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A friend has informed me that the Edinburgh Costco car park is being dug up to install a petrol station. Does anyone know of one up and running and if so how the fuel prices compare with the local average.
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I usually visit the Edinburgh one about once a month, I could plan to be low on fuel at this time but it would have to be worth it. There is a Sainsburys petrol station a few yards away from Costco.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 21 Apr 17 at 12:54
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It will be the same price as the cheapest supermarket in the area.
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Also my expectation, they certainly won't be giving it away. There is also an ASDA about 1/4 mile away.
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My neighbour is a fan of Costco. His garage is is full of boxes of stuff with brands I have never heard of and stuff he never uses. He says it's really cheap though!
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>> My neighbour is a fan of Costco. His garage is is full of boxes of
>> stuff with brands I have never heard of and stuff he never uses. He says it's really cheap though!
>>
Ours nearest one is a three hour/100 mile round trip so i never bothered with one. But I wonder how much cheaper it is than a supermarket if shop normally, ie not buying 200 toilet rolls at once?
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>>But I wonder how much cheaper it is than a supermarket if shop normally, ie not buying 200 toilet rolls at once?
We have a large larder, sufficient that we can buy things in [reasonable] quantity.
If you then go down to Costco looking for things that you would have bought anyway but that are on offer in bulk, then you can do very well.
If you try to go the other way and go down there to buy something specific, then you may do just as well at the local supermarket.
For some things, barbecue chicken and pizzas for example, they are always good. If, of course, you have a family who like chicken and pizza.
Like all such things, it isn't blindly better than everything else, but approached sensibly then significant money savings are possible.
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> Like all such things, it isn't blindly better than everything else, but approached sensibly then
>> significant money savings are possible.
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Cheers, are the ones in chile the same as the UK?
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I've only used them in the UK and mostly I like them. Painless is a good word.
Shopping here is a different thing to the UK. For example, there is no hope of organising something well enough to enforce a membership approach where sales are concerned.
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For better or worse I use only Shell V-Power petrol (in the TSI Roomster) and diesel (in the Outlander). I just bite the bullet and buy it as cheaply as I can, usually Milton Keynes, on the way through, where it is usually 2p-3p per litre cheaper than Aylesbury.
I wouldn't use Costco fuel if it is effectively random "supermarket" stuff. Illogical maybe.
I suspect it might not be as important for the petrol as the diesel, but GDI/TSI etc engines with direct injection and exhaust recirculation are prone to carbon build up in the inlet tract - I guess that's mostly from unburnt oil (hence they use oil catchers to chuck it back into the crankcase) but every little helps; I also hope it benefits the exhaust ports/valves. As for the diesel...using V Power seems to reduce the frequency of DPF burn-offs by about half, which benefits economy a bit and should, if ash production is proportionate, make the DPF last twice as long.
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OK, a quick survey.
How many of you have had, or know someone who has had supermarket fuel related problems. The Tesco one off duff petrol one excepted.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 21 Apr 17 at 14:05
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How would we know? Certainly TFSI/GDI decokes are common, as are diesel injector problems on common rail engines.
If you remember the BMW Nikasil problems, BMW claimed that was all caused by inferior petrol.
Presumably it all meets standards, but that doesn't mean it's all the same. It's clear though that there is a lot of bullshine - facts and proof are harder to come by.
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>> OK, a quick survey.
All diesel fleet since 1993, something around a quarter million miles altogether. Pretty much all supermarket stuff, mostly Sainsbury.
Not a single hiccup related to fuel/
The first Berlingo needed it's valves re-shimmed at 150k but that's a 'characteristic' of the IDI engine.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 21 Apr 17 at 14:17
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>> How many of you have had, or know someone who has had supermarket fuel related
>> problems.
Not me and not anyone I know. And I never give a crap what fuel I use. The obvious diesel / petrol decision to one side.
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>> >> How many of you have had, or know someone who has had supermarket fuel
>> related
>> >> problems.
Funnily enough, I have had a fuel problem, earlier this year. It was a 100% fill of bad fuel issue, running roughly, very poor starting, Ok before the fill, and Ok again after a new batch.
The bad fuel was from a Shell station.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 21 Apr 17 at 15:13
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People rave about Costco tyre prices. No idea why, I can get better choice of makes, cheaper at Kwikfit.
Mind they dont do fantastic hot dogs. And Costco rotisserie Chickens are to die for (and I dont mean salmonella)
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>> People rave about Costco tyre prices. No idea why, I can get better choice of
>> makes, cheaper at Kwikfit.
