Las calls low-cost gas stations (in English, low price) are for some a balm with which relieve the economy at the end of the month. They are found in countless towns in our country, sometimes in less central and more remote places than traditional gas stations. and your precio, For many, it is reason enough to choose them over the more renowned classic fuel companies.
10 euros savings on a deposit
An example: as of September 25, the average price in Spain is 1,492 euros/liter for the E5 (lead-free 95) and 1,37 for diesel, but Petroprix, in Alcalá de Henares, is currently the cheapest in Spain, offering gasoline for 1,219 euros/liter and diesel at 1,139. This may mean about 10 euros savings (compared to the average price, not the maximum price) when filling a 60 liter tank. Now, whatAn engine can break down from refueling regularly at these gas stations. low price? This is what we are going to clarify.
Since the reason for the success of these gas stations is in the price, let’s first explain to you what determines the price of fuel:
- On the one hand there is one’s own gasoline price, which represents just over a third of the total price and rises or falls (the first faster; the second, more slowly) depending on whether the barrel of oil gives us a break or goes through the roof.
- On the other hand, there is the price it costs. distribute that fuel to the gas stations, which includes logistics, storage, transportation to the gas station and the benefit of the gas station itself. This represents approximately 15% of the final cost.
- To this we must add a Special Tax on Hydrocarbons which represents about a third of the cost of the final price (almost the same as the raw material costs!).
- And finally it is applied to a whole 21% VAT.
If a company wants to sell the cheapest gasoline, it is evident that it can do nothing to lower either the tax or the VAT, so it can only play with the raw material cost and with the calls distribution costswhich as we have already said includes the benefit of gas stations. Thus, cheap gas stations are usually in more remote places where land is cheaper (many times, in industrial estates), and also require less investment why lack the added benefits of many traditional gas stations, such as the store, the cafeteria, the car wash or the pressure water guns. All this already lowers its price.
Regarding the quality of the fuel, the company that distributes it through its low-cost centers cannot buy a poor quality product, because all the fuels that are brought to Spain have to comply with the standards set by the Hydrocarbons Law. So ‘bad gas’ won’t get you anywhere.
The additives
What happens is that renowned brands they spend a lot of money not only in sponsorships and television advertisements (that too), but in a very expensive research that leads them to create own additives which they then put in their fuel, and which in theory achieve extend life engine useful, minimize waste that remain inside the propellant and reduce consumption. In fact, it is normal in these ‘old-fashioned’ hydrocarbon companies that we even find two types of fuel that are valid for your car, one with the necessary additives and other ‘premium’with a greater number of additives. If you have the idea of lovingly preserving your car and you can afford it, you may always prefer these additives. But if you are just on a budget, your car is old or you bought it through renting, and you know that you are going to take it away soon, you may think that it is not worth it.
But don’t think that the fuels you fill up at low-cost gas stations do not contain additives. Of course they have them, but in smaller quantities or less evolved.
It’s not harmful, but…
So fuel from a low cost gas station it is not harmful in itself, because it also has products to care for the engine. What happens is that these products They are not that advanced. And so, mechanical problems when the car has advanced mileage in theory they will appear earlier. As soon as possible? That is impossible to know. You may even be going to throw away the car because it is old and has never given you a relevant mechanical problem. The choice, after all, is the same as if you could choose between a medication that helps us avoid a disease, or another that helps you avoid it but offers you even more guarantees. And, as always, for many the economy is the one who decides.
