Shell in India (fuel, lubes, outlets)

[abirnale]

IMHO - The Shell car is more suited for folks who have drivers, corporates who buy it for DG sets and so on. This way they can load the cards for a cash and hand over to anyone. It will only work with Shell. And hence ease of operation.

I am using Amex Card for many years now. The Shell Bannerghatta has started supporting it from few months. No Surcharges. I pay exact amount that is shown on the dispensing machine. There is no cash-back and all that stuff but when I hit a 8 transaction threshold (any) in a month, I get two movie tickets free worth Rs 1000 The rewards points continue to accumulate in parallel to be redeemed for things Amex gives.

[drive2eternity]

Originally Posted by mohammedismail

0.5% Cash back makes no sense at all !! So If I spend 10,000 Rupees on fuel per month I get the cash back of 50 Rupees!
If the same is spent in IOC with CITI IOC Credit card for every 150 Rupees spent you get 4 points equals to 4 Rupees. So if I spend 10,000 Rupees on fuel I get 267 Rupees to redeem for Fuel. Which is not bad at all compared to Shell's 0.5% Cashback.

That's what I do. I load my Shell card using my HDFC credit card. So I get points on my HDFC. Then I swipe my Shell card and get 0.5% cash back. Added benefit no?

[mohammedismail]

Originally Posted by drive2eternity

That's what I do. I load my Shell card using my HDFC credit card. So I get points on my HDFC. Then I swipe my Shell card and get 0.5% cash back. Added benefit no?

Yes added benefit ! The cons here are :
1. It is Time consuming
2. You block that amount of money only for Fuel and cannot be used else where!
3. Another card in the Wallet to Carry :P

The Best usage of the card is here, The Owner knows how much amount of fuel the driver has filled in the car to avoid any sort of fraud

Originally Posted by abirnale

IMHO - The Shell car is more suited for folks who have drivers, corporates who buy it for DG sets and so on. This way they can load the cards for a cash and hand over to anyone. It will only work with Shell. And hence ease of operation.

[Aditya]

Click here to join the discussion on Shell fuel pricing

Shell India has announced that it is now offering Shell Diesel at market price nationally. The announcement comes against the backdrop of the diesel price deregulation. The fuel is available at market price at Shell fuel stations in six states - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.

Shell claims that Shell Diesel with 'Fuel Economy' has been designed to ignite and burn more effectively than standard diesel. They also claim it results in better fuel economy and helps keep the engine clean too.

At present, shell has 82 operational fuel stations in India. 27 outlets are located in Bangalore. Shell outlets offer customer services such as free windshield cleaning and under bonnet checks.

[dass]

I thought shell was always selling their diesel at market price, irrespective of what the government owned companies were doing. What is different now? What am I missing?

[Thebat]

This is absurd news for me, I always fill diesel in shell only and it has been at part with the market rate for a long long time. Am I missing something here, or was I paying a higher cost all these days. And to the best of my recollection shell has only one type of normal diesel with no additives.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by Thebat

This is absurd news for me, I always fill diesel in she'll only and it has been at part with the market rate for a long long time. Am I missing something here, or was I paying a higher cost all these days. And to the best of my recollection shell has only one type of normal diesel with no additives.

Shell price for petrol and diesel were costlier by 70 paisa and 40 paisa respectively. Now what they say is they are on par with the PSU bunks.

[pahwa]

I have always been a Shell customer as preferred choice. Although it was just ~40 paise expensive but still value for money for the experience and transparency they offer. Quick, polite and efficient.

[sgiitk]

Hold on I will not be surprised if soon Shell and Reliance start undercutting the PSU OMCs. Their marketing costs are lower, but of course they may not, just collect the additional moolah.

[johannskaria]

Being an expensive proposition is the reason that put me off from going to the Shell pumps.Considering this and seeing the service they offer I would now go to the Shell pumps more often.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Hold on I will not be surprised if soon Shell and Reliance start undercutting the PSU OMCs. Their marketing costs are lower, but of course they may not, just collect the additional moolah.

Undercutting the PSU's wouldn't be a wise decision as per me. Atleast when they are struggling to figure how to take businesses forward when the world is moving away from conventional sources of energy and having good cash surplus is a wise choice. They could attract with the 'Shell brand' for the 'superior' services.

[dass]

Don't think shell diesel was always expensive than OMC. There were couple of times, when Shell was actually cheaper than the OMC's.

[Jeeper1941]

Sorry for the ignorant question - but what makes Shell fuels (petrol or diesel) 'special' so that they can charge more? I've noticed that their fuel stations are clean and well maintained (in Bangalore at least) but that doesn't justify charging a premium, does it? Is there any difference in the quality of the fuel itself? (I don't notice any difference in performance whether I fill Caltex, Mobil, BP or Shell BTW).
Thanks!

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Jeeper1941

Sorry for the ignorant question - but what makes Shell fuels (petrol or diesel) 'special' so that they can charge more? (I don't notice any difference in performance whether I fill Caltex, Mobil, BP or Shell BTW).
Thanks!

That’s a very interesting question and has kept many threads in as many car forums fuelled for decades and is likely to do so.

You will also hear from members that claim to have seen considerable performance improvement by switching from brand A to brand B.

Personally, I think it is all hogwash. Under very precise controlled testing circumstances I’m sure there will be a difference between these fuels. It would not be the same for all cars to start with. But I feel that the difference is so small that for practical uses it would be very difficult to actually see the results materialise.

In India I would be more concerned about the diesel quality in terms of how it gets stored and transported. Dirt, contaminations are a worry. So a company that keeps a nice and tidy looking shop might also do a bit better on this aspect. High volume turn over is something I look for as well. So I prefer to see a busy tidy petrol station irrespective of the brand.

Jeroen

[Mad Max]

I think it basically comes down to probability of adulteration which I believe is quite less in Shell vs. Others. It is still possible but just going by how our PSUs handle the fuel from production to the pump itself leaves a lot to be desired. As Jeroen mentioned, this is not a blanket case across all PSUs but I still prefer Shell because I just feel they take better precautions against adulteration.

[dmplog]

This is a surprise to me. I thought it was only shell petrol which was on par with market rate. But diesel was cheaper at PSU bunks. Is it because of oil prices are reaching rock bottom? What's the cost of shell diesel? I pay Rs. 55 per liter in Pune