BajaNomad

Gas prices stations?

LukeJobbins - 1-5-2016 at 11:56 AM

Haven't really been down for a real trip(past Baja Malibu) in a year. I know some gas stations are not entirely honest in the amount you really get when they say it's a liter. I was wondering what the price of gas is down there right now and if anybody knows of any certain gas stations to avoid over others. Heading to the bay of la area next week. Thanks.

willardguy - 1-5-2016 at 12:11 PM

go to where there's a line of cars, easy as that!

Udo - 1-5-2016 at 01:56 PM

I'll go with Willard on that one.

Three that immediately come to mind are a large Pemex on the East side of the main road and is near COSTCO. It ALWAYS has several huge lines of cars.
The other two are the Pemex in Los Pinos, just south of San Quintin (it's in the middle of the farm area).
And of course the Baja Cactus Pemex in El Rosario.

Fuel prices in Baja...

BajaCactus - 1-5-2016 at 03:29 PM

Fuel prices and Pemex have been changing lately in Mexico... for example, last year the "fixed" price for fuel was changed for a "Maximum price allowed".

What this means is that now the Mexican Government allows the Gas Stations owner to set their own price, as long as it is not higher than the "Maximum allowed".

This past January 1st the Mexican Government lowered the "Maximum Price" by 3 percent, setting it as follows:

-- Magna: 13.16 pesos per liter
-- Premium: 13.98 pesos per liter
-- Diesel: 13.77 pesos per liter

You may find different prices advertised on Gas Stations, but they should not be higher than the ones mentioned above.

Another huge changed effective last January 1st is that now foreign oil companies are allowed to offer and sell their products in Mexico, ending the Monopoly of fuel in our country.

Gas Stations in Mexico have been privately owned and supplied only by Pemex under a Franchise scheme for several decades... now all Gas Station owners have the option to quit the Pemex Franchise and switch to whoever they decide, like Chevron, Texaco, Shell, BP, etc.

We should be seeing very interesting changes in the next couple of years in Mexico due to these changes.

Now, regarding where are the honest Gas Station... well, this is a very difficult topic... it i sad to say that I cannot really point you to one... I can assure you however that for us at BajaCactus honesty has ALWAYS been part of our way of doing business... and it will continue to be so.

Safe travels,

Antonio Muņoz
BajaCactus

David K - 1-5-2016 at 03:49 PM

Thank you Antonio!

Here's a photo from 1956 at Baja Cactus in El Rosario before it was a Pemex station!



Standard Oil (Chevron)

Back then, there was a second El Rosario gas station, at Mama Espinoza's... another non-Pemex station, in 1960:



Union Oil (76)

Both photos from Howard Gulick during his expeditions to map Baja for the Lower California Guidebook.

Bajahowodd - 1-5-2016 at 05:51 PM

Like it or not, in the near future, there will actually competition in pricing between the Pemex dealers and the international guys.

You may see logos such as Conoco or Exxon or Shell on stations.

On one hand, the Mexican government control of prices throughout the nation was a form of stability. But, on the other hand, with world crude prices down around $35pbl, those purchasing gas will likely appreciate the competition.

Not to mention that this event is actually a small offshoot of the Mexican government finally allowing the big international guys to develop Mexico's huge offshore crude supplies that Mexico itself did not have the technology, nor the ability to do.

I only wonder if the huge drop in crude prices will put a damper on that offshore development.

hombre66 - 1-5-2016 at 07:10 PM

Great El Rosario pics ,DK. LukeJ: Make sure you buy your gas with pesos. Less chance of getting shortchanged.

bajaguy - 1-5-2016 at 07:36 PM

The PEMEX south of COSTCO on Reforma is a Circle K...where the Joker Motel was. Always a lineup of cars. The other Circle K is on northbound Hwy 1 in El Sauzal across from the Las Rosas resort
Quote: Originally posted by Udo  
I'll go with Willard on that one.

Three that immediately come to mind are a large Pemex on the East side of the main road and is near COSTCO. It ALWAYS has several huge lines of cars.
The other two are the Pemex in Los Pinos, just south of San Quintin (it's in the middle of the farm area).
And of course the Baja Cactus Pemex in El Rosario.

Lee - 1-5-2016 at 08:36 PM

At Pemex, Pescadero, yesterday, filled a 18 liter can with 19 liters. Not bad.

Udo - 1-5-2016 at 09:09 PM

You hit the jackpot, Lee!!

Whale-ista - 1-5-2016 at 10:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaCactus  
Fuel prices and Pemex have been changing lately in Mexico... for example, last year the "fixed" price for fuel was changed for a "Maximum price allowed".

What this means is that now the Mexican Government allows the Gas Stations owner to set their own price, as long as it is not higher than the "Maximum allowed".

This past January 1st the Mexican Government lowered the "Maximum Price" by 3 percent, setting it as follows:

-- Magna: 13.16 pesos per liter
-- Premium: 13.98 pesos per liter
-- Diesel: 13.77 pesos per liter

You may find different prices advertised on Gas Stations, but they should not be higher than the ones mentioned above.

Another huge changed effective last January 1st is that now foreign oil companies are allowed to offer and sell their products in Mexico, ending the Monopoly of fuel in our country.

Gas Stations in Mexico have been privately owned and supplied only by Pemex under a Franchise scheme for several decades... now all Gas Station owners have the option to quit the Pemex Franchise and switch to whoever they decide, like Chevron, Texaco, Shell, BP, etc.

