milk and convenience items to survive. Someone is making money, though....in our area WAWA is going up like hotcakes, as in FLA, etc. That wouldn't happen if the profits were not there
drivers complain about the high cost of gas even when oil is plummeting in prices, in reality it's driven up by increased taxes. The state see opportunity to balance and raise taxes as oil prices fall and capitalize on the opportunity. The spread from regular to premium used to be 30 cents years ago. It creeped up to 40, and now around 60 cents. All while oil prices went from 110/ barrel to 42 currently
06-24-17, 10:57 AM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
gas station owners aren't making any money. I have a friend that owns one. The markup on gas barely breakeven for the upkeep of the pumps and wages. Where he makes money is the soda, sandwiches, candy, beer, cigarettes, snacks... that's why wawa is always on commercials promoting their sandwiches and coffee drinks, you would never hear them advertising their inferior gas...although cheap to attract motorists
Make the transaction at the gas station what it's supposed to be....filling up the gas tank, not one's stomach.
06-24-17, 11:13 AM
#22
Lexus Fanatic
I've worked in NJ for years, and never realized that where I live has the highest gas tax in the nation? Only until all the publicity in NJ last fall did I find out, when NJ went from the 2nd cheapest, to the 7th most expensive, due to a 23 cent hike. It's completely a manipulated market, because same thing happened. Even though more cars require premium today, one saw regular go up the full 23 cents, but premium less than 23 cents. I guess there is some elasticity. But CA is in its own world (your gas tax is 1.2 cents higher than FLA, which has cheap gas). Anyway when I bought the LS in Oct. premium was $1.889, today I pay $2.429 at the warehouse clubs (would be much higher elsewhere)...54 cents more per gallon is not cheap imho....it's almost 30% higher
to your point it's not the politicians because look at your gas tax. and the retailer claims he's not making any money and has to resort to selling milk and convenience items to survive. Someone is making money, though....in our area WAWA is going up like hotcakes, as in FLA, etc. That wouldn't happen if the profits were not there
to your point it's not the politicians because look at your gas tax. and the retailer claims he's not making any money and has to resort to selling milk and convenience items to survive. Someone is making money, though....in our area WAWA is going up like hotcakes, as in FLA, etc. That wouldn't happen if the profits were not there
New Jersey also has expensive gas because, from what I understand, the state does not allow self-serve stations (the only one of 50 that doesn't)....you have to cover the salary of some careless attendant at the pumps who scratches up your paint with the filler-nozzle or lets raw gas spill down the fender because he or she doesn't know how to remove it properly.
06-24-17, 11:16 AM
#23
lol mike, you posted about jersey while I was typing this.
06-24-17, 12:36 PM
#24
Lexus Champion
dont forget majority drivers use credit cards. That eat up average 2% of the sale price
Last edited by ssmoked; 06-24-17 at 12:41 PM.
06-24-17, 02:01 PM
#25
Lexus Fanatic
then the cost of gasoline would have to be priced higher. The fact is gasoline margins are very low and at times they actually loose money on every gallon. 3 cents a gallon is very high, a penny is normal margin . It is why most gas stations are C-stores. The exception to these margins may be New Jersey, because they have to have full service only. Costco, and sams club cover cost by lack of overhead, and to bring you in to shop at the store.
Ssmoked mentioned the issue of impatience/convienence and laziness...he's probably right, which is typical of an instant-gratification society.
One thing in my area (D.C. suburbs) that helps.....Giant Food (supermarkets) gives you a $0.10 a gallon discount at Shell stations for every 100 points accumulated on your grocery bonus-card (usually 1 point for each dollar spent). So, even more reason to get your food from the grocery. And Shell gas is good stuff......Shell and Chevron generally have the best detergent-additives.
lol mike, you posted about jersey while I was typing this.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-24-17 at 02:08 PM.
06-25-17, 10:26 PM
#26
U.S. national average is right around $2.26 per gallon. http://gasprices.aaa.com
Our forecasting/macroeconomics team expects this to stay under $3 for the next 3-5 years.
Our forecasting/macroeconomics team expects this to stay under $3 for the next 3-5 years.
06-25-17, 10:34 PM
#27
Regular is around $2.00 a gallon in Nashville, give or take 5 cents depending on the day. Premium gas is ridiculous though, $2.70-2.80 a gallon if you get the good stuff from shell, BP, or another top tier brand. Discount places like Thortons, Mapco, etc isn't much cheaper, maybe $2.60 to $2.70, usually they're 10 to 15 cents cheaper than name brand gas. Pisses me off, Premium, not too many years ago was about .30 cents more, regardless of the cost of regular, now days premium is almost 1/3rd more than regular for no damn reason IMO.
06-25-17, 11:16 PM
#28
Can't wait for California to increase the gas tax at the end of 2017...
The politicians here claim that the gas tax needed to be increased (again) because they need more money to fix roads and potholes. I didn't buy into that. They increased it a few years ago and I don't see any jack$#!t "improvements". They voted on this tax gas increase without letting us Californians vote on it ourselves.
At the same time, they voted on increasing their own salary by 3% because they feel "underpaid".
Not attacking any major political parties right now (I'm an independent), but this is the one and only time I will actually disagree with the democrat politicians here in California.
Yup, combine the increased gas prices on top of stagnant wages, high commuting costs, expensive housing (rent), the electric vehicles that can get away with not paying gas taxes, high costs of living, etc.
In the end, I don't care if I have to pay high taxes for gas, just as long as the roads have ZERO potholes, and the money doesn't get "siphoned" over to other things for misuse. I'm tired of my car car hitting potholes, causing me to pay for new tires, rims, alignment, shocks and struts, wear and tear, and other things inside the car that vibrates (which in the end will make the car wear out faster in the long run). With the high gas taxes, the road better be paved with gold.
The state of California should get a tax audit...
The politicians here claim that the gas tax needed to be increased (again) because they need more money to fix roads and potholes. I didn't buy into that. They increased it a few years ago and I don't see any jack$#!t "improvements". They voted on this tax gas increase without letting us Californians vote on it ourselves.
At the same time, they voted on increasing their own salary by 3% because they feel "underpaid".
Not attacking any major political parties right now (I'm an independent), but this is the one and only time I will actually disagree with the democrat politicians here in California.
Yup, combine the increased gas prices on top of stagnant wages, high commuting costs, expensive housing (rent), the electric vehicles that can get away with not paying gas taxes, high costs of living, etc.
In the end, I don't care if I have to pay high taxes for gas, just as long as the roads have ZERO potholes, and the money doesn't get "siphoned" over to other things for misuse. I'm tired of my car car hitting potholes, causing me to pay for new tires, rims, alignment, shocks and struts, wear and tear, and other things inside the car that vibrates (which in the end will make the car wear out faster in the long run). With the high gas taxes, the road better be paved with gold.
The state of California should get a tax audit...
06-26-17, 10:10 AM
#29
Oregon here is the only other state that bans self-serve. Beautiful summers here, but the people in Portland and Salem (the capitol) are insane, just as insane as the folks in San Francisco.
Grew up in Southern California back when it was a wonderful, gentle place for middle-class families. In a way I'm glad that California does all these crazy things, because (a) it doesn't affect me and (b) it shows other states what NOT to do as the California experiments fail.
Grew up in Southern California back when it was a wonderful, gentle place for middle-class families. In a way I'm glad that California does all these crazy things, because (a) it doesn't affect me and (b) it shows other states what NOT to do as the California experiments fail.
