maxbear

Friday January 4, 6:00 am ET
Terry Jackson

You're driving down the street with the gas gauge pointing to empty. Scanning the prices on the boards at the gas stations, you notice that the national brands are all around $3.25 a gallon for regular.

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Then, you approach Joe's Gas 'n' Go. To your delight, good ol' Joe is selling regular for $3.15.

You think about stopping at Joe's, but wonder: "How good is the gas? Will using Joe's bargain gas harm the performance or reliability of my car?"

The short answer is "no."

At a time when motorists are trying to shave even a few dollars off their fuel bill, shopping some of the lesser-known brands may be a good idea.

The entire nation's gasoline comes from various regional refiners who then sell the product to a wide variety of retailers. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, mandates that all gasoline meet certain standards for detergent additives that combat potential deposits on an engine's valves.

In addition, gasoline is periodically tested at the pump to make sure it meets minimum octane ratings for regular, mid-range and premium levels.

That means Joe's gas must perform to a certain standard and likely won't harm your car.

But that doesn't mean Joe's gas is the same as what you'll find coming out of the pump at Chevron, BP, Amoco or other brands.

At the fuel depot, where gasoline from the refiner is dispensed, a lot of brands mix in their own formula of additives that they say goes beyond what the federal government requires.

Some manufacturers say that today's high-tech engines require higher-standard gasoline than the EPA benchmark. Audi, BMW, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen have worked with major gasoline companies to set a standard for what is known as Top Tier Detergent Gasoline.

Gas companies that meet these standards include QuikTrip, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, MFA Oil Company, Kwik Trip/Kwik Star, The Somerset Refinery Inc., Aloha Petroleum, Tri-Par Oil Co., Texaco, Petro-Canada and Sunoco-Canada.


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Whether using Top Tier gasoline makes a substantive difference is debatable. AAA contends that any brand of gasoline is safe. In addition, the deposits that Top Tier gasoline helps prevent generally don't cause problems for an engine until after 100,000 miles.

To date, no manufacturer has threatened to void the warranties of drivers who fail to use Top Tier gasoline.

Drivers who are still concerned but who don't want to buy the higher-cost gasoline can visit an auto parts store twice a year to buy a gas additive. For example, Chevron's Techron additive, which the retailer says is in every gallon of its gas, can be bought in a bottle for less than $10.

So, a 20-gallon fill-up at a Chevron or another Top Tier station that costs 10 cents a gallon more than the rate at Joe's bargain gas means a driver would pay $2 more to get those additional additives. Assuming one such fill-up a week, a driver would save $104 a year by buying at Joe's, a savings that would more than cover a twice-a-year purchase of a bottle of detergent additive.

While on the subject of gasoline, drivers should stop paying for gasoline with a higher octane rating than their car needs.

Check the owner's manual to see what the manufacturer recommends -- for most vehicles, the octane rating is 87, which means regular grade. Buying 89, or 92 or 93 octane gasoline will not make your car go faster or get better gasoline mileage. One exception is high-mileage engines that experience "knocking'' -- that pinging noise when you accelerate. You may be able to eliminate such noises by stepping up in octane.

But for the vast majority of consumers, spending 20 cents or more to put higher-octane gas in the tank is an absolute waste.

And with gasoline prices likely to rise as spring and summer approach, drivers should take advantage of everything that will save money at the pump.

Here are this week's reader questions:

# Will bargain gas harm your car?
# Can I trade in a car after three months?
# Should I sell my car to help pay for a house?
# Will the government buy my old car?