What annoys you most about driving an ICE car?

[minispeed]

Is the savings at Costco really worth the 15+ minute wait? Just curious, don't have Costco here.

I've noticed that Costco seems to have a policy of building new supercenters some distance from established shopping districts, and using discounted gas prices as a loss-leader to draw customers.

Already having driven all the way there for the cheap gas, and some distance from other retailers, the ICEV drivers then find it convenient buy Costco Crap inside the store.

Costco has made plans to move out of the Main shopping district of Redding CA, and build a replacement store~ 4 miles north on I-5, adding gas pumps.

This will mean most shoppers driving ICEVs will have to drive ~ 8 miles further, and burn even more gas, every time they want cheap gas, and/or need to stock up on cheap Chinese products.

Brilliant...

The Costco is very close to my house, it's actually on the same road and I almost have line of sight but there's a slight curve in the road. The area around me, especially on a Saturday morning is very busy, lots of shopping. I do remember when my dad first brought me to Costco, price club back then and in was pretty much the only building surrounded by farms. That was in 95. They then grew out of that and built a brand new one right beside it. The other two gas stations around here are also super busy, there can be a long wait at the Esso which is further and I can't turn left out of it so I have to loop around and or wait for a U turn. I boycott the Shell because the car wash ripped my wiper off and they ignored me and never called me back. The other problem with those two gas stations is when someone fills up then goes inside to pay (yes they trust us here and don't make us pre pay) they can go to the Tim Hortens or A&W then the bathroom and you're stuck there waiting. Costco is like a factory assembly line, everyone has to pay at the pump, no snacks to buy and no restrooms. I also find that many people are probably filling up half tanks because they're in the area and they don't take as long as at the other station. I do try not to get behind pick ups because every so often you'll get one filling up a bunch of jerry cans.

So the savings are about 5-7% less than the gas stations around my house plus 2% cash back with the membership. Buying all my gas there a year pre leaf made the membership free, the prius takes care of just under half with this years cheap gas. At the times the Esso and Shell would have no wait service you'll wait behind 1 car at Costco. My 15 min also included the time it took me to fill my own car. The real cost savings is in me insisting that my wife lets me know when the car is low and me going to fill it out, she's filled up maybe 3 times since we got the leaf in July. She will get nervous when the prius shows 2 bars of gas driving home from work even though the DTE shows more range than a full charge on the leaf plus about 100 in reserve. The price of gas around our house (probably because of Costco) can be 10-15% cheaper than places closer to her work and if she doesn't get the receipt I don't have the data to compare total cost of ownership leaf to prius.

 

[ishiyakazuo]

We buy virtually all our gas when in town from Costco... We've almost never waited more than 5 minutes for a pump... Costco is typically 20 to 35 cents cheaper than the next cheapest station around here and since we go when we are shopping there anyway, its no big deal and no inconvenience... We also get a 5% rebate from our business Costco Amex so that is an additional significant savings... With the vapor recovery systems mandated for use here, BTW, there is very little odor...

Is the savings at Costco really worth the 15+ minute wait? Just curious, don't have Costco here.

The one by us is often full, but one thing that many people don't realize (at least here) is that Costco has pumps that can go to either side of the car. Often I'll see all of the cars with their driver side facing the pump, so I just go into one of the pumps that's still vacant with passenger side fill, and pull the cord to extend it so that it reaches my driver side. Of course, with the LEAF, I haven't had to fill up for awhile... but my wife's ICE still needs it every month or so.

 

[RonDawg]

The one by us is often full, but one thing that many people don't realize (at least here) is that Costco has pumps that can go to either side of the car.

That works well if your vehicle's fuel filler is at or near the end of the car, like most cars, minivans, and SUV's. But as one who frequently bought gas at Costco when an ICEV was my daily driver, I'd see problems when people with pickup trucks that had camper shells, and especially full-sized vans, did this as their filler pipes where often closer to the center of the vehicle.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I've noticed that Costco seems to have a policy of building new supercenters some distance from established shopping districts, and using discounted gas prices as a loss-leader to draw customers.

To continue the digression just a little bit: we've never had a Costco in this area, but we may be getting one soon. Normally I'd be happy enough about that, but if the rumors* are true they will be building on one of the few forested tracts of land left in the Colonie NY area, abutting a dead-end residential area.

Ever notice that they don't build shopping centers around charging stations?

* The development application is real, it just isn't clear if the Costco part is, or if the developers are trying a Bait & Switch to get approval.