Costco 99 RON fuel (and other info)

[rainmakerraw]

I thought some of you might find this interesting / useful. As most know, Costco now have several fuel stations and are planning to expand these to every suitable site - i.e. those with big enough car parks to accommodate a station in the corner. The first one to open (Liverpool) sold 95 RON, 97 RON and premium diesel, but since then Costco have opened several more and they have also switched fuel suppliers. Costco pumps now provide 95 RON, 99 RON and premium diesel, all of which it would seem - by process of elimination - can only be from Greenergy. That means the 99 RON is basically Tesco Momentum 99, but a lot cheaper. The station with an existing 97 RON supply (Liverpool) will, according to an email I received from Costco's fuel buyer, be switched over to 99 RON like the others in the immediate future, and the pumps rebranded accordingly.

This week we visited the new Haydock outlet and brimmed the tank with 99 RON at 107.9ppl. The closest Tesco was at 112.9 (M99) and the Shell down the road is at 122.9 (V-Power Nitro+). Granted that's 'only' a £200 a year saving for a 10k mile / 35mpg driver, but it's still better in my pocket. That £200 saving works out as the difference between getting 40mpg instead of 35mpg over a tank, for doing nothing except fill up with quality fuel somewhere else. That's hard to argue with in my book, even with a membership fee of £25 pa (which we pay anyway). You are effectively getting quality 99 RON fuel for supermarket boggo unleaded prices. Costco 95 RON is generally 2p to 3p per litre cheaper than their super (105.9ppl on the day I went).

The reason for the thread, despite others having mentioned it before, is because (1) PHers might not know Costco now do 99 RON rather than 97 RON, meaning Porche/Audi/etc engines requiring >98 RON like ours does can now take advantage; and (2) Costco's members' magazine published a three page info-mercial this week and it gives some interesting details on the fuel. For example, they order in 99 RON (and the 95, and diesel) but add in their own custom detergent and additive pack to their underground tanks during delivery. This is, apparently, to ensure consistency of high quality additives above and beyond that provided in the fuel from the distributor. They also give the same high dose of additive to every type of fuel, not just the super/premium stuff. Fair play.

Anyone so inclined can read the article here, as I've been nerdy enough to scan it into a PDF for you. If you're not bothered, or only drink from the Shell Kool-Aid tap, then fair play. However, I thought some might enjoy the read or find use in the info. Cheers.

[rainmakerraw]

PS: That closing customer quote about getting 'two thirds better fuel economy' from Costco diesel?! That's either a misprint, incredibly poor maths skills, or a blatant lie... That's the equivalent of getting 50mpg instead of your usual 30mpg. Yeah... right. LOL I can vouch for the quality of their fuels however, at least over the last two years. No problems to report, decent economy (in line with V-Power and M99) and it's certainly cheaper. Two thirds, however...

[rainmakerraw]

TooMany2cvs said:

So just like EVERY OTHER filling station, then. Oh, wait. No. Subtly different, in that most of them add it to the tanker at the all-brand regional distribution depot.

I realise you like to be contrary, but did you actually read the article? A simple 'thanks for taking an hour of your time to scan this in, edit it and share it with the community' would have sufficed.

To the guy who said Sheffield also supply 97 RON, I didn't know that. Either way Costco's fuel buyer did tell me via email that existing 97 sites are being switched to 99 very soon, in line with the other (newer) sites. As I said, if you're going (or close) anyway and can get decent 99 for cheap, you may as well.

[rainmakerraw]

TooMany2cvs said:

Yes, thanks. It's a pile of advertorial guff that uses a lot of words to say nothing very much, beyond "We now have filling stations, too". Even you admit that the "testimonial" in it is complete bks.

Which is why I described it as an 'info-mercial', but I still think you've missed the point. A third player in the UK fuel market (albeit a members-only one) now supplies 99 RON fuel. They also happen to be up to 15ppl cheaper than the rest. That's certainly worth raising an eyebrow over, especially when they also add a full additive pack to their cheap 95 RON and basic diesel (which apparently most don't). Since Greenergy simply supply pre-specced fuel, I can't see them having an arrangement to supply base fuel minus additives just so Costco can additise it themselves, which would mean that Costco fuel actually has more additives than the equivalent Momentum 99. Either way, at the price it's definitely worth a visit and the point of the thread was to inform those who didn't know it existed.

[rainmakerraw]

Sheepshanks said:

We're (Chester) getting one of these apparently.

