Fife, WA Flying J at $1.079 today, but not a value. [long]

[Scollins]

I needed to fill up my tank today, and I've read here that the Flying J in Fife, WA has a good price. So, I decided to drive down there to fill up. When I got there, the price was $1. 079. WooHoo!! Cheap diesel! There is a Tesoro station near my house (1. 7 miles away) that was selling diesel for $1. 299 and a 76 Station (1. 0 mile away) selling diesel for $1. 399. With a 30 gallon fillup, the Flying J saved me $6. 60 versus Tesoro and $9. 60 versus 76! OR DID IT??



The Flying J is approximately 27 miles from my house, one way. So a round trip is 54 miles. My truck averages 14. 85 MPG, or . 067 gallons per mile. So, a 54 mile round trip would use up 3. 62 gallons of fuel. At Flying J's price, that means I spent $3. 90 just in fuel to save $6. 60 to $9. 60 for the fuel itself. Thus, my net savings were $2. 70 to $5. 70.



BUT, it took me 35 minutes to drive there, 5 minutes to fuel up, and 35 minutes to drive home. That is a total of 75 minutes! If you factor what your leisure time is worth (approximately what you accept as a salary from your employer) then the "cost" to fill up my truck at Flying J is much, much higher. For me, that factor is about 50¢/minute. 75 minutes times 50¢/minute = $37. 50. Thus, my total "cost" for filling up at Flying J is the cost of the fuel, the cost of the fuel used to get there, and the "cost" of my time. This comes to a total of $73. 77, or $2. 459 per gallon of fuel. OUCH!!!



Now, let's run the same numbers for the stations near me:

76 Station at $1. 399.

Cost of Fuel = $41. 97

Cost of Fuel to get there and back = . 067 x 2 miles x 1. 399= 19¢

Cost of time to fuel up = 10 minutes round trip driving plus 5 minutes filling at 50¢/min = $7. 50

Total "Cost" of fuel trip to 76 = $41. 97+$0. 19+$7. 50 = $49. 66, or $1. 655 per gallon of fuel



Tesoro station at $1. 299.

Cost of Fuel = $38. 97

Cost of Fuel to get there and back = . 067 x 3. 4 miles x $1. 299 = 30¢

Cost of time to fuel up = 14 minutes round trip driving plus 5 minutes filling at 50¢/min = $9. 50

Total "Cost" of fuel trip to Tesoro = $38. 97+$0. 30+$9. 50 = $48. 77, or $1. 626 per gallon of fuel.



Summation:

Flying J = $73. 77

76 = $49. 66

Tesoro = $48. 77

So, even though the Flying J is cheaper than the other two stations, the "cost" was much higher. This doesn't even include the increased wear on my tires, oil, oil filter, air filter, etc. etc. I guess I could use the government standard for mileage reimbursement without fuel compensation. I don't even want to think about that.



So, the moral of this long story? The best price is not always the best VALUE. If the station is very close by, then by all means, go for the cheapest price. But, if you have to drive any great distance, make sure the savings outweigh the costs. This of course applies to anything you buy. In my case today, I didn't mind taking the time to drive down there, until I figured out I only really saved $2. 70. That won't even buy a Latte at Starbuck's!

 

[baby.driver]

Gimme a break!! Did you buy the truck so you could get cheap diesel or to drive it?

Getting there is worth the effort, the cheap diesel is the gravy.



Jay

 

[Scollins]

Originally posted by baby. driver

Gimme a break!! Did you buy the truck so you could get cheap diesel or to drive it?

Getting there is worth the effort, the cheap diesel is the gravy.



Jay

If getting there was worth effort, then why aren't a lot of people driving hunderds of miles out of their way to get to the places in the USA that sell diesel for under a $1??



I bought the diesel for a few reasons: towing my boat occasionally, hauling stuff for house work, and getting to work, and the better fuel economy and fuel price. Do I like to drive my truck? Yes, I most certainly do. I want to make future modifications to make driving it even more exciting.



But, do I think that driving 70 minutes and 54 miles out of my way for cheap diesel, on lousy Puget Sound roads is worth the trip? NOT! I'm looking for the best VALUE, which isn't always the lowest cost. What else could I have done with that time? My entire life doesn't revolve around my truck, I have other hobbies. The extra 50 minutes could have been spent at the rifle range, working on my boat, etc.



But, that wasn't the entire point. How many times do we go out of our way to "save a few pennies?" In my industry, we have a saying "Don't trip over dollars to pick up pennies. " How many dollars have been tripped over to save a few pennies?

 

[Cooker]

I personally will drive out of my way (usually no more than 10 miles) to buy fuel at a station that I know sells a lot of fuel. When I get there (one of 3 stations that I typically fuel up in town) I don't even look at what the price/gallon is. I am much happier to know that I am getting a fuel that hasn't been sitting in the tanks for a few weeks.



Just the way I do things,

Ryan

 

[illflem]

Scott, I came to the conclusion many years ago that a 10¢/ga difference in price is hardly even worth waiting for traffic to make a left turn if a more expensive station only requires a right turn. $3 worth of my time and patience doesn't go far. I will drive a little further for a station that sells off-road though...

 

[Andy Perreault]

You have a good point, Scott. However, I have a 38 gallon auxiliary tank. That makes the math a little different. Plus, I go there when I get off work at 10:30 at night, so there is no traffic getting to and from there, and there is never a line at the pumps.



Hope to see you soon, we don't live that far away from each other, now.

Andy Oo.

 

[Extreme1]

Scott, a couple more things to factor in...

Time to type up the report: ? (I use overtime rate ecause that's what I'd get paid if I stayed at work. )



But, it can be offset by the fact that you got to take your truck for a spin!



I fall into Illflem's catagory.