How to avoid overpaying for gas in LA

Los Angeles drivers coming out of Labor Day weekend are facing a painful refill at the pump — but we have some tips to ease the pain.

The average price of regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area just rose to $5.86 per gallon,
according to AAA Southern California, up 13 cents in just a week and $1.20 higher than a year ago. AAA
estimates Southern California drivers spent $18 to $24 more to fill their tanks this holiday weekend than they did last Labor Day.

Nationally, it was also the most expensive Labor Day on record for gasoline, with prices hovering above $4 a gallon amid continued global oil-supply disruptions.

So, with prices so high, The California Post spent two days checking gas stations across Los Angeles to see how much drivers might save simply by shopping around.

The first lesson was straightforward: Check the stations around you before pulling in. In Glassell Park, regular gas at an ARCO was $5.69 a gallon with a card. Directly across the street, budget station UNICO was charging $5.47, a 22-cent difference without even leaving the intersection.

On the Westside, the spread was much larger: A Chevron was charging $6.09 with a card while nearby SK was $5.29, a difference of 80 cents per gallon. On a 12-gallon fill-up, that 80-cent difference works out to $9.60.

The second lesson: Do not assume the brand name is worth the premium. California’s Division of Petroleum Market Oversight has found that branded gasoline in the state averages about 31 cents per gallon more than unbranded gasoline. In the rest of the country, the average premium is just 6 cents.

The agency says the unusually large gap between branded and unbranded fuel has become a particular concern in California.

We saw another example on National Boulevard, where Mobil was charging $5.99 for regular while nearby United Oil was $5.39, a 60-cent difference.

Does paying more mean you are necessarily getting better gasoline? California regulators say all gasoline sold in the state must meet California standards for emissions control and engine performance. The state also requires detergent additives that meet standards comparable to TOP TIER, and DPMO says it has found no publicly available evidence showing branded gasoline performs better than unbranded gasoline sold in California.

Then there is Costco. Its reputation for cheap gas held up. Regular at the Alhambra Costco was about $5.33 during our visit, roughly 76 cents cheaper than the Chevrons we checked.

But Costco was not some unbeatable secret: SK on the Westside was $5.29, about four cents less.

That may be the most useful takeaway, that there is no single magically cheap station. Costco can be a bargain, but so can the budget station down the street. And California’s own petroleum watchdog is explicitly urging drivers to shop around as prices rise, saying comparison shopping can both save consumers money and put pressure on higher-priced stations to compete.

So, the trick is not burning fuel to cross Los Angeles in pursuit of the lowest price in town. Rather, it is checking the mile surrounding you before you fill up. Because in Los Angeles, that mile can be worth almost 10 bucks.

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