Costco petrol price compared to other service stations.

There is no doubt that Costco petrol stations influence the price of petrol in their immediate area. However that influence isn't always as great as you may think and it also depends on where we are in the petrol price discount cycle.

Recently I checked the Costco petrol station at Moorabbin using Petrol Spy and the price shown was around 136. I decided since I'd be going past the Costco petrol station I'd fill up. The nearest petrol station was around 141. Being a Woolworths the discount voucher would bring the price lower, but not quite as low.

Costco petrol stations don't display prices on boards like other petrol stations, so the only time you know the price is when you get to the pump. With 4-5 cars in each lane before you, the wait is long but you feel it is worth it. I pulled up at the petrol pump after waiting for some time to find the price was 141.7. A bit disappointed, I thought that was a lesson well learnt. A couple of hours can make all the difference in the world of petrol so it's always best to double check prices.

As it turned out there was a Woolworths Petrol station close to the way home in Burwood with unleaded petrol for around 138 and with a discount voucher, that would have been 134 and 7 cents a litre saving. A further saving of nearly $3. Now we're not talking much money, but the savings over a long period of time add up.

There were a couple of good lessons learnt with the visit to the Costco petrol station in Moorabbin so for me the outcome was good.

1. I've never seen a busier service station on a normal day so expect delays.
2. Check prices again closer to when you're buying.
3. The Woolworths Petrol station in Braeside often matches the Costco petrol station in Moorabbin and can be used as a guide.
4. The Costco petrol station in Moorabbin is established whereas the Costco petrol station in Epping isn't and the Epping Costco offers lower prices at the moment.
5. At the bottom of the fuel discount cycle Costco petrol stations may not be the best prices.
6. At the top of the fuel cycle and following the peak, it's worth checking the Costco petrol station prices using a fuel app such as Petrol Spy, but keep in mind Petrol Spy isn't the most reliable fuel app. Again check prices of surrounding petrol stations.

Overall this was a worthwhile exercise. I had wanted to check out a Costco petrol station and see how they worked. It also was a reminder to double check my information. The Costco petrol station price wasn't really bad, in fact it was quite reasonable, it's just that I could have done better without much effort. The longer queue at the Costco petrol station and the slow traffic along Boundary Road were both unexpected and need to be taken into account.

Kelvin Eldridge
https://www.PetrolPricesMelbourne.com.au