4c a litre fuel discount for seniors at United

Are We Lost · Guru

4c a litre fuel discount for seniors at United

Possum3 · Guru

This gem was a news item on the TV news tonight - it is being funded through NSW Govt Seniors Card I believe.

Link; Seniors Card Card - United Petroleum

-- Edited by Possum3 on Saturday 5th of August 2023 12:04:21 PM

Craig1 · Guru

Well, got it, so hopefully try next week, thanks awl

Southern Cruizer · Guru

Ours are in the mail. Already applied for it

Whenarewethere · Guru

I have 120 litre of jerry can storage. Gets me through the longest Sydney pricing cycle saving up to $0.45 per litre.

Are We Lost · Guru

Well, if you bought at United you can now save $0.49c per litre.

Basher · Senior Member

180 lts, I will definatly be looking for united once registered, just filled up at united in Roma yesterday. Bugger
Basher

Whenarewethere · Guru

Why does Australia have these extreme price cycles, & for example UK & Europe have a very steady rate?

JeffRae · Guru

Over in WA we get $575 fuel card from the WA govt. if you live outside the metropolitan area.

We can use the 4c discount offered by Coles/Flybuys and Woolies/Everday Rewards with the card.
Strangely we cannot use the 4c discount offered by RAC at Puma/Caltex

AFL offers 4c discount if you use their app and sign up to Shell V Power, coupled with the above 8c discount is available.

Dick0 · Guru

Woolies Everyday Rewards (4c) & RACV (5c) at Woolies fuel outlets in Vic saves you 9 cents litre.

yobarr · Guru

Basher wrote:
180 lts, I will definatly be looking for united once registered, just filled up at united in Roma yesterday. Bugger
Basher

180 litres?

Cuppa · Guru

yobarr wrote:
Basher wrote:
180 lts, I will definatly be looking for united once registered, just filled up at united in Roma yesterday. Bugger
Basher
180 litres?

My Patrol takes 180 litres - 2 tanks 95l & 85l. Both Nissan Tanks (not aftermarket LR tanks).

-- Edited by Cuppa on Saturday 5th of August 2023 06:04:58 PM

deverall11 · Guru

We fill up at Costco. The Landcruiser takes between 120 and 130 litres. 138 capacity. Membership at Costco is $60
went up to $65.
Last financial year:
Volume: 913 litres
Cost: $1990
Gross savings: $108.82.
Savings calculated on cheapest available in the area.
Not only does this cover the membership, we have a real savings.
How do I know all this? Spreadsheet.

shakey55 · Senior Member

Sounds good. Never used United - is their fuel okay

Possum3 · Guru

shakey55 wrote:
Sounds good. Never used United - is their fuel okay

It's the same fuel from same boat imported from Indonesia. Fuel problems arise when old underground tanks get water in, or fuel is decanted from drums.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Possum3 wrote:
shakey55 wrote:
Sounds good. Never used United - is their fuel okay
It's the same fuel from same boat imported from Indonesia. Fuel problems arise when old underground tanks get water in, or fuel is decanted from drums.

I am always surprised how well fuel "badge engineering" has brainwashed people.

In my area fuel is always dearer than south west Sydney, but our local Ultra Petroleum, Manly, is always the cheapest in the area.

Also other smaller operators which I sometimes drive past are also the cheapest in their respective areas.

Basher · Senior Member

yobarr wrote:
Basher wrote:
180 lts, I will definatly be looking for united once registered, just filled up at united in Roma yesterday. Bugger
Basher
180 litres?

What, can't you read!

Whenarewethere · Guru

If in Northern Territory, show your Senior card & you get 6 cents a litre off. No other registering etc.

yobarr · Guru

Cuppa wrote:
yobarr wrote:
Basher wrote:i
180 lts, I will definatly be looking for united once registered, just filled up at united in Roma yesterday. Bugger
Basher
180 litres?
My Patrol takes 180 litres - 2 tanks 95l & 85l. Both Nissan Tanks (not aftermarket LR tanks).

Interesting. My car also takes 180 litres ex-factory, but such capacity certainly is not common. At a pinch I can get 1000km between fills when towing.
Thanks for your advice. Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 6th of August 2023 09:32:07 AM

deverall11 · Guru

shakey55 wrote:
Sounds good. Never used United - is their fuel okay

Not so much about where the fuel originally coms from but what actually ends up in the tanks.

