The Disadvantages & Pitfalls of COD Fuel Oil Delivery vs. Automatic Fuel Oil Delivery
If you heat your home with fuel oil, you have two basic options to choose when it comes to oil delivery.
1. COD Fuel Oil Delivery: Ordering heating oil on an as needed basis opposed to "locking" in to one oil company and allowing them to fill your tank as they see fit.
2. Fuel Service Oil Delivery: You give control over your oil deliveries to the oil company and sign a contract that states that they are the only oil company that can fill your oil tank during the contract period. In addition, they always fill it to the top and their prevailing price (typically up to $1.00 or more per gallon over C.O.D oil prices.
COD oil companies sell fuel oil as inexpensive as possible to provide the best possible price. Consumers enjoy the beneifits of these large discounts over full service oil companies. COD oil companies have the same standards as full service providers when it comes to delivering home heating oil. They have the same heating oil, same trucks and the same licenses and insurances. These are standards in the oil industry and cutting corners is not an option. Any oil company, whether it's COD or Full Service, must have proper State or County licenses and proper insurances or they will be unable to load their trucks at the oil terminal, nor can they deliver oil.
If you’re undecided about your fuel delivery options, you may want to consider what's most important to you. Full service with over inflated oil prices or the COD option where you can shop for oil prices and order as needed. With CODFUEL.com, this is a snap and the most convenient way to order home heating oil.
Automatic Oil Delivery Includes Equipment Maintenance, BUT; Do You Need It?
Equipment maintenance is defintiely a good idea, but how much are you willing to pay for it? Most homes today have upgraded their heating system within the last 15 years or so. These newer systems are similar to newer cars of today. They are very efficient and do not break down like older models did. I do agree with the full service oil company's and annual maintenance should be done to keep your heating system in tip top shape. However, there is a cost involved and as a homeowner, you should know the cost of annual maintenance and who is providing it.
Most annual heating system tune ups cost around $125-$150 per year for a COD service provider to complete. Maintenance is performed by a licensed professional just as a full service provider will. The difference is in the price. The average home burns approx. 800 gallons per year. If you sign a contract for the reason of getting "free" maintenance, then you are paying about 6 times more for a tune up than if you paid a COD provider. Full service oil dealers use maintenance as a selling point or a scare tactic to get a homeowner to sign a contract and lock them into automatic fuel oil delivery.
COD Oil Delivery Requires Extra Effort: Fact or Myth?
Buying fuel oil on a “pay as you go” basis requires the homeowner to order when they need it. Most full service providers will also use a scare tactic stating homeowners need to constantly monitor the oil level and it creates stress. I may have agreed 25 years ago, but in today's world, checking your oil gauge is an easy thing to do. You wouldn't get automatic gas delivery for your car, right? Of course not, we all check our fuel gauge and get gas as needed. Do we ALL fill our tank to the top on each visit to the gas station? Of course not. Every one has the right to choose how much gas they want to pump into their car each time, just like your oil tank. Who wants a $1000 oil bill in the summer or during the holidays?
In addition, there are so many new wireless oil tank gauges on the market today. These SMART oil gauges work off of WiFi and can send you a text message or email whenever you need to order fuel oil. It's easy and effortless.
COD Oil Prices are Unpredictable?
COD oil prices vary day to day based on the market. This is also true of full service providers. They may not fluctuate as often because they are already priced approx. $1.00 or more per gallon higher than the average COD oil company.
As of this writing, the average full service oil price in Long Island according to NYSERDA is $3.46 per gallon. The best oil price on Codfuel.com is only $2.31 per gallon. That's $1.15 per gallon less or equivalent to $920.00 based on the average usage of 800 gallon per year.
The best part about buying cod oil is the advantage you have by choosing to order less oil if the price goes up and more if the price goes down. With automatic delivery, your tank is filled to the top on each delivery. The truck arrives on their schedule, not yours. The bill also arrives on their schedule.
Although most full service oil companies promote against COD oil delivery, the majority of them also offer COD delivery service; they just hide it from their full service customers by opening up a new company with a different name. This includes some of the largest full service company's too.
Check out today's home heating oil prices by entering your zip code below