Gas prices 2019 and beyond

jpd said:

Gas for $6.99 a gallon? Westchester station stands out as drivers face high prices at pump​


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Dan Projansky was headed north on Interstate 684 on Wednesday when his car’s gas light went on.

With no service stations on the road, he pulled off at Exit 4, and was immediately confronted by the gas roulette typical of American off-ramps.

The sign pointed to three gas stations in Mount Kisco to the left and one in Bedford to the right.

Projansky picked right. He lost. Big time.

That’s because a mile and a half down Route 172 he came to Bedford Shell, an eight-pump, full-service station that doesn’t promote its prices with a big sign outside. It’s not until you pull up to the pump that you see what you’re in for.

The cash price is $6.99 a gallon for regular gas. And there’s no break for charging it either. That set him back $7.13 a gallon in a county where most regular gas ranges from $4.89 to $5.29.

“Of course I feel kind of annoyed. Obviously they’re taking advantage,” said Projansky, a New York City resident who was taking his kid to camp upstate. “But this is a pretty tony area and they must not have many service stations. I can’t fault them if the people of this area expect a particular level of service.”

Had he turned left, Projansky might have driven an extra mile but his wallet would have thanked him. One of the stations there charged $5.09 and the other two $5.19. None of them charged extra for credit cards.

In Bedford he spent $82. The same 11-plus gallons in Mount Kisco would have cost him about $23 less.

He was not alone. Greg Dexter turned right off the highway the day before because the Shell was just two miles away.

“I don’t think they would keep it up if people weren’t paying,” Sinclair said. “The retailer will tell you their costs are higher, for rent, for taxes. It’s about making money. Welcome to America.”

But just a mile and a half away, at the only other gas station in that part of Bedford, the Mobil at Route 172 and Long Ridge Road was charging $5.19 a gallon. Manager Michael Avila joked about the disparity.

“We always get people who put a gallon in there and come here to fill up,” he said. “To be honest (their price) is good for us because nobody goes there unless they have to.”

Christine, a woman who lives up the road from the Shell station and would not give her last name, filled up her Maserati with $155 worth of premium gas on Wednesday. “It’s full service and that means something to me,” she said. “If I can avoid pumping gas I will.”

The Bedford station’s prices are so high that they charge the same for diesel as for premium, $7.85 cash and $7.99 credit. It seems they recognize $8 gas might be a tipping point.

Over an hour late Wednesday morning, the two attendants were not particularly busy. Only 12 people got gas, with Projansky and at least one other person eschewing the full service and pumping themselves.

Cars with out-of-state license plates pulling up to the pump and immediately driving off was not uncommon.

On Tuesday afternoon, the clerk in the convenience store said the manager was not available and agreed to pass along a reporter’s number.

When the reporter returned the next day and spoke to several drivers, the clerk waited more than 20 minutes before telling him he could no longer remain on the premises. She declined to comment on the prices, but seemed to justify them by pointing out that it was a full-service station.

She said the manager was still not there. A mechanic named Dom said management had been contacted and the message back was that the reporter had to leave. They would not provide a phone number for management, nor would an employee who answered the phone later.

The property was one of 17 Shell stations in Westchester and Rockland that CH Realty IX/CG NY Stallion, a Virginia subsidiary of Dallas-based Crow Holdings Capital, bought in October from NY Dealer Stations LLC for $64 million, according to county land records.

A phone message left for Rodney Whitley, Crow Holdings’ senior managing director for convenience stores and gas stations, was not returned.

A survey of those 16 stations on GasBuddy.com showed no prices for the Bedford Shell and six others. But of the remaining nine, none charged more than $5.29 a gallon.

The Bedford Shell’s prices have gone up like all others following the war in Ukraine but it’s been Westchester’s outlier for years, according to reviews on GasBuddy. Ron_10589 posted simply "Fuelish to go back" in February 2019.

Elsewhere in the northern suburbs, the gaps in pricing can be found mostly near state lines, like between Putnam County and Danbury. Or in Ramapo where a Gulf station in Airmont charged $5.29 but a few miles away in Park Ridge, N.J., a pair of Delta stations had regular for $4.55.

Closer to Bedford, there’s a clear disparity between North Castle’s two hamlets, one affluent, the other middle class. On Route 22 in North White Plains, two stations had regular gas for $4.89 while the third was at $5.19. Three miles up the road in Armonk, the Shell and Sunoco stations sold regular for $5.43 and $5.59, respectively. Those prices were among the highest in the Lower Hudson Valley – but still more than 20% below what the Bedford Shell was charging one exit to the north.
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So i guess full service is worth and extra $2/gallon to some...........RLMFAO!
 
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Chinacat said:
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You have no idea how corporations work, do you?

In 2020 XOM lost 22.4 billion dollars on expenditures of 234 billion. I didn't hear anybody crying about corporate greed then.

In 2021 their net profits were 10.9%. Apparently an 11% profit margin is like criminal gouging to you. Just out of curiosity, how much profit margin do you think a company should be allowed? Or does that depend on their industry? Maybe if they're making windmills they can earn as much as they please. Seimens had an 11% profit margin in 2021. Where's the outrage? And BTW, if you want to cap their profits, will you dig into your pocket to cap their losses in a bad year?

People should crack open a financial report once in a while instead of listening to the hysterics of a bunch of anti-capitalists who cherry-pick raw numbers out of context and wave it around to "prove" how greedy a corporation is.
 
Avenger said:
You have no idea how markets work either, do you?
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the oil (commodity)market works on worldwide supply and demand. We pay the same whether we produce it here or buy it elsewhere. We produce our own oil but still it goes to market at worldwide set price. Countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia that control the market at the government level charge their own citizens peanuts....we are capitalist (Thank God) and don't do that.....so we pay. Good part is we can own energy thru investments and go along for the ride......or lose ur ass when the music stops which it always does sooner or later...thats my take.....
 
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movetheboat said:
the oil (commodity)market works on worldwide supply and demand. We pay the same whether we produce it here or buy it elsewhere. We produce our own oil but still it goes to market at worldwide set price. Countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia that control the market at the government level charge their own citizens peanuts....we are capitalist (Thank God) and don't do that.....so we pay. Good part is we can own energy thru investments and go along for the ride......or lose ur ass when the music stops which it always does sooner or later...thats my take.....
Click to expand...

Based on the mod edit I'm guessing I missed some B.S., but based on the above, congratulations sir, you have a basic understanding of the oil market.
 

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