I find the tyres work out cheap there when they have an offer i.e. buy 4 get £50 off but as you say, not always the good deal people say they are. I got 4 new tyres there in November 16" 205/55 Michelin Energy savers for £194 fitted - the same today is showing as £274
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>> I got 4 new tyres there in November 16" 205/55 Michelin Energy savers
>> for £194 fitted - the same today is showing as £274
>>
I don't know if it's still the case, but that used to be the most popular size and we have it on our Golf and the fronts on my Merc. Bearing in mind fitting would be £32 that makes the tyres about 40 quid each. I can't recall them ever seeing them in that area, even when they used to discount 20% from time to time. Recently the offers on 16" diameter tyres have been minimal.
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>> Bearing in mind fitting would be £32 that makes the tyres about 40 quid each.
>> I can't recall them ever seeing them in that area, even when they used to
>> discount 20% from time to time. Recently the offers on 16" diameter tyres have been
>> minimal.
I just looked back at the email when I ordered them. Tyres were £55.18 + £8.40 fitting inc VAT. The promotion at the time was buy 4 get £50 ex VAT off so £194.32 total. I remember at the time thinking that's as cheap as budget tyres
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Michelin Primacy 3 225/55R18 are currently £128 on mytyres, plus fitting. I bought four from Costco last year when the offer was on (£50 voucher) for £450 fitted, £400 net when I'd spent the voucher on stuff I would have bought anyway. And they had to be ordered in. So I thought that was a good deal.
The offers used to better (20% off four) but I think the base prices were higher - the problem was everybody waited for the offer and the waiting time could be hours in the last week.
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>> Ok before the fill, and Ok again after a new batch.
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>> The bad fuel was from a Shell station.
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With the amount of fuel being moved around a bad batch occasionally is not surprising. A damaging batch like the one Tesco had is not good for anyone.
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I buy Costco fuel
To answer the question about cost its usually 4-7p a litre cheaper than locally.
I filled up on Wednesday and paid 1.129 for unleaded - IIRC diesel was 1.139
I have to drive within about 1.5 miles on my way to / from work so its not to far out of the way for me, plus we shop in there every few weeks.
Is the membership worth it? I probably save enough in the shop to cover the cost of membership, but the saving on fuel for us across both cars more than covers it. I conservatively estimate we use 50 ltrs of fuel a week between the two cars, so 2600 a year - at an average saving of 5p a ltr that would be £130 a year.....if we bought all our fuel there
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>I have to drive within about 1.5 miles on my way to / from work
So a 50 litre tank, at a 5p per litre saving is £2.50.
But, you're doing an extra 3 miles, which is somewhere between 30p and £1.20.
And it's taking youan extra 6 minutes, which if you value your life at £10 per hour is another £1; at £50 per hour it's £5.
Marginal saving at best.
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>> >I have to drive within about 1.5 miles on my way to / from work
>>
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>> So a 50 litre tank, at a 5p per litre saving is £2.50.
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>> But, you're doing an extra 3 miles, which is somewhere between 30p and £1.20.
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>> And it's taking youan extra 6 minutes, which if you value your life at £10
>> per hour is another £1; at £50 per hour it's £5.
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>> Marginal saving at best.
My cost per mile is a smidge under 10p a mile, and the extra time taken is irrelevant to me as I have to buy fuel somewhere which is off my direct route home so if I did value my time in that way the cost would be fairly even, in fact the Costco option may be more efficient as the forecourt is bigger with no shop, only pay at the pump so usually no wait, just in and out.
If cost wasn't a factor then the motorway services at the next junction might be more time efficient but at £1.34 ltr would cost £11 more.
As you say, the saving is marginal, but on any product where the bulk of the cost is tax then that will be the case
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Do you have to be a Costco member to buy fuel? If so how is it enforced?
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>> Do you have to be a Costco member to buy fuel? If so how is
>> it enforced?
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Yes, its members only. The stations are pay at pump only and you have to scan your membership card first before payment
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>> And it's taking youan extra 6 minutes, which if you value your life at £10
>> per hour
now I know why you are such a miserable git, if you calculate your life like that.
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Maybe it's the Yorkshire genes, but saving £2.50 would give me at least £5 worth of satisfaction as well. I went about 5 miles out of my way last week to save about £1 on fuel, using nearly £1 worth to do it. I had some time in hand, I like driving anyway, and I was well pleased with myself.
I also think it's my duty to give my business to best value vendors. Why encourage overcharging?
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>>I went about 5 miles out of my way last week to save about £1 on fuel
Ewe remind me of the ole woman's *grandfather, he would drive around and around Bexhill O/S trying to find a parking meter with some dosh left on it. When I used to pay 'em a visit in winter (we lived in Hastings) he used to answer the door in his overcoat with a thick scarf tied round his neck owing to the fact he was too, um, frugal to put the heating on. He also had a b&w pensioners TV.
When he went 'upstairs' I had the job of doing what legacylad is doing to his aunts flat, so I called in a house clearance bod to clear the gaff. There was one small sorrowful-looking table that I said to the bod, d'you wanna take this, mate, or shall I bung it on the skip, nah, he said, I don't want it (are you still with me?) Anyway, I had a look at the old table and I found a secret compartment containing ... £18,000.!
