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how would someone know if company car used cheap gas instead of premium

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Old 12-05-2016, 12:36 PM
  #21  
cclive
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Originally Posted by jrose7004
I don't think that's there's any way to know what a previous owner did with a vehicle unless you can talk to him.
And he may not even admit it if he did something dumb...bottom line is to go enjoy driving the car and don't overthink the purchase.
Old 12-05-2016, 06:01 PM
  #22  
Bruze
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Originally Posted by cclive
And he may not even admit it if he did something dumb...bottom line is to go enjoy driving the car and don't overthink the purchase.
Old 12-05-2016, 09:14 PM
  #23  
CHEV AGAIN
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I can't imagine why anyone would even waste the brain power trying to find out, first there's no possible way to find out. And it doesn't matter even a little.

Mark
Old 12-07-2016, 09:00 AM
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beepster
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FWIW, I once knew a guy who grew up in the gasoline business and made a small fortune. He always drove high end cars (Maybach, Maserati, Lambo, etc.) and told me he never bought a drop of premium gas. He said the "premium" label was all marketing fluff which enabled them to make more money. The addition of additives raises the octane level and may add some cleaning agents but does not alter the quality of the fuel.
Old 12-07-2016, 09:28 AM
  #25  
Bruze
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Originally Posted by beepster
FWIW, I once knew a guy who grew up in the gasoline business and made a small fortune. He always drove high end cars (Maybach, Maserati, Lambo, etc.) and told me he never bought a drop of premium gas. He said the "premium" label was all marketing fluff which enabled them to make more money. The addition of additives raises the octane level and may add some cleaning agents but does not alter the quality of the fuel.
That was my point back on post #9.

"Premium" and "High Test" were (are) used interchangeably but I assumed most people knew that "Premium" didn't mean it was of higher quality.

Originally Posted by Bruze
"Premium" tires are generally better and of higher quality than "cheap" tires.

Same for an expensive suit vs. a cheap suit.

But not so for gasoline. "Premium" just has a higher octane for cars that need it. It isn't necessarily of higher quality than regular, or "cheap" gas.
Old 12-07-2016, 12:43 PM
  #26  
LDB
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Originally Posted by beepster
FWIW, I once knew a guy who grew up in the gasoline business and made a small fortune. He always drove high end cars (Maybach, Maserati, Lambo, etc.) and told me he never bought a drop of premium gas. He said the "premium" label was all marketing fluff which enabled them to make more money. The addition of additives raises the octane level and may add some cleaning agents but does not alter the quality of the fuel.
It depends on how you define quality. The higher octane number of premium gas does not come from additives. It comes from aromatics (reformate) and highly branched isoparaffins (alkylate), both of which are more expensive to make in a refinery than the lower octane components. So if your definition of quality is difficulty or cost of manufacture, then premium gas is indeed higher quality. But if your definition of quality is how clean it burns, then you are right, the higher octane components don’t burn any cleaner than lower octane.

As far as the wisdom of running high performance engines on regular, that has been debated many times on the forum. I personally think it’s dumb, but some disagree. As far as profit margin, yes, they do make more on premium. It costs about 10 cents per gallon more to make. But before you crucify the oil companies on that score, remember that profit margins are almost always higher on premium stuff, whether gas, cars, washing machines, or whatever.
Old 12-07-2016, 02:38 PM
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^^^ Very interesting answer above! Thanks.
Old 12-07-2016, 04:22 PM
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LowRyter
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Originally Posted by beepster
FWIW, I once knew a guy who grew up in the gasoline business and made a small fortune. He always drove high end cars (Maybach, Maserati, Lambo, etc.) and told me he never bought a drop of premium gas. He said the "premium" label was all marketing fluff which enabled them to make more money. The addition of additives raises the octane level and may add some cleaning agents but does not alter the quality of the fuel.
now that is funny.
Old 12-07-2016, 05:41 PM
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I'm ok with some hp drop when I get gas for a reduced ---1/2 price from the company pimp.
Old 12-07-2016, 09:58 PM
  #30  
User Omega
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Originally Posted by orca1946
I'm ok with some hp drop when I get gas for a reduced ---1/2 price from the company pimp.
How many coat hanger lashings do you have to take in a week to get this deal?
Old 12-07-2016, 10:18 PM
  #31  
Bruze
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Gasoline is as cheap as it's ever been, and people driving relatively expensive sports cars buy regular to save money?

You've got to be kidding me.
Old 12-08-2016, 02:16 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by User Omega
This is a myth that comes from the old days where the pumps were not filtered. The systems now have inline filters that prevent this from happening. If you have ever been to a station where your pump seems to be taking forever it is more than likely that the filter is just overdue for service.


You may be partially correct. I used to work at gas stations in the day when the customer did not pump the gas, like the way it still is today in New Jersey. Used to have to check for water in the bottom of the tanks every day by putting a special green paste on the bottom of the long measuring stick and record it. There was usually 1/2 to three inches of water in the bottom. Yes a filter will help stop debris from entering your gas tank, but it won't stop any water from going through it when the fuel is being stirred up by the tanker truck. The pumps do slow down when there is not much fuel left in the underground tank to help prevent air being drawn into the lines. All the tanker drivers always told me not to get gas when they were dumping fuel into the underground tanks so they got that information from somewhere.



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