ZEL - Z Energy.

[Bjauck]

True especially for those with average or below average travelling distance the fixed and partially fixed costs and are the big chunk of owning a car. Even if you drive the car for just a second on a public street each year, you have insurance, government charges, annual service (oil and fluid changes at least) and then depreciation (15% on declining value?)

[Beagle]

My observation in Auckland is that we have a Gull nearby so most of the Servos are matching the pump price - add the 6c (and regular 10c on Smiles Day) discount for Mobil Smiles or the 6c off the New World/Z pricing and it's markedly cheaper due to competitive pressure. Same would probably apply for BP with AA rewards too.

BTW I have used 95RON and 98RON ULP in the past and we have done enough real world testing with similar routes, loads, traffic conditions and average speeds on open road driving vs 91RON ULP to indicate that there is a small but measurable differential in fuel economy but insufficient to cover the differential in per litre pricing. When it comes to urban driving, the differential in economy is non-existent between 91/95/98 RON so my observation is if your car can take 91 RON use it noting that lots of Euros and cars with small displacement forced induction (super/turbocharged) engines probably need to use 95 RON minimum. I also noted when supply was an issue with the Marsden/Wiri pipeline, 95/98 outages were more common than 91.

However, depreciation remains the most significant real world running cost esp for a new car not fuel or even the rising cost of repairs and insurance (I can also see that some hi-spec new cars with sensors incorporated into windscreens for adaptive cruise, AEB, heads up and other driver aids are going to end up with no longer having no excess for windscreen replacement)

Something that's especially notable with high end Euro cars where the depreciation rate and quantum thereof can be a real eye opener. Some car engines need 98 Octane, a point that seems lost on Z. I think real world depreciation rates are ~ 30% in the first year and ~ 10% per annum every year thereafter. For the life of me I can't understand why some people replace their cars every year.

One thing that's not widely understood with Gull's fuel is that they use up to 10% ethanol in their mix. Ethanol has 33% less energy content than normal fuel so in effect their fuel contains 3.3% less energy. To do a given amount of work your vehicle will accordingly use 3.3% more fuel, (something I have proved us9ing my vehicle running on their force 10 98 Octane fuel) if run on Gull so Gull's fuel has to be cheaper by 3.3% than the other stations (after their incentive scheme's) to make it worthwhile. Even then one thing to consider if you are a person that enjoys the potential of their cars engine to its fullest from time to time is that full throttle acceleration will be blunted by 3.3%.

[Joshuatree]

National raised fuel tax SIX times lol. Your comments are morally inaccurate. Go to the political threads and rave there.

Plain and simple we have a very competitive fuel mkt out there.

Govt surplus is very prudent, who knows whats around the corner to swallow it up

"Govt confident it has the headroom to deal with economic shocks"saving up foe a rainy day I trust this govt to steer us through uncertain uncharted global waters ahead of us.

[Bjauck]

....

Govt surplus is very prudent, who knows whats around the corner to swallow it up

"Govt confident it has the headroom to deal with economic shocks"saving up foe a rainy day I trust this govt to steer us through uncertain uncharted global waters ahead of us.

They would be damned if they spent the surplus and they are damned if they don’t! If you are against someone then often it seems that they just can do no good.

[hogie]

National raised fuel tax SIX times lol. Your comments are morally inaccurate. Go to the political threads and rave there.

I'm not sure how this comment is relevant? Surely since the previous government allegedly raised petrol tax SIX times that would mean that this government should be lowering the tax and not increasing it further?

I'm just glad that my financial position is such that fuel prices don't really matter ... but I am sad for those who are struggling to make ends meet as the price of everything is beginning to increase very quickly ...

[Beagle]

National raised fuel tax SIX times lol. Your comments are morally inaccurate. Go to the political threads and rave there.

Plain and simple we have a very competitive fuel mkt out there.