Be great for my older Merc diesel (C270CDi) - I've tried all the fuels and it makes absolutely no difference to MPG or noise or performance so it generally runs on Sainsburys City Diesel.

However my missus has an EU6 EA288 engined VW Tiguan and the emissions control stuff on that car terrifies me so it's always been run on Shell V-Power Nitro+ Diesel in the hope that it'll stave off things like one of the two egr systems clogging up etc.

The uplift in cost feels like a complete rip-off though - I'm unclear if Costco diesel will be a suitable alternative to the super special Shell stuff?

The local taxi drivers seem to rate it. They only sell one grade of diesel, which is premium (i.e. highly addetised). Don't forget though that Shell V-Power contains PERL GTL (lower calorific value than diesel, but cleaner), and BP Ultimate uses HVO instead of RME biodiesel. HVO is cleaner than RME and doesn't varnish the engine components the same way. Personally I have found Costco diesel spot on but you pays yer money...

[rainmakerraw]

berlintaxi said:

Sump said:

Love Costco filling stations. No bloody chavs filling up £10 and paying cash at the counter. Prepaid , fill and go.

Exactly, last time I was there it was a Texaco tanker filling the tanks, no idea if that is where Tesco get their fuel.

Haha there is that advantage also. Staff in the warehouse previously said the supplier was Texaco, but the new supplier is Greenergy (only they and Shell do 99 RON, and Royal Dutch Shell don't share). Tesco are also supplied by Greenergy - hence their 99 RON - and in fact Tesco now also own Greenergy...

To the poster who said they'd avoid it if it was the same as Tesco fuel; why? Momentum 99 is cracking stuff, especially for turbo engines. Our cars love it.

[rainmakerraw]

TooMany2cvs said:

rainmakerraw said:

A third player in the UK fuel market (albeit a members-only one) now supplies 99 RON fuel.

Furry muff. No argument with that.

rainmakerraw said:

They also happen to be up to 15ppl cheaper than the rest.

...or with that.

Although I assume you're taking VAT into account? Most of CostCo's advertised prices (including their annual membership) are quoted excluding VAT.

Even if it is 15p/litre cheaper, that's 220+ litres just to break even. Great if you happen to have one of their six, soon eight, filling stations locally. Less great if you don't.

rainmakerraw said:

Since Greenergy simply supply pre-specced fuel, I can't see them having an arrangement to supply base fuel minus additives

Woah, hold on... Let's not forget that Greenergy are one of the regional depot operators, and have - in the past, at the very least - supplied the supermarket brands.

AND, yes, that means that Greenergy have been implicated in some of the major fuel-contamination stories...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6406801.stm

Greenergy are the largest fuel supplier in the UK (owned by Tesco), and they also supply Esso fuel... Didn't the fuel contamination issue boil down eventually to some idiot at VOPAK (who have now sold up in the UK), who washed out a tanker with liquid containing silicon but didn't clean it before loading with fuel? That could happen to anyone and certainly wouldn't stop me filling up at 'insert brand here'. Costco fuel is advertised inclusive of duty and tax, yes. When it says 107.9 it means you pay 107.9, hence all the fuss in the media about how cheap they are. They're always a few pence cheaper than even Asda/Tesco/anyone else in the area, yet still supply decent highly addetised fuel. Hence, it's worth knowing about if you have one local. Which, luckily, I have two. The other Costco outlets nationwide will soon join the fray, so plenty for everyone. Spending £25 (which as I said we pay anyway) to save £200+ a year on fuel (£400 if you do 20k, etc) is no bad thing.

Having two branches selling 99 RON fuel local to us at that price is definitely good news.

[rainmakerraw]

TooMany2cvs said:

Well, there y'go, then.

It's entirely possible - likely, even - that CostCo are taking tanker-loads of the same base fuels from the same distribution depot as everybody else, just additive-free (since the additives are usually added at the point of loading the tanker) then adding them at the point of filling the tanks.

Which was my original point...

I understood that, I was just wondering why that was your point... Only two other companies sell 99, but Costco happen to be 15ppl cheaper than them. That's the only point I care about. As you say, after that fuel is basically fuel.

[rainmakerraw]

Sheepshanks said:

rainmakerraw said:

As you say, after that fuel is basically fuel.

Welllll....it's not though, is it? As you said earlier:
"Shell V-Power contains PERL GTL (lower calorific value than diesel, but cleaner), and BP Ultimate uses HVO instead of RME biodiesel. HVO is cleaner than RME and doesn't varnish the engine components the same way."

