Why's that, then?

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Fri 6 Aug 2004 22:53
Why's that, then? - paulb {P}
Mods, pray indulge me on this one.

We had a very interesting debate around Christmas time as to whether Shell Optimax was any good and whether it was worth the extra. I'm not trying to re-open that debate, although I would say that I recently gave it a try out of curiosity and found an immediate (and very pleasant) improvement in smoothness and engine response, which I wasn't expecting, given people's earlier comments. Not being an engineer or a petrochemist, this improvement seemed good enough reason for me to continue to use it, so I've stuck with it.

What I'm curious about is this.

Optimax sells at my usual garage for 6p per litre more than Premium 95 (at the moment, 87.9 as opposed to 81.9. Ouch.)

Went to France for two-week holiday at the start of July. Ran car on a mix of Total & Shell 98 octane - car continued to run very nicely. The price difference, I was interested to note, was 1 euro cent per litre (?1.19 as opposed to ?1.18).

So why the big difference in price between the two over here? Does the Gov't impose extra duty on the high-octane stuff, or is it just yet another example of the suppliers charging a lot more here for the same thing for no reason other than "because we can"?
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Sat 7 Aug 2004 01:42
Why's that, then? - PR {P}
I also noticed this on a recent trip over there. I think its a bit of both. According to www.ifs.org.uk/consume/petrol.pdf
it says the duty on higher octane and LRP is approx 2p more than on 95. This doesnt account for the large difference. The cost of producing the differing grades will differ, but not the 4p per litre difference that is left. (Im sure they arent selling the high octane stuff in France at a loss!). So the rest must be "because we can"! There, watertight ;-)
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Sat 7 Aug 2004 13:22
Why's that, then? - Dulwich Estate
I believe it's just another example of rip-off Britain. PS: Early this week supermarkets in SW France were selling 98 octane at 1.09 euros/litre. Thats about 74p.
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Sat 7 Aug 2004 20:18
Why's that, then? - Vansboy
If you're going to stick to Shell, get one of there Pluspoints cards - it's a loyalty card, getting not quite 1p/ltr off, when you've collescted enough points. Depending on your mileage & the offer they may have on, this can easily be doubled.

You could even get a Shell credit card, £10 worth of points are included, as soon as you start using it.

But if you're like most people, you'll have nough plastic in your pocket, already!!

& Mrs Vansboy has used Optimax exclusivly in her, now year old Mx5, with no complaints. Obviously nothing to compare it to, though!!

VB
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Sun 8 Aug 2004 12:06
Why's that, then? - paulb {P}
Thanks, all - yeah, Vansboy, quite a lot of placcy in the wallet already :-( , but can certainly find room for things that get me money off! Cheers for the tip.
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