Govt surplus is very prudent, who knows whats around the corner to swallow it up

"Govt confident it has the headroom to deal with economic shocks"saving up foe a rainy day I trust this govt to steer us through uncertain uncharted global waters ahead of us.

Six times in 9 years = every 18 months. Labour, (after promising no new taxes in their first term) has raised fuel excise, (which Cindy tries to tell us is not a tax) and lumped Aucklanders with a 11.5 cents per liter tax, a total of 15 cents per liter in less than a year of being in office, and then she has the audacity to cry foul and tell us its the fuel companies that are fleecing us ! Come on JT...surely even you can see this is outrageous.

Anyway...back to Z...this good in the hood is very VERY cunning marketing http://z.co.nz/about-z/how-we-invest...ood/Encourages people to think that by supporting Z they're supporting community groups in their own area to the tune of $5K per annum per gas station. Little do they realize each service station might be skimming many times the multiple of that amount through higher margins but the customer feels good and they get their fly buys points. Cunning !

[Marilyn Munroe]

The Commerce commission should never have allowed the merger of Caltex and Z,

The Commerce Commission have a history of doing little more than drinking tea and nibbling biscuits where petrol retailing is concerned.

When the earlier Caltex takeover of Fletcher owned Challenge Petroleum was approved by the Commission they failed to make divesting Challenges ocean terminals a condition of approval.

Boop boop de do
Marilyn

[Joshuatree]

6 times man oh man fact.
Sorry but Aucklanders can pay for there own infrastructure probs that National neglected, blame them.

Question ,are the discounts factored into gas stations petrol prices, they offer good savings for Zcard and Mobil smiles card for two?.

[Beagle]

6 times man oh man fact.
Sorry but Aucklanders can pay for there own infrastructure probs that National neglected, blame them.

Question ,are the discounts factored into gas stations petrol prices, they offer good savings for Zcard and Mobil smiles card for two?.

I looked up the facts. In December 2008 the total fuel excise levy was 52.57 cents per liter (cpl) + GST. At the conclusion of National's 9 year term it was 66.48 cpl a total increase over 9 years of 13.91 cpl. Over that nine year timeframe according to the Reserve bank inflation calculator if fuel had matched the price of inflation the inflation adjusted real price benchmark for excise should have been 57.51 cps at the conclusion of National's 9 year term so natural inflation represented 5 cpl of that increase and the increase in real terms was just on 9 cpl over nine years.

To to make this comparison really simple National's real rate of fuel excise increase amounted to just 1 cpl extra per year in real inflation adjusted terms.

About 80% of fuel excise is supposed to go direct to the National land transport management fund to fund roads across all of N.Z. including Auckland, who's 1.5m motorists pay a substantial part of the annual amount that fund gets.

In 9 months Labour have imposed 50% more petrol levies and costs (13.5 cpl + GST) (despite the promise of no new taxes) on Aucklanders than National have done in inflation adjusted terms in the previous 9 years yet Cindy has the audacity to tell us that the fuel companies are fleecing us !

Further, their annual proposed fuel excise levy increases at 3.5 cpl for the next two years are at 3 times the annual rate National was putting them up.
Fuel excise and the regional fuel tax, inclusive of GST thereon now accounts for a whopping 91.98 cents per liter for Aucklanders.

Even if you leave the debate about regional fuel levies out of this the fact remains that Labour are increasing national fuel excise levies, (despite promising no new taxes in their first term) at three times the annual rate National did and they think this is okay because Cindy told us that fuel excise increases is not a tax !
How gullible does she think the average Kiwi is ?

Its not just Z rorting their customers I tell ya ! There's a LOT of heat over this petrol price thing and if Labour ignore it they do so at their peril.

[Joshuatree]

It is nationals latest attack issue(spread the word around ,attack), spin to divert from bridges faltering leadership issue, id agree with that. Attention! the latest attack /diversion tactic , blame labour for the petrol increases, alert attack mutt beagle.