Met a tanker driver who was delivering fuel to the mines in WA. His observation was that what ever was left

in the tanker at the end of the run would be drained and mixed with what ever dregs there was and this is

what was sent to independents. Unless they state what fuel they have (Seven 11 have a sign that reads Mobil)

I stay away. Beside with the price of fuel at Costco (Mobil fuel) why would you get it somewhere else.

watsea · Guru

My Son-in-law works at big fuel depot. That depot supplies fuel to many different fuel company servos. All the fuel from various sources, ie from ships or from an Aussie refinery, goes into one big tank containing the particular fuel specification. (So all the same in those tanks.). Various company tankers load the fuel for the particular service stations or customers and the particular company's additives are put into the fuel tanker as part of its loading process. To my knowledge, I understand that "truck" diesel does not contain antifoaming agents, whereas maybe a "premium" diesel does.

Unfortunately for my Son-in-Law, he does not get any employee discount. I try to purchase my diesel from places, based on a cheap price though from a high volume location to reduce the chances of contamination.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Have been using independents for over 4 decades, never had an issue with quality of fuel (my mechanic sold fuel) & previous cars each had 18 year & over quarter of a million km. Current Land Rover almost a decade old.

In a previous life the only interested issues was when I worked for Alcan Australia, an irate employee was going to throw a bottle of water in the furnace at Granville, Sydney.

All the fuel for Sydney was next door. The M4 was shut down. Aviation fuel was the closest storage. Would have been interesting to say the least.

All ended ok. But it can go wrong, an entire Sims Metal recycling plant was leveled to the ground due to water in an aluminium can being recycled. Since then all recycled material is shredded so there is no water in any form. With an additional simple substance things could have been a lot worse.

yobarr · Guru

deverall11 wrote:
shakey55 wrote:
Sounds good. Never used United - is their fuel okay
Not so much about where the fuel originally coms from but what actually ends up in the tanks.
Met a tanker driver who was delivering fuel to the mines in WA. His observation was that what ever was left
in the tanker at the end of the run would be drained and mixed with whatever dregs there was and this is
what was sent to independents. Unless they state what fuel they have (Seven 11 have a sign that reads Mobil)
I stay away. Beside with the price of fuel at Costco (Mobil fuel) why would you get it somewhere else.

This is what I too have heard, but always there is some penny-pincher trying to save a couple of miserable cents by purchasing 'El Cheapo'. And don't they howl when they have problems caused by that fuel?

As Watsea says, it is far more important to purchase from a higher volume outlet, to reduce chances of contamination. Not so long ago I loaned my run-about, a Mazda Tribute, to a friend who had a 2000km trip to make, to visit sick family, and was concerned that his aged vehicle would not complete the journey.

When I got the car back the fuel tank was empty empty empty but I managed to get to a local independent where I put fuel into the tank. Bad move. Less than 2km down road the engine stopped so I walked back to the servo where they quickly agreed to tow the car to the nearest dealership where they quickly determined that the fuel was contaminated necessitating a complete fuel system flush among other things.

Some days later I got the car back but it lasted less than 20km before it again died. The fuel company didn't want to know, and neither did the dealership so at that stage I lost interest and gave the car away. The new owner put a replacement engine in and is a Happy Camper!

After much research I use only BP Ultimate diesel because of its cetane rating and availability, but will use Shell at a pinch. For fear of breaking forum rules I will not name the big fuel company that openly admits to low cetane rating diesel, or say anything about United fuel except that you get what you pay for.

As with many things, El Cheapo fuel generally means lower quality, but if people are happy with that, good luck to you! Cheers

Cuppa · Guru

In the outback there is often no choice of brands.

Best fuel we have ever had - car ran with more punch & by far the best distance achieved on the combo of both tanks - as per records we kept on the Fuelmap app - was from the servo in Boulia which at that time was a Puma branded outlet.

We choose not to use United servos if we can possibly help it, not because of anything to do with their fuel, but rather the company's behaviour when they took over our local general store/post office & servo (along with a number of similar outlets across Gippsland).

I wont go into great detail but they very quickly got the entire community offside & within months had sold the business back to the couple they had purchased it from at a price higher than they had paid.

They had taken over a business which was the hub of the community without understanding or wanting to understand the importance of the business beyond profit. Without wishing to become integrated with the community their patronage dropped away very quickly.

