Do you recommend any petrol station company?

Transportation, Travel and Trips
1
Hi,

We just bought a car and I would like to know if someone recommends a petrol stations company.

Avia/Coop/Migrol/Shell....

In my home country I used to visit always the same brand so I got discounts and all that. As well this brand had a high quality petrol (not all the companies shared the same distributor and there were some cheaper but with a lower quality petrol). How is this in Switzerland?

Looking forward to read your advices.

Many thanks

2
Mods please move this to the First World Problems thread

This is my thought process:

Car needs petrol -> I spot petrol station -> Park up and fill up the tank from the green nozzle 95 octane.

I don't compare prices, I don't care about loyalty points and I'm certainly not gonna start now.

3
generally, if you want to save money avoid the highway station

4
I used to consciously avoid Tamoil because of this man

5
If you regularly shop in Migros or Coop and have one of their "loyalty" cards to accrue points when supermarket shopping, then use their petrol stations aswell and gain some extra points when you fill up.

I can't say I've seen any of the bigger, more famous names here such as Shell, BP, Texaco etc, but that's not unusual.

Most stations I've been to offer 95 and 98RON petrol. All pumps on the garage forecourt seem to offer 95, but only certain pumps offer 98. You just have to look when you pull up at the pump.

6
I prefer Shell followed by BP.

7
The ones that are on the routes you frequently drive. Going out of your way to save a few cents per liter or get a few loyalty points is not worth it.

I mostly (about 9 out of 10 fill-ups) use Coop Pronto. Earns a few Superpoints and goods in their shops are reasonably priced, but I wouldn't care if they weren't in convenient locations.

8
All gas stations in Switzerland, Austria and Germany offer high quality fuel.

In Italy avoid off-brand gas stations and

in France I would avoid cheap fuel (especially diesel/gasoil) sold in French groceries: Intermarché, Carrefour-Champion, E Leclerc, Géant-Casino, Match, Auchan... Can lead to engine and fuel system damage in newer cars...

9
That was what I meant.

In Spain I used always BP or Repsol, avoiding Carrefour for example.

I'm going to drive 130km per day. At home I have one AGIP, at work Shell. And along those 130km I'm sure I will find one Coop and one Migrol.

So if I choose one brand or two because they are convenient because of discounts, price and quality of the petrol it shouldn't be difficult to fill 90% of the times in that brand.

I know there's people that don't fill up the deposit till is completely dry but I don't like to do it

10

Compare the prices of the stations on your route and fill up in the cheapest because prices can vary a lot between cantons. My OH drives from Fribourg to Lausanne every day for work (150km) and in Lausanne the pump prices are 10 centimes per litre more than here in Fribourg. That adds up to quite a difference over the year.

Shell’s probably the most expensive on your route, but as I like getting the Migros coupons giving a certain amount of money on them depending on how much you’ve spent, I’d get their Cumulus card and get the extra points when you fill up. Every 500 points earns you a 5 franc coupon to spend however you like.

I’d also look at the independents as sometimes they’re quite cheap. And if you go out at the weekends in the car exploring make a note of cheap stations on those routes, again you could save quite a bit.

Also keep an eye out for 3 or 5 cents off per litre signs at stations.

11
I cannot tell you about the quality. You have already been told about the cards for migros/coop.

You will of course yourself see the prices at the convenient petrol stations you pass.

Note also some petrol stations from time to time will put up a board outside with either 3 or 5 rappen off per litre. Have noticed these are sometimes where they are road works and they are short of business

Coop pronto often give out discount vouchers with 5 rappen off per litre, but note the use by date for the voucher.

12
In terms of Diesel the supermarkets have never been a problem for me (in France) - although TOTAL seems to be just as cheap in most places (again in France).

France is a real bitch for 98 octane though - their best offering is 97. A few years ago I had a 98 only car - that if driven on anything less would pink like crazy. Guess what? Filled up in Super duper ultra unleaded from a supermarket, 100km later - pinking like crazy!

Italy can also be a bit random - with credit card only places often not having 98. By that time I had a 98 only car - but it would run on 95 (unlike) the other one.

In Switzerland fuel quality is not an issue - but as already stated avoid motorway (193.5 for unleaded seen today).

13
Hmm, just put in some 98 in France a few days ago. Was it mislabeled?

14
Had the same problems in Greece, having to choose a good pump for quality fuel. Thankfully I had a good friend with 335i, with a couple of aftermarket parts on. His parallel ECU was telling him how much it was correcting the ignition advance, and so he started finding good quality petrol testing quite scientifically

In Switzerland, since I go here and after about 2 tanks of simple 95 and a full 85 lt tank of good 98RON (for the additives more than the RON count), that was spent in high speed cruising in Germany, I really felt the engine cleaning up. Felt it with both cars actually

15
Watch out for smaller, independent stations. Twice we've filled up at one, only to notice at the end the amount of fuel we supposedly pumped was more than our tank holds (and no the gauge wasn't even on empty).

16
Which 335? Twin turbo or twin-scroll. The former really does prefer 98.

17
If you have an old engine then Shell 95 is definitely the best fuel. With modern engines I haven't noticed any differences.

If you like Shell, and are driving a lot, you should open an account with Shell.

You get a 5 centime/liter discount and a credit card, & pay at the end of the month.

18
Avia tend to be slightly more expensive - apparently because they take REKA cheques.

19
It really depends how old, if the car was designed for 4 star leaded petrol, then 95 unleaded can be an issue especially for old performance cars.

20
Then you would need to use the lead-free additive wouldn't you?

Let me state then: old cars fitted with a catalysator, using lead free 95 fuel, seem to start and run better with Shell 95.