Vat registered companies.... how do you stay competitive

[LeeGray]

I’ve done over a million miles on supermarket fuel without problems, but never heard it was bad before. If anything the throughput of the big ones should keep it fresher than little places and as said they’re not going to risk it not being right.

[Rough Hewn]

All the fuel garages will tell you it's full of rats piss. I've never had an issue and I always use Tescos fuel, all about the club card points. Plus someone as big as Tesco/Asda isn't going to breach the fuel British Standard to make a few more quid, wouldn't be worth the risk.

What happened a few years back with dodgy Tesco fuel killing hundreds of cars then?

[aspenarb]

1 hour ago, Rough Hewn said:

What happened a few years back with dodgy Tesco fuel killing hundreds of cars then?

 

Petrol/diesel all starts off the same, the cheap gear is as refined and goes off to supermarkets etc . The likes of Shell and the other big players blend theirs with additives which is why they are dearer. The crap car killer stuff was just a mistake and I think the big boys have had similar problems in the past .  Where the fuck is Jon from @Rye Oil Ltd `s when you need him ?

 

Bob

[forestboy1978]

I'll be VAT registered again very soon. It's unavoidable. In the past I factored fixed costs were cheaper as they nearly all included vat so gave me some vat input. You can spend more money on marketing and claim VAT back. You just have to quote more and win less which is a killer at times of course. 

 

I've won many a job where I've not been the cheapest and I've won many when I've been the most expensive also. Feedback has been along the lines of, got a good vibe, seemed professional, didn't think the job could be done as well for cheaper etc. 

 

I am thinking along these lines with regard to my current status. Once I'm VAT registered, it will be what it will be. But I certainly expect to be always expanding from this point on and always spending on expansion to take advantage of VAT. I don't think one should aim to remain static and comfortable when they go VAT registered but always be pushing forward toward bigger and better. 

 

The other upside I found in the past when VAT registered is you will attract less tyre kickers and more commercial clients. Commercial clients can be easier in some senses, bigger jobs but bigger losses if you screw up. Also they have less consideration for you as a person which can be good and bad. 

 

I'm definitely NOT a good businessman so this topic is very interesting to me!

[Rye Oil Ltd]

23 hours ago, aspenarb said:

 

Petrol/diesel all starts off the same, the cheap gear is as refined and goes off to supermarkets etc . The likes of Shell and the other big players blend theirs with additives which is why they are dearer. The crap car killer stuff was just a mistake and I think the big boys have had similar problems in the past .  Where the fuck is Jon from @Rye Oil Ltd `s when you need him ?

 

Bob

Hi Bob, hope all is well. I think the supermarket fuel is definitely a lower quality fuel. It will meet all the necessary British standards, but will be closer to "going off" than the big name oil companies. With the rise of ethanol in the fuel, which if memory serves me right is about to go up again in percentage terms, this is more of a issue than it used to be. I think if the supermarket forecourt has a large through put of fuel, then it really should not effect vehicles that much. It obviously does effect chainsaws/mowers etc as has been well documented.

I don't think the fuel that shell etc sell ( apart from the premium products), is fundamentally different from the fuel the supermarkets sell, just "fresher".

[Steve Bullman]

4 minutes ago, Rye Oil Ltd said:

I think if the supermarket forecourt has a large through put of fuel, then it really should not effect vehicles that much. It obviously does effect chainsaws/mowers etc as has been well documented.

Precisely why I choose to use Aspen

[LeeGray]

Do supermarkets buy older fuel from store or something? I’m struggling to see how a town centre supermarket forecourts with say 12-16 pumps which are nearly always busy is not using fresh fuel, when the local shell etc isn’t busy and would have freshest. I’d have thought the little garage will have it sat longer. 

[Woodworks]

28 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Precisely why I choose to use Aspen

Steve you are confusing me here. First off you say there is nothing wrong with supermarket fuel and then say you use Aspen to avoid problems?

 

I dont know for sure if there is any difference but what I do know is using Texaco I have never had a fuel related problem with any 2 stroke or 4 stroke engine. I mentioned to my local repair guy that I had never had fuel problems and the first thing he asked is "where do you buy it" I told him and he said " thats why"

[Steve Bullman]

Because it sits around too long.  When I was doing firewood is wasn’t a problem.  I’d buy a 20l Jerri can full at a time.  With just climbing sometimes I don’t even get through 5l over a 2 week period if I’m just pruning and deadwooding.

[Woodworks]

9 minutes ago, Steve Bullman said:

Because it sits around too long.  When I was doing firewood is wasn’t a problem.  I’d buy a 20l Jerri can full at a time.  With just climbing sometimes I don’t even get through 5l over a 2 week period if I’m just pruning and deadwooding.

Each to there own I guess. I would not be worried about my mixed fuel for a couple of months at least.