5 ms·

How much money does a gas station actually make on fuel, anyway? I would guess most gas stations make more money on junk food than they do on gas itself.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
Correct. Very thin margins on fuel (a few cents per gallon).
- danans 7y ago
  And now compare that to the $0.40/kwh they could charge for a rapid charge session versus the $0.15/kwh retail rate. Eventually of course that margin will decline as the stations become more common, but stations could also reduce their costs and peak dependence on the grid by using solar plus storage.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    If you want to make the attempt as a convenience store, go for it. Drives down the cost of power conversion hardware, and someone else can buy it at auction if you don't make it work. I enjoy never going to a gas station as an EV owner. It's unlikely I would ever charge at one. I would rather go somewhere I can grab real food while my vehicle charges, or a good cup of coffee, anything but a glorified vending machine that is most gas stations. I could be wrong, and if you can make a business out of it, more power to you.
    - danans 7y ago
      I agree, they should also be coffee-shops/delis/bodegas. A model are the gas station restaurants of the deep south USA: https://www.southernliving.com/travel/gas-station-restaurants https://www.southernliving.com/travel/gas-station-restaurant... Outside of the deep South and freeway rest areas in the US, nobody thinks of a gas station as a place you'd want to get food, because people think (perhaps correctly) that gasoline is toxic. Electricity isn't perceived the same way. Mid to high end hotels and resorts have already installed chargers due to their clientele increasingly driving Teslas. This idea is to work from the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
- code_duck 7y ago
  I hear this a lot, but I see prices within one city varying by up to $0.80.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    Petroleum in general is a volatile market.
    - code_duck 7y ago
      But if one station is charging 3.69 and another is charging 3.39, should I assume that the one charging more actually paid 30 cents more a gallon, or have that much more for expenses? Or are they making an extra quarter gallon? right now I can go buy regular for anywhere between 3.20 and 3.80, for no apparent reason. If the profit margin is really only a few cents a gallon, it seems like there should be a big incentive to simply charge an extra $0.05 a gallon. I've also noticed some stations charge way more for regular, but the same for premium... They just don't have as large a spread, which would in courage people to buy premium. This is an Oregon, too, where there is a unusual situation for gasoline since people aren't allowed to pump their own and it has resulted, for some reason, in significantly fewer filling stations.
      - danans 7y ago
        > But if one station is charging 3.69 and another is charging 3.39, should I assume that the one charging more actually paid 30 cents more a gallon, or have that much more for expenses? Probably a bit of both. Gas is often more expensive in more well off areas, which also usually have fewer gas stations in general, and the rents those stations pay are probably a bit higher too. It's also more near airports, because demand is high for rental car returns. But part of the higher price is a function of your willingness to drive to a poorer or less convenient part of town to fill cheaper gas in your car. As a younger person on a limited budget I would do that frequently. But depending on how far away the cheaper gas is (meaning gas used to get there), and the value of your time spent getting there, you might be better off paying a bit more to fill up closer to where you live. That's what I do now, even though it's a $.20 more per gallon.

toomuchtodo 7y ago

Correct. Very thin margins on fuel (a few cents per gallon).

danans 7y ago
And now compare that to the $0.40/kwh they could charge for a rapid charge session versus the $0.15/kwh retail rate. Eventually of course that margin will decline as the stations become more common, but stations could also reduce their costs and peak dependence on the grid by using solar plus storage.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  If you want to make the attempt as a convenience store, go for it. Drives down the cost of power conversion hardware, and someone else can buy it at auction if you don't make it work. I enjoy never going to a gas station as an EV owner. It's unlikely I would ever charge at one. I would rather go somewhere I can grab real food while my vehicle charges, or a good cup of coffee, anything but a glorified vending machine that is most gas stations. I could be wrong, and if you can make a business out of it, more power to you.
  - danans 7y ago
    I agree, they should also be coffee-shops/delis/bodegas. A model are the gas station restaurants of the deep south USA: https://www.southernliving.com/travel/gas-station-restaurants https://www.southernliving.com/travel/gas-station-restaurant... Outside of the deep South and freeway rest areas in the US, nobody thinks of a gas station as a place you'd want to get food, because people think (perhaps correctly) that gasoline is toxic. Electricity isn't perceived the same way. Mid to high end hotels and resorts have already installed chargers due to their clientele increasingly driving Teslas. This idea is to work from the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
code_duck 7y ago
I hear this a lot, but I see prices within one city varying by up to $0.80.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  Petroleum in general is a volatile market.
  - code_duck 7y ago
    But if one station is charging 3.69 and another is charging 3.39, should I assume that the one charging more actually paid 30 cents more a gallon, or have that much more for expenses? Or are they making an extra quarter gallon? right now I can go buy regular for anywhere between 3.20 and 3.80, for no apparent reason. If the profit margin is really only a few cents a gallon, it seems like there should be a big incentive to simply charge an extra $0.05 a gallon. I've also noticed some stations charge way more for regular, but the same for premium... They just don't have as large a spread, which would in courage people to buy premium. This is an Oregon, too, where there is a unusual situation for gasoline since people aren't allowed to pump their own and it has resulted, for some reason, in significantly fewer filling stations.
    - danans 7y ago
      > But if one station is charging 3.69 and another is charging 3.39, should I assume that the one charging more actually paid 30 cents more a gallon, or have that much more for expenses? Probably a bit of both. Gas is often more expensive in more well off areas, which also usually have fewer gas stations in general, and the rents those stations pay are probably a bit higher too. It's also more near airports, because demand is high for rental car returns. But part of the higher price is a function of your willingness to drive to a poorer or less convenient part of town to fill cheaper gas in your car. As a younger person on a limited budget I would do that frequently. But depending on how far away the cheaper gas is (meaning gas used to get there), and the value of your time spent getting there, you might be better off paying a bit more to fill up closer to where you live. That's what I do now, even though it's a $.20 more per gallon.