Their behaviour from day one when they blocked off the entrances & exits, not allowing anyone in or out to shop, collect mail or to get fuel whilst they re-branded the place was bizarre, & a wonder no-one was charged for false imprisonment! We would have to in dire circumstances to but from that mob! Many times we've looked at their cheaper prices & said "Nah we've got enough to get to the next servo".

-- Edited by Cuppa on Sunday 6th of August 2023 02:57:02 PM

watsea · Guru

Often it is the behaviour of the individual franchise buyer/operator that causes the concern. Though I have heard of instances where the particular operator gets screwed by the main company's operating rules.

In my area and nearby suburbs, two big well known company outlets regularly have their fuel prices higher than others, and this adds to my dislike for them which stems from major environmental incidents in the Gulf of Mexico and Africa.

The Belmont Bear · Guru

shakey55 wrote:
Sounds good. Never used United - is their fuel okay

We just completed a 15,500km trip across 6 states during that journey we used deisel from United, Puma, Metro, Shell, BP, Ampol even a couple of fuel supply agents (probably some others I cant think of). What we used was dependant on both price and what was available in a town or at a roadhouse. I cant say that I noticed any difference in the cars performance or in consumption figures even from supposed premium fuel being sold by companies like Ampol, Shell or BP for a premium price. In WA the RAC discount servos would not accept my NRMA members card apparently because they told me that the discount is subsidised by the RAC in WA. I'm wondering if thats the case why United would give a discount to senior card holders from other states if it is being subsidised by the NSW government.

How do they work out the prices for fuel - I dont know but when we left Forbes the other day it was $2.05/ltr in a little town only about 50kms down the road we filled up for $1.79 when we went through Dubbo a bit further on it jumped up $2.24. I topped up again in Sandy Hollow on the Golden Hwy it was $1.90 when we rolled into the Newcastle area it was $2.30 who is kidding who ? If its based on how much they paid for the fuel in their tanks and how quick they turn it over why is it that all the servos in the same area put it up or down at the same time ?

BB.

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Sunday 6th of August 2023 08:02:14 PM

-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Sunday 6th of August 2023 08:02:42 PM

JeffRae · Guru

BB, it's United that is offering the discount to senior card holder, not the NSW govt. NSW govt is only advertising it in their directory.
The discount is available in WA, so definitely not subsidised by the NSW govt.

deverall11 · Guru

watsea wrote:
.......I understand that "truck" diesel does not contain antifoaming agents, whereas maybe a "premium" diesel does.

Unfortunately for my Son-in-Law, he does not get any employee discount. I try to purchase my diesel from places, based on a cheap price though from a high volume location to reduce the chances of contamination.

Watsea, couple of points. Except when you're in outback remote areas, our Landcruiser has only been filled with the big 4

companies, Shell, BP, Caltex and Mobil. If a tanker is in the servo, find out what fuel is getting dumped. If it's the fuel

you'er after, don't stop. Filling the tanks stirs the rubbish on the bottom which can potentially end up in your vehicle and

hence some form of contamination.

Anti foaming agent make is a bit easier to fill as in my case in order to keep accurate records, the vehicle needs to be filled

as accurately as possible. This means waiting for the foam to settle and expel all air pockets.

Cuppa · Guru

JeffRae wrote:
BB, it's United that is offering the discount to senior card holder, not the NSW govt. NSW govt is only advertising it in their directory.
The discount is available in WA, so definitely not subsidised by the NSW govt.

It is a NSW gov't initiative. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-05/nsw-seniors-fuel-discount-at-united-petrol-stations/102692982

I believe the discount in WA is subsidised by the WA gov't, & not just restricted to United? https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/country-age-pension-fuel-card-participating-outlets

United Seniors Discount is not available in Victoria

The Belmont Bear · Guru

JeffRae wrote:
BB, it's United that is offering the discount to senior card holder, not the NSW govt. NSW govt is only advertising it in their directory.
The discount is available in WA, so definitely not subsidised by the NSW govt.

According to 9News press release this agreement is between the NSW Govt and United Petroleum for NSW senior card holders over 65 years of age. To get it you need to go online and apply for either a plastic card or a digital copy to use at United fuel stations. You will get a 4c/ltr discount once a day up to a maximum of $150. Maybe there are similar agreements in other states but what they said in this release was that the discount was actually coming from the NSW govt.

BB