# Fuel margin

A term used when buying convenience store or gas station.

The cents a gallon between wholesale cost and the pump price, thin and constantly moving.

It swings with wholesale prices and the competitor across the road, so normalize it across a cycle rather than trusting one strong year. Then ask the harder question about the tanks: who owns them, how old they are, and when they were last tested. Underground storage is an environmental liability with a replacement cost that can rival the purchase price, and it is why the [Phase I](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/phase-i-environmental) comes first here, with a Phase II wherever it flags the tanks.

Part of: Buying a Convenience Store or Gas Station (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store)

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store/terms/fuel-margin
Not dated: The same editorial definitions as the glossary, inside a trade.

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt