InTheWASide

A year and a half ago I lived in Long Beach CA (Between Los Angeles and Huntington Beach) and I was there for about 4 years. No matter where I looked Chevron was ALWAYS THE MOST EXPENSIVE GAS. Texaco was usually in the middle of the stack. As always Arco was the cheapest followed by the random little ones...

Fast forward to the last year and a half where I've lived here in Everett, WA (30 miles north of Seattle) I've noticed that Chevron is toward the lower end of the spectrum, 76 and Texaco are always THE MOST EXPENSIVE (and by A LOT) and as always Arco is the cheapest.

Now I would maybe chalk this all up to the amount of travelling this gas does to get to CA and to get to WA... I dunno. It wouldn't really phase me all that much. Except...

I have a Chevron Credit Card. Nothing too odd about that, but when Chevron bought Texaco and they merged, I could start using my card at both gas stations. I continue to use Chevron because I feel the additives in the "Techron" benefit my car. Also, Texaco, which is literally across the street from the Chevron I live 1/4 mile from is on average 20-25 cents HIGHER than Chevron. So I DEFINITELY go to Chevron.

So what's the point of this post? Here we go...

Not too long ago Texaco dropped their additive "Clean System 3" and adopted Techron as their fuel additive... So we have Chevron and Texaco, both owned by the same company, with the same additive in the fuel, directly across the street from each other IN THE SAME ZIPCODE and the prices are off by more than 20 cents!

My question is... WHY?

Neither one is particularly new, easier to get to, or anything of the sort. Both, in another part of the west coast switch places for where their prices rank compared to the competition, neither one has a car wash or lube center or mechanic shop attached to it...

What's going on?

If it's corporate, why would they skew the prices for what I see as being the IDENTICAL PRODUCT for so much.

If they're all owned and ran independently how can it possibly be good for competition to have one appear to be a ripoff?

The info regarding Chevron owning Texaco and about Texaco adding Techron has been covered in a huge marketing effort on TV and radio, so it's not like I have insider information...

Anyone able to provide insight?

I'd appreciate it!

InTheWASide

bump

komik

In the past few years, there has been a lot of restructuring amongst Shell, Texaco, and Chevron. As recently as 2004, Shell still remained foremost in control of Texaco. Numerous stores were converted / renamed while others were not. Some locations, though they sell one of the name brands of gasoline, remain independently owned and operated. Therefore their prices may be higher than that of their corporate owned brothers.