Yes, but in the part you quoted we were discussing one company's 99 RON versus another company's 99 RON, and at which point they chose to add the additives... In that case, it most certainly is. Especially when the two companies in question are using the same supplier.

[rainmakerraw]

TooMany2cvs said:

With VAT accounted for?

Yes, as I said in my previous reply that price includes all duty and VAT. Currently 107.9 for Costco 99, 112.9 for M99 and 122.9 for V-Power.

[rainmakerraw]

Yex 450 said:

Cool, I'll drop by once they get the 99RON stuff and drop a tank full in my TVR and see how it goes

Thurrock and Haydock (don't know about others) are already 99 RON so fill your boots.

[rainmakerraw]

XFRFred said:

This may be totally coincidental,

Nail, meet head. That basically renders the rest of your questions moot. Everyone who develops an engine issue is running on at least one brand of fuel, it doesn't mean that fuel is always at fault. How many other hundreds of thousands of litres have been sold from that depot without incident around the time you bought fuel? I'd be booking the car in, but I wouldn't immediately be suspecting the fuel, especially from an almost new high standard retail outlet.

Sucking muck from the bottom of the tank when low on fuel is a myth, as tanks feed from the bottom all the time anyway (else how do you get fuel to the engine when your fuel tank isn't perfectly full?). There are also filters in-line, usually on any lift pump plus the normal fuel filter in the engine bay. Add those to the filters at the garage where you dispense fuel, and I'm not sure where all the crap is supposed to come from that gets people all worried (at least not in a modern sealed tank).

I would be getting the issue investigated but I wouldn't be worrying about flushing out the existing fuel and/or switching brands based on this alone. BTW, the Tesco Momentum 99 fuel you refer to is the same fuel Costco sell, both bought from the same supplier. The only difference is Costco add extra detergents on-site before you pull it from the pump. Saying 'those other fuels didn't cause the car to tick' is about as logical as saying driving on a Sunday the week before you filled up didn't cause the car to tick, but driving on a Monday did...

Our 2.0 TSI absolutely loves the Costco stuff, I certainly prefer it to V-Power. Good luck with your fault finding.

Edited by rainmakerraw on Monday 3rd October 18:44

[rainmakerraw]

twoblacklines said:

So what's the deal?

I sign up and pay £25 a year?

Then I just go and buy fuel as usual? Or do I have to add a balance and then just use the costco card at their petrol stations?

Is costco itself a good place? Huge one near me (Chester) with fuel station. Right opposite an office with some very fancy security...

Costco is great for some things and a bit expensive for others. Most of their food is excellent, ditto trade sized household and garage products. Most stuff is supersize and/or bulk purchase, and works out cheap. Some branded stuff is cheaper in supermarkets, but their own brand (Kirkland Signature) is high quality no matter what the product in question and always works out cheap. They sell litre bottles of branded vodka for £13, and mega sized packs of car stuff for cheap.

You can be a personal member only if you're employed in some specific industries, or else a trade member if you're a business owner. Proof is required, and luckily my wife is self employed, but they do accept an 'invoice sent by your company to a customer' as proof... I've heard some people just knock one out in Word. Costco never check the validity of your proof, and never ask you again. Details on their membership page.

To buy fuel you have to scan your Costco membership card at the pump (same as you would scan a Tesco Clubcard for example). This just proves you're a member - or have a member's card - and activates the pump. Then you insert your debit card or AmEx (no credit cards accepted!) and fill up as normal. Dead simple.

[rainmakerraw]

Ironically I'm sat in Costco reading these new replies. I made this thread a good while ago so it piqued my interest to see what was new.

Prices today are 107.9 unleaded, 112.9 for super 99 RON and premium diesel is 108.9. Far cheaper than the local supermarkets never mind Shell et al.

ETA: Sorry I was rushing. This is in the Haydock store, but Liverpool prices are also the same. I don't know about any others.

Edited by rainmakerraw on Tuesday 1st August 16:26

[rainmakerraw]

Terzo123 said:

The Glasgow branch now have their petrol station up and running.

At the weekend there, they were charging 128.9 for their super unleaded. Unfortunately for me I filled up the day before my visit to Costco, paying 1.44 at a local Esso.

Going to make a point of filling up at Costco from now on.

Ouch, your local prices are steep. It was 123.9 today for 99 at our two local Costcos.

[rainmakerraw]

jamoor said:

I remember when they opened there was no specifications of the fuel on the pumps

Strangely enough I brimmed my wife's car while I was there today, and noticed exactly that. No BS EN markings. The fuel is, of course, but it's a strange omission on the pump, nonetheless.