We should be seeing very interesting changes in the next couple of years in Mexico due to these changes.

Now, regarding where are the honest Gas Station... well, this is a very difficult topic... it i sad to say that I cannot really point you to one... I can assure you however that for us at BajaCactus honesty has ALWAYS been part of our way of doing business... and it will continue to be so.

Safe travels,

Antonio Muņoz
BajaCactus


Thank you Antonio. I filled up at your station this morning on my way north.

It was good to see the emergency vehicles parked out front. I understand you will be building a new structure of these, in front of the gas station soon.

Thank you for all your good work. (I was worried I might need your services today but fortunately I dodged a bullet. )

BajaCactus - 1-6-2016 at 01:14 PM

Whale-ista... Thank you for your patronage, I appreciate your confidence in us.

About the Desert Hawks, yes, we are now in the process of raising funds to build a Fire Station right across the Highway in front of our Gas Station.

Many positive things happened at Desert Hawks last year, most of them thanks to the support of our BajaNomad friends... which makes me think it is time to post an update here... Thank you for reminding me of that.

Antonio Muņoz
BajaCactus

shari - 1-6-2016 at 02:03 PM

Antonio...will you continue to be a Pemex station or are you thinking of switching teams?

Udo - 1-6-2016 at 03:22 PM

Great question, Shari!

David K - 1-6-2016 at 03:28 PM

As long as it remains free of ethanol, I don't care what brand it is. My mileage goes up on Pemex gasoline, even with heavy camping loads over empty truck driving up here, because Pemex is pure gasoline and not diluted with corn like the gas in California is.

LukeJobbins - 1-6-2016 at 10:25 PM

Thanks for the replies/answers. I usually make it to el rosario on one tank, but it really depends on how many side trips to look for waves I make. We've always had good service from the guys at el rosario so thanks for doing your thing. And I will definitely use the tips for finding gas elsewhere.

BajaCactus - 1-8-2016 at 01:59 PM

Shari... A couple of decades before those pictures DavidK shared, my family were already offering fuel in El Rosario. Actually, they were the first ones to do so. Back then there were no suppliers near El Rosario... there was not even a decent road out of town. Nevertheless they traveled "all the way" to Ensenada, Tijuana and sometimes San Diego to bring to El Rosario a couple of barrels of fuel for those few lost adventurers that wondered through Baja.

I said "all the way" because back then a trip just to Ensenada could take a couple of weeks back and forth to El Rosario.

This desire and willingness of providing the best service and products available to our customers, alongside honesty, have always been part of our business, now known as BajaCactus.

For many years Pemex fuels have been the only ones available in Mexico, so we had no other choice. Now that we will have other options we will keep our eyes open and when the markets settle, will do our best to offer our customers the best products available.

For now we will keep offering Pemex products, which by the way, in Baja are actually fuels of top quality since they are refined either in the US and/or Japan.

Safe travels,

Antonio Muņoz
BajaCactus

BajaMama - 1-20-2016 at 11:27 AM

We always stop at Baja Cactus/El Rosario, JesusMaria, the BIG one east side of road in Santa Rosalia. Very nice, honest.

Hook - 1-20-2016 at 11:57 AM

Antonio, are those new maximum prices that went into effect on January 1 the maximum for the entire year or will that change from month to month?

durrelllrobert - 1-21-2016 at 10:51 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bajahowodd  
Like it or not, in the near future, there will actually competition in pricing between the Pemex dealers and the international guys.

You may see logos such as Conoco or Exxon or Shell on stations.

On one hand, the Mexican government control of prices throughout the nation was a form of stability. But, on the other hand, with world crude prices down around $35pbl, those purchasing gas will likely appreciate the competition.

Not to mention that this event is actually a small offshoot of the Mexican government finally allowing the big international guys to develop Mexico's huge offshore crude supplies that Mexico itself did not have the technology, nor the ability to do.

I only wonder if the huge drop in crude prices will put a damper on that offshore development.


As I understand it OXXO minmarts will also be instlling gas pumps if they have the space for underground tanks, etc.

durrelllrobert - 1-21-2016 at 10:56 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy  
The PEMEX south of COSTCO on Reforma is a Circle K...where the Joker Motel was. Always a lineup of cars. The other Circle K is on northbound Hwy 1 in El Sauzal across from the Las Rosas resort

Quote: Originally posted by Udo  
I'll go with Willard on that one.

Three that immediately come to mind are a large Pemex on the East side of the main road and is near COSTCO. It ALWAYS has several huge lines of cars.
The other two are the Pemex in Los Pinos, just south of San Quintin (it's in the middle of the farm area).
And of course the Baja Cactus Pemex in El Rosario.


Both of the circle K PEMEX stations have a calibrated 3.854 liter (US gallon) stainless steel container that you can fill to check tat you are getting what the amount the pump shows. They are equiped with a spout so that you can then have the attendent add it to your tank.

Maximum fuel prices...

BajaCactus - 1-23-2016 at 02:40 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Hook  
Antonio, are those new maximum prices that went into effect on January 1 the maximum for the entire year or will that change from month to month?


Hook... the month to month fuel price changes were discontinued last year. In theory the maximum allowed price for fuel should be for the whole year, however the government has the authority to change it again whenever they think is appropriate.

Antonio M.
BajaCactus