*Robert Amos -Jewish.
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> I found a secret compartment containing ... £18,000.!
I hope you checked behind the door in his overcoat as well !
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When clearing mum in laws flat a supermarket plastic shopping bag was found under her bed, contents £10K ish.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 21 Apr 17 at 22:32
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>>I hope you checked behind the door in his overcoat as well !
Good point! .. most of the clothes went to charity shops. Knowing me I musta checked 'em out though.
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>> > I found a secret compartment containing ... £18,000.!
Agreed to buy a car and left a deposit. When I picked it up there was a dent that I swear wasn't there when I viewed it. Seller denied all knowledge.
Gave it a good clean and found a cash bag with a substantial sum tucked inside the front passenger seat.
Did I contact the seller................................................................
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Fri 21 Apr 17 at 22:56
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I know someone involved in house clearances and one who works at a funeral directors. Quite common to find stashes of money in the property, shoeboxes are popular normally in the wardrobe or a drawer. Usually somewhere around 5 figures, the family nearly always know nothing about it, comes as a complete surprise. Often the deceased gives the impression of being quite poor and goes without all sorts of basics, so doubly surprising for the relatives.
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>>Quite common to find stashes of money in the property, shoeboxes are popular normally in the wardrobe or a drawer.
Ah! .. reminds me of when I found my ole mum's stash ... while she was still alive. She had this room in her one-bedroom council flat down the *Brick which was really a large cupboard I suppose. I kept a lot of my junk in there after we fled the smoke in 1987 and, I was having a good rummage around when I found bundles and bundles of money. I said to her "look what I've found mum" She wasn't best pleased at all at all. Course, I put it all back and we all (6 of us) divid it up anyway when she went 'upstairs'.
The money was what we had given her (us 4 brothers anyway) o'er the decades when we visited her but, being born in 1910, adopted by a roofer/drinker and his wife as a baby, lived through 2 world wars, brought up 6 children and her husband dying when I was 9 years old, well, she wanted our love, not our money!
*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bricklayers%27_Arms
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>> OK, a quick survey.
>>
>> How many of you have had, or know someone who has had supermarket fuel related
>> problems. The Tesco one off duff petrol one excepted.
>>
15 years ago our old Clio was run on Tesco fuel and suffered from poor idling, whem we moved house the nearest garage was BP and the problem was solved.
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>>15 years ago our old Clio was run on Tesco fuel and suffered from poor idling, whem we moved house the nearest garage was BP and the problem was solved.
Dat's the main reason I outed my Subaru. It started making an awful noise last year and, being a Boxer it sounded expensive - turned out to be down to a diet of supermarket fuel. Too late by then as I'd already started the hunt :o
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I usually use supermarket fuel, a dose of injector cleaner in the tank every 3,000 miles or so seems to keep things running well. Using the engines full rev range on a regular basis also helps blowing crud out of the engine, I would not be surprised if that just topped up the soot filter on a diesel though. :-)
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>>I usually use supermarket fuel, a dose of injector cleaner in the tank every 3,000 miles or so seems to keep things running well
Back in the day when I used to work 6 days a week tuning up to 5 cars a day, injector cleaner added to the petrol tank used to work wonders for cars like the XR3i, it had to be STP though, Wynns etc. just didn't cut the mustard.
Similarly, an engine oil flush and some GTX used to work wonders on dem noisy hydraulic tappets.
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We don't have a "proper" petrol station in our wee town, just two supermarkets selling fuel. Our cars therefore get supermarket fuel by default of convenience, and have done for the 15 years we've lived here. Joint mileage of the D'Hills fleet over that period will be in excess of half a million miles. At no point during that usage have there been any fuel quality related problems or performance issue with any vehicle, some of which have been run to exceptionally high mileages.
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>> We don't have a "proper" petrol station .........
But your cars are used properly, not as short run shopping trolleys.
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>>We don't have a "proper" petrol station in our wee town, just two supermarkets selling fuel.
>>But your cars are used properly, not as short run shopping trolleys.
I use pretty much 50% from a local petrol station and the same from a supermarket a bit further away. These days my ageing barge could well be described as a shopping trolley, but I've yet to notice any difference between the petrol from either outlet, or indeed to suffer any adverse problems relating to my short journeys or my low mileage.
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>> it had to be STP though, Wynns etc. just didn't cut the mustard.
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I used Millers diesel additive for decades, great for cleaning up smokey diesels with dirty injectors. I have tried the petrol version, no noticeable difference but the car is too new to have dirty injectors and being petrol powered it is not as much of a problem.
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I don't think I tried Millers back then, but I have used their excellent engine oil in my Forester.
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Costco petrol stations. - Falkirk Bairn
